Licensing: It’s Just Like Going to Ruth Chris Steakhouse

Undocumented Immigrants scramble up the fence dividing the U.S. and Mexico.

A friend of mine and I were laughing the other night when we started talking about the similar requests we get. Corrado does beautiful retouching in Photoshop for high end clients and I shoot images for a variety of publications and eventually license those images to others on an as needed basis. We both receive requests on a regular basis that start with one of the following:

1. “We’re a start up with no budget but we’d like to use your image……..”
2. “We’re a non profit with no budget but we’d like to use your image……”
3. “We’re a small company with no budget but we’d like to use your image….”
4. “We’d like rights in perpetuity, all media, worldwide but we don’t have much of a budget…..“

Now, I can’t speak for Corrado, but I figure it’s time to post something about the basics of intellectual property. First, let me start by saying (or, maybe, yelling) that INTELLECTUAL PROPERTY IS REAL PROPERTY WITH REAL VALUE JUST LIKE THE STEAK YOU BOUGHT AT RUTH CHRIS STEAKHOUSE.

Where does my desire to write about this come from? Today I received a message from a film production company that wants to use the image above in a full length, feature film starring Rob Lowe. But, as happens all too often, the email began with ” I am working on a low budget, independent……..I know our director would like to include your image, but we are in a bit of a cost crunch.”

Cost crunch? Low budget? Then why Rob Lowe? Why ask to license the image for worldwide distribution, in perpetuity (a fancy word that means “forever”), in all media (you know, dvd, film, iPad, streaming, websites) as a Full Frame image (yes, it will fill the movie screen) if you are “low budget” and in a “cost crunch.”

I’ll answer that! Because it’s Economics 101 to try to get everything for nothing. It’s a negotiation. And like all negotiations in which YOU are the buyer and I am the seller, I have my price. What’s my price? Glad you asked……….

The value of my images is based on many factors. If you want to license an image, you select from the “menu” of options that is designed specifically to give a fair price for the type of use you plan for the image. This is no different from opening a menu at Ruth Chris and selecting what you want based on what you can afford. Now, PAY ATTENTION, because this is the key part………only select a license that you can afford! Wow, not brain surgery, is it?

Now, let’s look at it from another perspective. If you go to Ruth Chris Steakhouse and you only have $20, then common sense would dictate that you only order a small appetizer and drink water so that you can pay your bill with the $20. Irrational sense would dictate that you order a appetizer, drinks, Filet Mignon, dessert and coffee and ask if you can just pay $20 because you “……have no budget.” If you don’t think that’s fair then (and this is the beauty of living in a free, Democratic country) take your a– to Wendy’s or McDonalds and order a couple burgers and fries.

A few of the factors that determine a license are listed below. The idea is to create a license that breaks down exactly what you need so that you are not paying for extras (you know, like DirecTV or Time Warner Cable where you license the 300 channels even though you watch about 10 of them):

1. Duration of the license. Using an image in perpetuity is costlier than one-time use.
2. Geographic location. Securing Worldwide Rights is costlier than North American rights.
3. Category: Usage that falls under TV/Film is costlier than Editorial usage.
4. Use within the Category: In other words, within Editorial use, Magazine use is usually costlier than a Newsletter.
5. What type of media? Consumer magazine, mock up use, trade publication, in house newsletter.
6. What size will the image be used? A full page use is costlier than an 1/8 page use. A cover image is costlier than a image used on pg 83.
7. Circulation Size (if printed material). A image used in a printed publication with a 2 million print run is costlier than an image with a 200 print run.

These are basic parameters that are put in place for the art buyer to get specifically what they need. It also protects the copyright holder (me) by keeping control of the work and licensing it for specific use. The prices are industry standard prices, not some arbitrary figure I come up with off the top of my head.

Whatever the situation, just remember that if you can’t afford a particular license, then downgrade until you find what you need. I’d love to eat at fine restaurants every night, but I can’t afford to, so I make my selections based on affordability.

Peace

Rally for Peace following the terrorist attacks of September 11

Painful Memories

Visitors to the 9/11 Memorial Preview Site next to Ground Zero

Anniversaries, funerals, and memorial services have always given me mixed feelings. I completely understand the need for a nation to gather on a historic day to reflect on lives cut short by hate, but on the purely personal level, memorializing is not something I relish.

