The photographer is there for a few hours, they’ll come, press the shutter a few times then go home burn the images to a CD and stick it in the mail. You want them to take as many photos as they can because digital files are free and unlimited so they need to get as many shots as they can in the hours you’ve paid them for, right?

Sadly, with the prices of digital cameras these days, amateur photographers are popping out of nowhere with this business model (and often don’t last long in business). Using the one consumer or even pro-sumer DSLRs (which can do the job under the right circumstances and proper usage). Have they got Public Liability insurance? Or a full time job and if all goes pear shape they can disappear and continue working their 9 to 5? It’s just a risk, but is it one you wish to take?

What about real photographers quotes?
Not only is there a large investment in equipment to be a professional photographer who may choose to to carry a camera which can cost around $10,000 (usually two, one as a secondary/backup) but professional assortment of lenses which range from the $1,000 to $5,000, but there is also computers and software that also need to be maintained and upgraded. Believe it or not, only a small portion of photographer’s revenues is going to cover the equipment they use. What you are really investing in is the skilled service provided by the photographer.

As was with the case with film, digital files still need to be processed & edited to make them the best they can be. Unfortunately, there are providers out there who call themselves photographers but all they really are are button pressers and giving you what the original files dumped straight from the camera. Hardly worth the fees that some of them charge.

Here is an example scenario for a typical 3 hour event.

• Hours before an event, the photographer will read the brief and familiarise him/herself of what is happening during the event (15mins)
• Batteries need charging, equipment needs to be selected and packed (15-30mins)
• You then ask the photographer to turn up early for a brief  (15-30mins)
• Travel to the event
• Photographer covers the event (3 hours)
• Travel from the event
• Downloading of images to a computer & backup (30mins)
• Make a selection of the best photos to deliver (30mins)
• Post Processing & editing of photos (1.5hours)
• Export for delivery, package, make final backup (30mins)

In the 3 hours of photographing (not including travel) a photographer can spend an additional 2 hours post event just to deliver the files. It takes roughly half the amount of time to edit images then it does photographing.  In reality, a 3 hour call out is not a 3 hour job. It’s the extra hours a photographer will spend post event to deliver the best images they can. It’s the experience and skill to capture the images correctly on-site and the effort they put in post event to deliver quality images.

So next time you are comparing quotes look deeper and find out what you are getting for your investment, because the cheapest quote may end up costing you alot more.

The Conference went over 3 days with an exhibition that would make any handyman week at the knees with the amount of power tools to look, hold and try out during the event. But it wasn’t all about tools and timber. The delegates had smiles from ear to ear when they had their welcome reception at Movieworld and were treated to rides during the evening and roving characters.

The National Awards Night hosted by comedian Anh Do and a special performance by John Williamson was also a special night but the biggest night of all was the Pirate themed Gala Dinner where guests turned up as pirates, wenches and even a colourful parrot made an appearance.

The Event Photos Difference..

We not only capture the event as a whole including bump-in and bump-out but we interact with delegates, bring a little fun and create a memory for those that attended.

But what’s the point of taking photographs if you can’t share them! During the busy days of the conference we handed out cards to direct guests to the custom landing page along with a password so they could not only view the images but download the high resolution copies for free.

Digital sharing of images is great for mass distribution but we were also able to provide a green screen during the gala dinner to suit the theme and have the images printed on-site for guests to take home.

Event Photography Fact: Over 4000 images were taken over the 3 day conference and bump-in/bump-out.

Location: Movieworld & Gold Coast Convention & Exhibition Centre
Client: Mitre 10
Event Production Team: Event Production Management

Looking for a professional Conference Photographer?

Do you need a photographer to cover your annual conference that can handle the job with confidence and cater for any special requests? Then contact us today. If you need every single exhibition stand photographed or you have a very special keynote speaker, we have the right attitude and photographers to make your event run smoothly.

The opening ceremony at The University of Queensland St Lucia Campus.

The riders were always full of smiles, no matter how tired they were.

Some chose to wear sponsored gear, others chose to dress up to be remembered.

A rider reaches the top of a mountain overlooking a lake.

This rider was happy to know he was nearly there on day 1.

Day 2

A rider gets his bike ready for day 2.

Riders gather round, mentally preparing for the ride home.

