Alex Sablan - Web Designer

Tuesday, January 10, 2012

This Image Is Not Free

This Image Is Not Free, originally uploaded by Extra Medium.

A great photo and an even better polite rant about how much copyrights mean to a photographer.

Via Flickr:
So this was the first sunset I captured in 2012. It cost me $6,612 to take this photo.

$12 in gas to go from work to this spot and then home. The camera I took this with cost $2500. The lens was another $1600. The Singh Ray Reverse Neutral Density filter was $210. The Lee Wide-Angle Adapter and Foundation kit was another $200. The Slik Tripod was another $130. The shutter-release was another $60. When I got home, I uploaded it to a computer that cost me $1200, and then I used Lightroom 3 which I got for $200. I then exported it and tinkered with it in Photoshop which costs about $500.

12+2500+1600+210+200+130+60+1200+200+500= $6,612

So if you’re a magazine, website, corporation, sports team, or advertiser who wishes to use this photo, please don’t come and ask to use it for free, or in exchange for credit or "exposure". You found my photo so obviously I have "exposure". You have an advertising budget, and this is what it's for. You obviously don't expect your writers to work for free, or your secretary, or your boss. No one is going to publish it for free. Just because the picture is digital doesn't mean it was free to make.

As someone mentioned, THIS single photo didn't cost me $6,612, but if you wanted to create it, from scratch, that is what is involved. So I consider it the replacement value if it's stolen, or how much my lawyer will send you a bill for if it's found being used without my permission.

If you give your photo away for “credit” then the best possible scenario for you is someone will see your photo, contact you, and ask if they could borrow one of your photos…. for credit. Try this... next time you're at dinner, tell your waiter you'll tell all your friends how good the service was if he gives you dinner for free.

Monday, October 3, 2011

Scott Kelby's WorldWide PhotoWalk 2011 - Fountain Square - Cincinnati, Ohio Group

Scott Kelby's WorldWide PhotoWalk 2011 - Fountain Square - Cincinnati, Ohio Group , a set on Flickr.

Via Flickr:
Photos by Alex Sablan taken during Scott Kelby's Worldwide Photowalk in Cincinnati, Ohio on October 1st, 2011. Our walk started at Fountain Sqaure. I wish I could tell you more but I was just following the group looking around for stuff to shoot. Not being from the Nati, I couldn't give you much info on what I shot or who for that matter. music by "Free Royalty Free Music by DanoSongs.com"