It has something to do with asking to feel the turmoil, pain and anxiety again. Reflecting on days of great tragedy become days of great tragedy again, something that makes me want to run and hide on an emotional level. But I have done so all week, reading many reflections, viewing many photos and listening to many recollections on NPR.

It’s necessary to feel the pain again, to feel the anger again, I just don’t like it. A part of me feels like we’re letting the terrorists invade our psyche again. It’s the same feeling that many athletes and boxers understand: Never show the opponent that you are hurt. Don’t let them see your pain. Make them think everything is okay.

I’ll be glad when we can put the anniversary behind us and go back to “normal” lives. Of course, in hindsight, that’s what we tried to do as a nation 10 years ago.

Looking Back: The Aurora News Blog on 9/11

Crowd in Los Angeles clamors for news hours after the terror attacks of 9/11

Below is what I wrote for the Aurora Photos News Blog.

The phone rang, jarring my wife and I from our sleep. Dawn was just creeping under our bedroom shade, but the feeling of dread had already enveloped the room before I grabbed the handset. I had no idea why the phone was ringing, but I did know that the likelihood of the other person bearing good news was nearly nonexistent.

“Turn on the TV” my brother in Rhode Island hollered into the phone. “Quick!”

I hung up and scrambled across the house to turn on the television without waking our five-year-old son. The phone began to ring again. I managed to catch a glimpse of Tower One on fire while grabbing the handset fully expecting to hear my brother’s frantic voice again. But this time it was Martha Bardach, TIME magazine’s West Coast Photo Editor, asking that I get to downtown Los Angeles as soon as possible. No one knew where other attacks might occur, she said, but one rumor had it that a plane was heading for Los Angeles.

I made it to LA and began photographing as people assembled on the streets, talking on their cell phones, looking skyward with a sense of disbelief. The plane, thankfully, never materialized and people started to make their way home only hours after arriving for work. By this time it was being reported that the U.S. had been attacked by terrorists, yet LA had not directly been hit. I ventured across the city to the Federal Building near UCLA and found that the FBI were guarding the facility with assault rifles while listening intently to earpieces. At a nearby newsstand, a growing number of people were gathering. I stopped and began photographing as Angelenos (or were we all Americans at that point, I remember wondering), desperate for news and information, scrambled for position and thrust their money at the clerk in attempts to claim a copy of the LA Time’s extra edition published only hours after the terrorist attacks. “TERROR ATTACK” screamed the headline.

Hours later, I was sent by TIME to document citizens lining up at a Red Cross facility to donate blood for the victims and then onto a large, non denominational prayer service where tears flowed, heads bowed and prayers went out to victims and their families.

I then drove home to my wife and son who were safe and healthy. I cried along with my wife that night, knowing that the world had changed fifteen hours earlier when I reached for the phone.

Security and the Right to Photograph

Added security of those entering the country. ©Todd Bigelow

Rather good timing for this refresher from the ACLU. Many of my students at Cal State University, Northridge and UCLA ask questions about where they can legally take photographs. My standard response is that if you are photographing from a public location and shooting images easily seen from such a location, then you’re good.

One result of 9/11 being explored by media during the week long lead-up to the 10 year anniversary is the added security in our society. Few will argue that added security is a good thing, but photographers and law enforcement have had many run ins over the decade since the terrorist attacks that clearly show a pattern of increasing harassment of photographers working within their constitutional right (you know, the 1st Amendment and all).

Give this link a look over. It’s a worthy refresher on the right to photograph in public: http://www.aclu.org/free-speech/know-your-rights-photographers

When you’re done with that, give NPR a listen as they have a frightening report about surveillance in the Mall of America that illustrates a drastic change in surveillance of Americans following 9/11. http://n.pr/plxOzO

9/11 Remembrance: Photographers & Editors Recall That Fateful Day

No doubt that this is a week of remembrances. Time and again in life we encounter markers that are placed in time that function as transitions. “Before the earthquake,” or “after Katrina” or, in this case, “after 9/11.” Sadly, most of us knew almost immediately that 9/11 would serve as a marker on the scale of Pearl Harbor, D-Day and Hiroshima.

Remembering and respecting solemn dates is woven into society’s fabric. It’s also good for teaching others, healing our souls and reminding ourselves of a terrible loss. With that in mind, and as you encounter various 9/11 remembrances, take a moment to stop by Aurora Photos for short blogs by photographers and editors who recall their feelings and actions on that day in history.

