1. Could you post David Blatt's site ?
2. I'm not clear about how advertising agency work. Does the ad agency hire the photographer? If so, should we still be marketing to the actual company we would like to shoot for even though they work through an ad agency?
3. Say I want to shoot for REI. Do I market myself to REI, or do I market to their ad agency?
4. Direct mail includes email blasts? Direct mail in paper form is usually sent out in what kind of quantities? the hundreds? Should it be sent to the whole database of clients we are targeting?
5. How do I space out direct mail in paper form and email blasts so I am not annoying my clients? I market to architects who only occasionally hire photographers.
6. What do you think of this post?
I appreciate your concern, but my understanding of property rights is very simple… they do not exist. Property does not have any rights. The owner has rights, but his/her rights extend only as far as privacy and trademark goes. As for the trademark issue, that only applies if the ‘misuse’ of the trademark causes confusion in the marketplace. Ie., trademarks are designed more for the buying public than anything else.
I spoke with Carolyn Wright (www.photoattorney.com) over the idea of property releases a few months back and, without putting words in her mouth and not standing in her stead as legal counsel, the whole notion of property rights has no basis in law nor does it have a legal precedent, not one, in the courts. Ie., there are no statutes which require them and there are no court cases where the issue has ever come up. There are plenty of copyright laws which actually work contrary to the idea of property releases, not the least of which is the fair use exemption for photographs taken of architecture from a public space.
I believe that the issue of ‘property rights’ and the securing of ‘property releases’ is 100% CYA that has been drummed up by stock photo agencies who fear that some FUTURE law may cut into their action so they are asking for them up front. BTW, just for kicks, visit Getty or Corbis and find images of restaurants and/or office buildings. 90% of them have no releases yet they are offered as commercial stock.
My work has primarily been for architectural firms and I have shot buildings designed for Coca-Cola, IBM, Yamaha, Suzuki, and the list goes on. Not once has one of these huge design firms brought the idea up. I think they would probably be the most concerned over the issue since it is they who are using the images. Still, thousands of buildings photographed and the topic only comes up in the listserves and online forums… not the real world. Not once has an architectural firm asked me to get a property release for anything I have every photographed.
It seems to discredit the whole idea of property releases.
Thanks for your input.
5 comments:
2. Think of it as a hierarchy. This is the way things have been done but lots of marketplace shifting so lots of crossover to watch out for.
Ad agency: buys photos for client's ad campaigns in any type of media-tv,radio,newspaper,magazine,newspaper,
billboards,internet ads.
Graphic Design(ers): buys photos for client's 'collateral' to the ad campaign-brochures,catalogs,web sites, direct mail.
PR firms: buy photos for client's press releases and pr events.
Client Direct: an in house department that buys photos for corporate communications-annual reports,newsletters, trade shows.
This is not carved in stone but it gives you some idea of who usually does what.
3. Both, always both. And the graphic design firm(s)REI works with too. Client (REI) and their ad agency buy for different photo needs. See answer #2.
4. Tough one as email marketing is still pretty new as a marketing tool. I would say (for now anyway)use print direct mail as the bigger list since those are more available. Then to build repetition, email to the smaller list within that database you can get email addresses for. In other words, everyone gets the postcard but only some get both postcard and email. To reach everyone in your target market? That takes the broadcasting power of ads, publicity and web sites.
5. I base frequency on the client's photography needs. The more often they need photography, the closer i space the mailings - paper or email.
6. I can't give legal advice but yes, the issue is property release not property rights - unless of course the property is held within a trademark or servicemark protection. I have been stopped by stock agencies from submitting recognizable buildings with a trademarked logo without a property release-totally CYA. And the architect would not care if you got the release since you own the copyright, i don't see their liability. I do imagine though that any stock image of a well-protected trademark on a building that gets turned into coffee mugs or placemats (licensing) is going to run into trouble without a release from the owner.Again, not giving legal advice! Just my thoughts on the topic.
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