Unfortunately, the rain made an appearance on Day 2…

but it still didn’t stop the smiles.

There were plenty of cheers from the awaiting crowd when riders crossed the line.

To all the riders of the 2011 Rio Tinto Ride to Conquer Cancer, a very big congratulations! Together they raised $4.7 Million for cancer research.

If you would like to take part in next year’s event, please visit the event website at http://www.conquercancer.org.au.

Event Photography information from this event:

Cameras used: Canon 5D MkII, Two  Canon 7Ds
Lenses: Canon 16-35mm f/2.8, Canon 24-70mm f/2.8 , Canon 70-200mm f/2.8 IS II, Canon 300mm f/2.8 IS, Canon 90mm TS
Lighting: 1600w Alien Bee with Novatronix Battery, 3 x Canon 580 ex II
Shots taken: 5,025
Photographers: Pat & Belinda

The first set of images are from The Neptune Royal Life Saving Club at Tallebudgera Creek. We were asked to capture a variety of images of day to day happenings at the club including some action shots and photos that they could use for marketing purposes.

We were approached by eWater to capture a number of members across Brisbane & Toowoomba which could be used in their annual report. Armed with portable studio lights, battery and a GPS to find water related locations we headed off to capture a series of images.

Beyond Recruitment required new staff portraits done in their office which matched their exsisting set of images on their website. After studying the original images, we took our portable backdrop system and studio lights to their office and we photographed a series of single and group photos in only a few hours.

Auscript also required some corporate portraits taken in their office. The challenge however was the big glass windows in almost every photo. We had to be extra careful not to get our lights in the reflection where possible.

 

The importance of Corporate Photography

Your company’s images in one way or another plays an important part of your branding and marketing. Do you want to be seen as the business that uses the same corporate stock photos as others do? Or do you want to have images that express your company’s values and uniqueness.

Why not give us a call on 1300 740 705 or contact us and discuss your company’s corporate photography.
 
Photographers: Lucas & Pat

MC Livinia Nixon & Vince Sorrenti

The Honourable John Howard

Magician James Galea

Fireworks marking the opening of the  Awards Night

Confetti fires over the Awards MC to close the night

Exhibition Booth

Promo Girls at IGA Expo Booth

The Client Brief

Conference: Capture the room setup, speakers and guests engaged and participating in activities.
Expo: Cover the atmosphere, guests and different booths over the 3 days.
Awards Night: Capture the room setup & atmosphere, speakers and all award winners and have award photographs supplied the same night to be released to media.
Gala Dinner: Cover the event from start to finish with a roving photographer. Supply a green screen studio with background to match the 70s Disco theme and provide prints onsite.

Event Photography Fact: Approximately 1,500 images were edited, tweaked and delivered.

Location: Jupiters & Gold Coast Convention & Exhibition Centre
Client: IGA
Event Production Team: Event Production Management

Looking for a professional Conference Photographer?

Do you need a photographer to cover your annual conference that can handle the job with confidence and cater for any special requests? Then contact us today. If you need every single exhibition stand photographed or you have a very special keynote speaker, we have the right attitude and photographers to make your event run smoothly.

When we were asked to cover the Queens Plaza and Chadstone stores for the new launch we couldn’t say no. Mimco stores are such a pleasure to photograph in with such a well designed and themed store, a photographer could spend hours capturing little details such as jewellery and candy. Let’s face it, who doesn’t like candy?! It was obvious that the Mimco guests at the launch loved their candy when the jars were nearly empty way before closing time.

Our brief was simple.

Capture the store. Queens Plaza Store.

Couldn’t miss the Candy Buffet.

Capture some interesting details.

Guests and Staff interacting.

Guests checking out the new range. You should too.

Go check out the range at a store near you.

Client: Mimco.
Event: Mim Precious Product Launch
Check out all the photos from: Queens Plaza, Brisbane & Chadstone, Sydney
Candy Buffet: The Candy Buffet Company & House of Lou Lou
Drinks: Capi Soda
Photographers: Pat & Josephine

Are you launching a new Product or opening a new office?

It doesn’t happen very often so you want to get it right the first time. Do you need a photographer to cover your Product Launch or Office Opening that can handle the job with confidence and proven results? Then contact our event photographers today. Whether it be one or multiple locations across Australia. We’ve got the right attitude and photographers to make your event a success.