Aurora News Blog can be found here

Short Profile on my Border Work

A migrant bathes in the hills of San Diego, CA near the fields that he works.

Thanks to the University of Arizona and it’s team of student journalists who run the Border Beat blog. Special thanks to Tim Glass for taking the time to listen to me go on and on about the border.

Take a look: http://www.borderbeat.net/people/1661-todd-bigelow-an-eye-for-storytelling

“In Theory” vs Degree’s of Experience

Too much emphasis in education is placed on degrees meant to indicate levels of excellence. Institutions love degrees for what they imply, yet so many professors teach from a purely theoretical perspective gained from lots of textbooks, but they lack the most beneficial perspective gained only from practical experience. I’ve been asked to teach a PJ course at a community college yet despite my Bachelors degree in Journalism, a 25 yr successful career (still going, I might add), and nearly 10 yrs of part time teaching, the pay scale being offered is not enough to warrant the commitment.

Don’t get me wrong, I’d love to teach the course, but simple economics dictate that it has to make financial sense.

The pay scale at the community college is elevated only if the instructor holds an advanced degree (there’s that word again) such as a Masters or Phd, neither of which I possess because I thought it best to actually apply my education by working in my field upon graduation as opposed to spending more time in the classroom chasing degrees.

I’ll admit that in many fields the advanced degree is necessary. For example, engineering and medicine are highly complex and theoretical, thus it’s beneficial to the student to gain all the education possible before dicing someone up in an ER or building a bridge. But I can assure you that advanced degrees in Photojournalism are completely unnecessary. The advanced knowledge in photojournalism comes from experience in the business.

Doesn’t it make sense to value real world experience at the same level as a certificate that certifies I “studied” my major for two extra years nearly 3 decades ago?

If I haven’t persuaded you yet, then ask yourself the following question. Who would you rather have teach you photojournalism, Sebastio Salgado and all of his experience without a Masters or John Doe with little, if any, experience but a Masters?

What do a gay man, a pro golfer, party girls and a nun have in common? Keywording….

What do a gay man, a pro golfer, Havasu girls and a Catholic nun have in common?

Sounds like a bad joke by the dude inhaling bar snacks at a lounge, huh? Well, it’s definitely not a joke and all four of those mentioned above DO indeed have something in common. They all are in the top ten for most-often-searched keywords on my site. Keywording is so important to archiving, especially in the crazy world of photojournalism where the variety of subject matter runs the gamut. Viewed from a practical perspective, it’s also a reminder of the importance of archive keywording so that people can find and license the images. It can be a bit entertaining to reflect back on the many keywords used that draw people to my site. Here’s a few of them taken from the most-often-used terms in the past 12 months together with a brief explanation of each:

• The Gay Man: Keyword “Jamie Nabozny”. Jamie was the subject of a documentary titled “Bullied” that told his story of suffering from years of intense, violent bullying as a gay teen growing up in Wisconsin. A great person, Jamie travels the country speaking at schools about ways to prevent anti-gay bullying.
• The ProGolfer: Keyword “Michelle Wie”. Michelle Wie is the talented and driven LPGA star who turned pro and become a multimillionaire at the hands of Nike all before receiving her high school education.
• Havasu Girls: Keyword “Lake Havasu Party”, “Lake Havasu Drunk Girls”, “Lake Havasu Memorial Day”Lake Havasu Bikini Party” etc, etc. Years ago I shot a story for People magazine dealing with boating under the influence. I was assigned to go to Lake Havasu on a Memorial Day weekend to capture the intense party atmosphere and discovered what apparently every under 30-yr-old already knew; if you want to see girls in (ahem) bikini’s, then Lake Havasu is THE place. It was a tough job, but I pushed through it………
• Catholic Nun: Keyword “Mother Antonia”. I’ve mentioned Mother Antonia several times before but she is always worth mentioning again. A young woman who grew up wealthy in Beverly Hills, Mother Antonia ditched it all over thirty years ago, took her vows as a nun and literally moved into La Mesa prison in Tijuana, Mexico to minister to the drug addicts, murderers and gangsters. She still commands the utmost respect in one of Latin America’s most violent prisons.

