It’s the internet, do you know where your children are?

SourceURL:file://localhost/Users/Hannahsgs/Documents/It%E2%80%99s%20the%20Internet.doc

I received a very interesting call from a friend/client today wondering about something that seems to be coming up for families with children as digital photography grows: She was approached and offered “free” portraits of her daughter in exchange for the photographs being used on a photo sharing or stock photography website. She was unclear on how these sites work, and the future of the images, and ultimately whether it seemed like a good idea to get involved at all. This seems a very timely question, especially as digital tools have empowered many enthusiasts to begin to venture into the realm of “professional” photography.  These kinds of offers seem to be becoming more common, and my friend is not the only parent who has approached me with a question about the pros and cons.

The advice I gave to her, and that I would give to anyone wondering about giving away the rights to their children’s likeness(or getting involved in any venture, really!) is this: If you have any reservations and have expressed those to the person making the offer, and they are unable to amend the offer in such a way as to put your fears utterly to rest, do not get involved.

I love making photographs, and I love sharing those photographs, but I-and every photographer-am providing a service as much as I am providing my own unique vision. There have been many times in my practice that people have asked that I not put their images online-site unseen. It’s important to explain that as an artist, we all make our living sharing our creations, just as it is important for us as professionals who understand the nuanced laws of intellectual property to explain those that might affect our clients.  In this case, though a person may be featured in a photograph, and may receive a CD of images as a part of an agreement with a photographer for personal use, the rights to use and credit of those images remains entirely with the photographer, unless specific terms have been stipulated in a release or contract.

Though using images when asked not to is legal for photographers, whether or not it is ethical is something each must decide for themselves; personally, I like happy clients that feel they can trust me and that I appreciate their individual sense of privacy and dignity, but the conversation does need to take place about usage, and requires a calm mind and a gentle touch.  How I typically approach this situation is with a direct and sensitive dialogue with my clients.   I try to choose images with their boundaries in mind and ask their approval before sharing anything I’ve created for them. I have found in almost every instance, this remedies the potential unease. I suggested to my friend in this case that she ask the hopeful photographer to make her an offer including restriction of the use of her daughter’s image to media she is comfortable with.  I reiterated to her that if any red flags remain in her mind, or the photographer is unwilling to compromise, to simply say “Thank you but no thank you.”  This is her child, after all.

The ugly truth is this: In photo sharing sites, such as Flickr, anyone can view and download any image essentially free of charge; for an aspiring photographer, they often participate in stock photography sites such as iStockPhoto, where virtually any image can be purchased by anyone for fees as low as $0.95. Once that purchase has been made, the photographer loses control of how the image is used, and no one knows where it goes except the person who purchased it. Most parents I’ve talked to about this have a creepy-crawly feeling when thinking of their children’s image being used in mysterious ways by mysterious people, especially those who might anonymously make a buck off of it.  Hence, my red-flag warning. Also, if agreeing to accept photographs in exchange for providing a model, do not expect to see any proceeds of image sales. In most of those sites, a photographer must sell an image thousands of times before they see a substantial chunk. Again, without the existence of a contract or specified terms in a model release, you also lose control of the image once it’s created. So parents, be aware. Ask questions. The internet is a useful tool, but as with any tool, it can cause unintentional harm in it’s use.

It seems to be that the answer to this question-as with most-is communication. I am possessed of the belief that people in general are not really malicious, just perhaps a little short-sighted, or simply unaware of someone else’s position. So, to empower all clients and potential clients, and all my fellow photographers, we must make our positions clear to one another; it falls to each of us to know and state our boundaries in this age of massive online exposure. It is important for an artist and photographer to have the freedom to make their living and provide a high standard of work.  Our goal when providing service to a client is to make them happy, and having the opportunity to do so without making unknown errors relies on the client to be clear with us on their hopes and their fears.  So often people don’t realize that simply voicing feelings and desires can open doors to creatives such as myself to find imaginative solutions to make each party happy. To keep our relationships well, recipients of service must be clear and courageous enough to ask questions and clarify limits, and the providers must be plain in explanations of terms; in this way, we can remain ethical in the treatment of each other. And if you are lucky enough to get an offer of free portraits, savor them, but keep in mind the old adage that you may get what you pay for!

The advice I gave to her, and that I would give to anyone wondering about giving away the rights to their children’s image(or getting involved in any venture at all, really!) is this: If you have any reservations and have expressed those to the person making the offer, and they are unable to amend the offer in such a way as to put your fears utterly to rest, don’t get involved.

I love making images, and I love sharing images, but I-and every photographer-am providing a service as much as I am providing my own unique vision. There have been many times in my practice that people have asked that I not put their images online-site unseen. As an artist, I make my living sharing my images, and it is very important for clients to understand that, just as it is important for us as professionals who understand the nuanced laws of Intellectual Property Rights to make it understood that though a person may be featured in a photograph, and you may receive a CD of images as a part of your agreement with your photographer for your own use, the use and credit of those images remains entirely with the photographer(unless of course, other terms have been stipulated in a release or contract).

Now, though using images when asked not to is legal, whether or not it is ethical is something each must decide for themselves; personally, I like happy clients that feel they can trust me and that I appreciate their individual sense of privacy and dignity. And the way I typically approach this situation is with a direct and sensitive dialogue with clients, and try to choose images with their boundaries in mind and ask their approval before sharing anything I’ve created for them. I have found in almost every instance, this remedies the potential for unease. I suggested to my client she ask the potential photographer to make her an offer either restricting the use of her daughter’s image to media she is comfortable with. And I reiterated to her that if ANY red flags remain in her mind, or the photographer(which seems very unlikely) is unwilling to compromise, to simply say “Thank you but no thank you.”  I mean, this is her child.

The ugly truth is this: In most photo sharing sites, with the exception of lucrative higher end ones(any links or info anyone cares to share to expand for everyone on this is much appreciated; I’m pretty long winded as it is!), anyone can view and purchase any image for a very nominal fee. Once that purchase has been made, the photographer also loses control of how the image is used, and where in the universe it goes to. Most parents have a creepy-crawly feeling when thinking of their children’s image being used in mysterious ways by mysterious people, and hence, my red-flag warning. Also, do not expect, if agreeing to being given photographs in exchange for providing a model that you will see any proceeds of image sales. In most of those sites, a photographer must sell an image thousands of times before they even see a substantial chunk. Again, without the existence of a contract or specified terms in a model release, you also lose control of the image once it’s created. So parents, be aware. Ask questions. The internet is a tool, but as with any tool, it can cause unintentional harm in it’s use.

The answer, to me, as a human being who wants to make art, and wants to make people happy, is-as with most things-communication. I am of the belief that people in general are not really malicious, just sometimes short-sighted, or simply unaware of someone else’s position. So, to empower all clients and potential clients, and all my fellow photographers, let’s make our positions clear to one another; talk about what makes people comfortable in this age of massive online exposure. It is important to give an artist and photographer the freedom to make their living and provide a high standard of work and also an opportunity to make our clients happy; so often people don’t realize that simply voicing your feelings and hopes can open doors to creative types to find creative solutions to make us all happy. It falls to all of us to be clear and communicative to keep our relationships well, and to be ethical in the treatment of each other. And if you are lucky enough to get an offer of free portraits(I’m not even going to touch whether this is considered a “best practice” in this conversation!), savor them! That is indeed a special treat!

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