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Key words in this issue: Contracts | Time of Day | Legal Questions | Appeal Help | Stock Photo |

NEWSWORDS: Kodak Profit | Photos of the Year | Hidden Cameras | Photographer Assaulted | AP Photo Managers | Canadians | Africa | Nikon |

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## PhotoAIM weekly newsletter for 11/01/02 ## 385e

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PhotoAIM, the weekly newsletter from PhotoSource

ISSN 1530-0511

If you no longer wish to receive PhotoAIM, see the instructions at the end of this newsletter.

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YOU AND THE LAW

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It Pays to Get It in Writing

National Geographic Oral Contracts - Split Decision

The failure to put an agreement in writing can have ramifications years, even decades, later.

I am sure that all of you have, or know someone who has, completed deals, assignments or jobs, with minimal or no paperwork. You may also have had situations where proposed agreements were actually prepared but never finalized before performance was completed, and never finalized because you were paid, or were on to the next assignment, or simply through inertia.

This can be a very costly oversight, as a recent decision points out.

WAS IT WORK-FOR-HIRE?

The case, Ward v. The National Geographic Society, brought in the United States District Court for the Southern District of New York, involved National Geographic's digitalization of its archive of all past issues of National Geographic Magazine, and claims that the production and sale of that product infringe the plaintiff's copyrights in and to his photographs which appeared in the archival issues of the magazine.

The photographs were created on assignment between 1964 and 1978 and the rights were thus controlled under the old (1909) Copyright Act.

The issues therefore concerned ownership of the images and licensing rights in situations where there was no written agreement as to usage.

The Court found conflicting evidence as to whether most of the images were created as work made for hire, and what the custom and usage in the industry was at that time. It therefore left these issues for trial. The Court also found that a clear written change by National Geographic as to its policy precluded a finding that custom and usage applied on a different series of images, and since the photographer could not produce any other evidence in his favor, the Court dismissed these claims.

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This week's featured photographer on PhotoSourceFolio: Jim Umhoefer:

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TRAVEL NOTES

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That Time of Day

When taking travel pictures, it cannot be stressed enough that the time of day is so important. Well, there are always occasions when it doesn’t matter much about the light -- getting the image is the key factor, although this is more to do with news and reportage photography. But to make tourist pictures become travel photography, the right light to shoot in is paramount.

Recently, I've traveled to Rome, Italy, courtesy of friends who asked me to look after their house. This was luxury; I was there long enough to pick the right time to shoot! So I did, and I got a set of pictures which should do well, since most major tourist attractions can be photographed any number of times because of changing fashions in clothes, cars and even street furniture -- not to mention light.

So here is a rundown of some of the main sights in Rome and when I considered the best times of the day to shoot them, in mid-summer with the sun in the right place for the classic view:

1.) Spanish Steps - 2-3pm

2.) Colosseum - 5-6pm; 7.30pm even better

3.) Trevi Fountain - 2-3pm

4.) Castel Sant’Angelo - 10am-2pm

5.) Piazza Navonna - 11am-12pm

6.) St Peters - 10-11am for views of the church. 4-5pm Top of St. Peters Dome

You will get good results at other times, of course, but the kind of results the above times give are something like you will see on postcards everywhere in Rome.

I found that I had to use the 20mm lens a lot more than usual, and surprisingly even the 17mm lens in many places, but not just to get a ‘wacky’ image. At the Trevi Fountain, for instance, the only way to get the whole thing in frame was to use the 17mm and get right up to centre front, which meant that although there were many hundreds of people there, I didn’t get a single one in the shot!

Now I have had the films processed, had a look through them with the usual mixture of happy surprises and gloomy disappointments, and got them off to my main photo library to be looked at for selection. Hopefully they will pick enough and get them online fairly smartly, and that’s when it gets really exciting -- waiting for those checks to roll in!

BUSINESS NOTEPAD

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LEGAL QUESTIONS AND DEFENSE HOTLINE for photojournalists is available at 1-800-336-4243. This is an urgent "Hotline" and is available 24 hours for journalists and media lawyers. For non-emergency calls or questions, call 1-703-807-2100 during normal office hours -- 9 a.m. to 6 p.m. Eastern time. Student journalists with questions about scholastic media should call the Student Press Law Center, 1-703-807-1904. For more information about The Reporters Committee for Freedom of the Press, write to rcfp@rcfp.org or, 1815 Fort Myers Drive, Suite 900, Arlington, VA 22209.

EASY MODEL TECHNIQUE. People picture takers can use a marketing technique similar to the one PhotoDisc uses to fill its catalog of faces. Ask friends, neighbors, and relatives to be models for your CD of "people pictures." You pay them one time, in return for putting their picture on your CD . (This payment can be in the form of barter, an exchange of services, portraits, or cash.) You distribute the CD to your regular customers. Here's where your marketing method differs from that of PhotoDisc, which charges a one-time fee for their disc. Rather than having them pay you for the CD's, you allow the publisher to download the photos into their "rental database," where they reside with unique identification until they are selected for use in the future, at which time the publisher then pays you. Since these are rental pictures, you can control how the picture(s) will be used, and receive payment for each use. -RE

ADS WE’VE READ

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QUOTE OF THE WEEK

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"Being inspired is fine for a week, and being motivated might work for a

month or so, but to make any lifestyle change last a lifetime, you need

dedication. "

–John Bingham, running columnist

FREE THIS WEEK

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FREE information about government bids. The leading online governmental bid and RFP listing service. A simple way for business owners to find local, state and federal bid opportunities.

THIS WEEK'S WEB FEATURE

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Display your photos on your own personal web page on our PSI web site. Visit the PhotoSourceFolio and see how other photographers are displaying their work.

Watch for developments in the field of stock photography in PhotoAIM's

PHOTOGRAPHY IN THE NEWS

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You'll be the first to know…

Note: If the URL is long, it may extend to two lines. In that case - clicking on it won't work. Instead, "copy and paste" the URL.

Kodak Profit Triples, Sets New Job Cuts -Photography giant Eastman Kodak Co. said third-quarter profit tripled on streamlined operations, but said it plans to cut up to 1,700 jobs to further trim costs amid slack sales.

'Editor&Publisher Names 3rd Annual Photos Of the Year - Press photographers, as usual, have spotted moving or revealing images.

Producer and photographer hit the streets armed with hidden cameras to find out - Does the money encourage drug and alcohol use? San Francisco voters will decide whether to cut off most cash welfare grants to the homeless. At San Francisco's check-cashing stores, the lines are long on the first and 15th of the month when general assistance checks are given out.

A newspaper photographer says former soccer star Diego Maradona grabbed him by the neck as he was trying to take a photograph

AP Photo Managers Hold Meeting - the new Associated Press Photo Managers group is holding its inaugural get-together. The new group is modeled on the APME and gives photo managers an opportunity to discuss common problems among themselves as well as bring their concerns to The Associated Press.

Exhibit Features African Images

NIKON DUMPS FALLON Camera Company Cites Creative Differences

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385e

Next Week: The Art of Selling Your Photos

"Sell & ReSell Your Photos is always mentioned as a must-have guide to those attending my workshops."

- John Messineo, Photographer-Writer, Fort Collins CO