Event Organiser: Thomson Street
Setup & Lighting: Staging Dimensions
Catering: Bretts Wharf
Client: Audi Centre Brisbane

This is what happened to a photographer friend of mine recently when flying Jetstar back home to Japan in May 2011. His photograph was stolen from a popular photo sharing website without his knowledge and it was only by chance that he came across his photograph of a Snow Monkey in Japan.

Initial reactions

Now, there are two common responses when this happens to a photographer.
1) “Wow, they picked my photo to be printed”; or
2) “Pretty sure I don’t remember being asked or paid for that image to be used”.

The second response is usually from a serious photographer, full time professional or somebody who values their intellectual property. After all, they have spent a great investment in their camera gear, computer to edit their photographs, insurance and also studying and time to learn the art of photography and even traveling to and from the location the photograph was taken.

My photo got stolen, now what?

14th May. I found out about Trent’s story as it popped up on his Facebook profile and we discussed what the options were publicly (as his Facebook privacy settings allowed anyone to view and read it). As the debate grew, some argued that you shouldn’t pick on a budget Australian airline, others argued that it was great exposure while the rest of those involved agreed that the matter should be followed up and compensation should be made. After all…

• Jetstar may be a budget airline but that is irrelevant. The fact is Jetstar do not compile or publish the magazine. The magazine is outsourced to Ink Global‘s Singapore office and this is where the copyright infringement takes place.
• For those that think being published is great exposure – no credits were given to the photographer.

Curiosity killed the copyright

My curiosity got the better of me and I decided to spend some time to see if any other images were used without the photographer’s permission.

Out of the 14 images in the “International Adventures” section;

• 9 images were found on Flickr,
• 9 of which the photographers had no idea the image was used,
• 1 photographer has yet to respond, 25/6/11 last photographer has made contact
• 2 images had not been found online,
• 3 images came from stock websites.

The Magazine

Let’s have a look at the May 2011 Edition of Jetstar Magazine which has a circulation of 56,500 flying across the world. There is also an online version which can be found at www.jetstarmag.com. The publishers, Ink Global are based in Singapore and for those interested you can read up on Singapore Intellectual Property Law.

Photographs in question

Note: I’ve decided not to post the magazine screen grabs and post them up even though I have permission from photographers to post their images.

Page 104
LHS Photo: Brian Gortney – Sigatoka River
RHS Photo: Not found

Page 106
LHS Photo: spiraldelight – Tsutenkaku
RHS Photo: mctrent – Inspired Snow Monkey

Page 108
LHS Photo: geoftheref – Otara Markets II
RHS Photo: KM’s Photography – Dux de Lux Christchurch

Page 110
LHS Photo: Shutterstock Photo
RHS Photo: Elle Cross – Blue Lights

Page 112
LHS Photo: iStock Photo
RHS Photo: Shutterstock Photo

Page 114
LHS Photo: williamcho – What’s cooking over at Clarke Quay lately?
RHS Photo: Billy Simon – Don’t Fall

Page 116
LHS Photo: Not Found
RHS Photo: Binder.donedat – Phuket Vegetarian Festival

What’s the cost of a stolen image?

Anything and everything. It’s up to the photographer to price their own images and really up to them what compensation they want. There are no pricing rules or structures in photography – there are only guidelines and it’s only through stock websites etc that have usage calculators. A general rule some photographers use for copyright infringement is multiply the value of the image 2.5 to 3 times the normal usage fee. However, other photographers may simply add a copyright infringement fee on top of their usual fee. There are tools such as stock image pricing calculators where you simply list the information such as if the image is used for commercial or editorial use, how long it will remain in circulation, distribution, size of the photo and can also include where geographically.

I have listed the details based on this scenario below.

• Type of usage: Editorial
• Duration of use: Up to 3 months
• Distribution: 50,000 to 100,000
• Size of photo: 1/4 page
• Located: Inside magazine
• Region of Use: Worldwide

Results
Low Price: $175.00
Average Price: $275.00
High Price: $375.00

So based on the average price of $275 x 2.5 the total cost of ONE stolen photo is US$687.50.

Comments from the publisher

I thought it would only be fair to ask the publisher Ink Global to comment on the situation.

15th June

This is a one-off problem which has only recently come to our notice also.

We are investigating to get to the bottom of it.