A few other keywords that showed up and made me think “what the hell……….”:

• “Unabomber Poker”: Phil Laak, a professional poker player who wears a hoodie and glasses resembling the Unabomber who dressed similarly.
• “Roger Rifle”: Sounds like a BB gun some kid would order from the back of a magazine, but it hit on the images of Roger Barnett, a border activist who armed himself with a rifle in Arizona and detained undocumented immigrants.
• “Pigeon Race”: Yes, people do race pigeons and I shot a story for Sports Illustrated to prove it! Exciting is not exactly the word. They release the pigeons 300 miles away and then proceed to wait for them to fly back to the coop where the “racers” are eating, drinking and betting.
• “Is it possible to be arrested for drunk boating”: The questions are always the best keywords! According to the site analytics, the viewer only visited one page. I guess the shot of guys in chains being led off to jail was enough of an answer!

Are You Busy?

I get that a lot. My wife will call and say “Hey, are you busy?” If she’s in the push-your-husband’s-button mood, she’ll follow up with something like “because if you’re just sitting around….” Truth be told, after nearly 25 yrs together, I don’t rise to the bait anymore because she knows the truth about freelancing better than anyone else I know.

What’s the truth?

The truth is that being a freelancer DOES provide for a lot of free time. That free time is absolutely great…………..that is, if you like the idea of being unemployed.

If you want to be a working freelancer, someone who actually works on assignment and earns a living from photography, then you better get used to the idea that being a working freelancer provides for less free time, in my opinion, than most  “regular” 40-hour-a-week jobs. Consider that most working freelancers, even those with agencies representing them, do 99.9% of the work themselves. And I’m not talking about shooting. I’m talking about everything else. A very average non-shooting day has me wearing many hats. Take today as an example, I am a:

1. Picture Editor (selecting images from a recent shoot to upload to my archive and to my agency)
2. Imaging Tech (post production work Adobe Lightroom, Photoshop)
3. Marketing Director (emailing, tweeting and blogging)
4. Licensing Director (negotiating with a non-profit over use of an image)
5. Technical Support (updating and installing new software on MacBook and Mac desktop)

That’s just to name a few. No complaints, that’s just the way it is if you want to be a working freelancer. No laying around on the job.

Which really leads me to the catalyst for this post. In order to accomplish these daily tasks, you must have a office, right? Not a closet with a space big enough for a 10″ netbook balancing precariously on a box of old slides, but a legitimate office. In other words, use the same approach to work as you would if you had to clock in at the 40-hr-a-week job. If you do so, you’ll find your productivity and, by default, your business, doing much better. Set a time to be at the office and have the necessary equipment and space needed to do your job well every day. Make your office a great place to be. Since I’m the boss (despite what my wife says), I decide how to set-up my office. That’s important, more so than most realize, because I need to enjoy being in my office so that I can get my work done each and every day. It’s what helps me maintain the discipline to grind through the less glamorous part of being a working freelancer. Years ago I purchased a nice, large desk with ample desktop space and filing cabinets and the most comfortable chair I could afford. I keep the space as clutter free as possible and have arranged for a couple of work spaces revolving around the desktop computer and the laptop. The walls are painted warm earth tones (courtesy of my wife!) that make the room feel inviting. I keep pages for Facebook and other social sites that can eat up my time closed during the day. If I need to post something on FB that is business related, then I post it and log off. Few will argue how much “work” time can be wasted if you’re constantly updating, replying, posting, tagging, farming etc…..Invoices, expenses and business contracts are filed at arms length so that I can grab them without much searching if need be. Hard drives are easily accessible and labeled in the event I need to quickly find images for clients. Music streams from the internet over nice speakers and a window provides for fresh air and sunlight. In other words, it’s a “normal” office despite being in my home.

Along with having a nice office, try sticking to a disciplined work schedule. It’s so easy as a freelancer to find “free” time, but being a working freelancer requires due diligence that far exceeds just the shooting time. However, I try to take a literal lunch break. During that time, I take a half hour or more to grab a bite to eat, sit outside in the sun with a book or go for a run. It’s important to break away from the office. I have a favorite spot where I can listen to some water flowing and enjoy being outside for a few minutes. I typically come back feeling ready to get back to work for a few more hours.

All of this is meant to make the necessary and often tedious work beyond shooting a bit more enjoyable. It’s worked for me……………