It is by no means intentional as we manage our international reputation very seriously.

I will also be discussing this matter with Flickr.

I then received another email, this time from the Design Director.

16th June

I am the Design Director in the INK Singapore office.

Please let me explain the situation further and assure you that the irregular use of the images was not intentional.

We, as a company, employ an intern scheme in all areas of our business.
This allows us to help people get a better understanding of our industry and also for us to find potential staff.

In this case we used an Intern in our Picture Department who, we have now realised, used his personal Flickr account to download images without contacting the image creators and also not alerting the editorial team of their source.
This is no excuse and please be assured that I am and will be contacting all the photographers to arrange credit and payment for the use of these images.

As Rachel mentioned we pride ourselves on our professional reputation I will ensure that it does not happen again.

We commonly use Flickr images and value the relationship we have with the contributors to the site.

Giving them benefit of the doubt, perhaps it is a one off occurrence and we all make mistakes, right?

Comments from Flickr’s PR

Instead of guessing what Flickr might say I decided to contact Yahoo’s Copyright Infringement email address which only responded with a generic response, however Flickr’s PR came from a real person (which was nice).

16th June

Flickr takes privacy and copyright issues very seriously. Our members have full control (via settings on their account page) over who can see their photos, download, print, comment on, and search for their photos or even their profile.

We also offer our members a variety of licensing options to support our members’ intellectual property rights. Flickr members have a choice between All Rights Reserved and Creative Commons. Flickr does not own or control the rights to the photos on the Web site and is not in a position to license photos, offer permission for their use, or answer questions on behalf of Flickr members. We strongly encourage individuals or entities wishing to use photos they find on Flickr to contact the owner directly for the appropriate permissions.

Were any of the photographers contacted? Nope. Not a single person. Even after they were told that 9 images were taken from Flickr did Ink Global make ANY attempt to contact the photographers? Of course not. They waited until the photographers contacted them.

A call from Jetstar

17th June

I received a call from Jetstar’s Managing Editor to discuss the situation and they were understanding of the situation. We discussed what the appropriate steps to resolve the problem would be, how to better use images from the web and overall there was an understanding on their part. It was a welcomed conversation and unfortunately when you outsource a magazine with your brand on it you do take a risk.

So what’s the big deal?

The magazine makes a profit from advertising. Ink Global makes a profit from publishing. So why is it such a big deal to spend some money to pay for photographs?
What are the odds that you happen to fly on an airline in a particular month that happens to have your image printed in their in-flight magazine?
Would they have contacted the photographers in question to let them know their error so they could have paid them some sort of remuneration?
Was Jetstar’s inflight magazine publisher willing to take the risks or was it well and truly a big error on their part?

Maybe we could all chip in and send Ink Global a How to Credit poster.

Timeline & Updates

19/5/11
Ink Global Senior Photo Editor accuses Trent of changing the Creative Commons – Attribution – NonCommercial 2.0 Generic and asks for proof that it wasn’t changed after reading his Facebook profile.

12/06/11
More photographs are found in the magazine and more photographers contact Ink Global. Senior Photo Editor then passes all correspondence to the Ink Global Editor.

21/06/11
Design director compares the requested fees with previous invoices they have from previous image purposes. Reminder: Previous images weren’t stolen!

22/06/11
Ink Global include their Legal Manager in the emails and accuse a photographer of blackmail.

23/6/11
mctrent has received payment of $100SGD after original offer was $75SGD
geoftheref has agreed on $200SGD, payment to still be made
Brian Gortney’s image had a watermark which had been cropped out he is still in negotiations with Ink Global along with other photographers.

24/6/11
Billy Simon has been refereed to Ink Global’s legal department and still in negoitations
William Cho has updated his Flickr about the incident

25/6/11
The last photographer has responded and had no idea their image was used and hadn’t been contacted by Ink Global

27/06/11
Ink Global finally contacted a photographer before they contacted them
William Cho has been offered $750SGD but the deadline given to Ink Global has expired and has rejected the offer
Binder.donedat has accepted payment of $100SGD, payment to still be made

28/06/11
I had received a call from Ink Global’s London office who have informed me that they were contacting photographers involved and that they were indeed looking at tightening up procedures.

29/06/11
Article about the story was published in Singapore’s New Paper.

My Take and Personal Opinion – 11th July, 2011

As the world wide web continues to grow and we are encouraged to share our knowledge, ideas and of imagery there will be an increase in Intellectual Property (IP) theft. Whether it be intentional or by accident the IP owner will have the option to claim damages, but how far they want to drive the matter rests on the individual as it can be a long tiresome process and/or costly to go through a legal representative.

In this case, the photographers and Ink Global were indeed both lucky. How?
Ink Global had acknowledged the error and offered compensation. Unfortunately on their part, their original offer was more a kick to the face to the photographers then anything which kinda annoyed several people.  So this was a win to the photographers as Ink Global then began proper and fare negotiations.

So what was Ink Global’s benefit in this scenario? In Singapore and also here in Australia, copyright is automatic so the photographers didn’t need to register their work like US photographers and artists do. The IP infringement law in Singapore when found guilty can cost up to $10,000 per image. So you could imagine 9 photographers combining their efforts, that’s a potential loss of $90,000 plus legal fees. A costly mistake indeed.

Should any photographers find themselves in a situation where your images have been taken without your authorisation or credited, you have the right to contact the infringer however it will be taken more seriously through a legal representative. What you don’t want to do is come out swinging with fireballs shooting from your eyes and mouth trying to drag the person/business/company down. It’s unprofessional and if it was an honest mistake on their part, sure they may (and should) compensate you – but don’t burn your bridges. You never know, your next assignment could be coming from them.

Media Links

• He posted picture on Flickr and it turned up in a magazine …
• FLICKR SNAPPER GETS COMPENSATION

Other useful links on Copyright

• In Australia, we have the Australian Copyright Council who provide a wealth of information
• Understanding Copyright And Licenses
• 10 Rules of US Copyright Infringement
• Photo Attorney
• Your images are stolen, now what?
• What to do when your images are stolen online

Similar Cases

• Chris Frear has image stolen off Flickr
• BBC uses copyright image from Flickr
• Making money from your stolen images
• Stolen Images | Alan Hess Photography
• Singapore Press Holdings steals image
• What’s the point of even having copyright?, Flickr Page
• You thought we wouldn’t notice
• Is Flickr giving away your photography lunch?
• Invoice Cake to People.com
• Unauthorized and/or Uncredited

Special Thanks

• TinEye Reverse Image Search
• Google Reverse  Image Search

About Me.

My name is Pat and I’m the Director of Event Photos Australia. The above post is based on facts through emails and phone calls I have received with the photographers involved as well as my communications between Ink Global, Flickr and Jetstar.

Why do I care?
It first got my attention when a personal friend, Trent, was involved and I was simply giving some basic advice on the options he could take. It wasn’t until I looked into the situation a bit further and contacted the other photographers that I found there were a lot more cases (in this edition alone, who want’s to go through previous editions?). As I looked at Intellectual Property Laws and what rights people have it became very interesting. For example, which country’s laws do you go by? The country you’re in, the country the magazine is in or the country the publisher is in.

I quickly found that there were a lot of people asking the same questions and this became more about gathering research not only on how to protect images online as photographers, but also getting information on where you can get photographs online and what steps to take to get proper licensing should you ever come across a photo you would like to use in your printed or online material. I hope this is an eye opener to not only photographers but anyone who uses the internet to source images.

Avast ye land lubbers! The MFAA 2011 Convention Gala Dinner themed “Pirates of the Caribbean” did not disappoint as Maske Trio opened the show with the theme of Pirates of the Caribbean. Roaming the seas were scurvy wenches on stilts, a magician, a characturist and The Pirate Captain (Jack Sparrow impersonator).

Shiver me timbers! World-class magician Matt Hollywood even came out to find ye some treasures and performed the most incredible illusions.

Pirates and wenches also danced the night away to  Brisbane’s hottest party band The Accidents who also came in costume which topped the theme perfectly.

Links
Concept & Production: Event Production Management
Event: MFAA Convention
Venue: Brisbane Convention & Exhibition Centre

Are you planning a Gala Dinner?

Looking for Gala Dinner Photographers that can cover your special night without any hassles so you can enjoy your night without having to worry? Then contact us today. Whether you need one or a team of photographers, or perhaps you need some photos supplied onsite or maybe even printed to give to your special guests, we have a solution for you.