Advice for Photo Assistants: Chasing the Paper

by Demetrius Fordham

After my guest post on general photo assisting tips, my inbox was flooded with suggestions and questions on different aspects of the industry. One of the themes that came up consistently in emails and comment threads was money: how photo assistants can ensure fair rates and timely payments, how to keep track of invoicing and billing, etc. While I don’t have all the answers, I’ve learned a thing or two about handling the money side of photo assisting, and have developed some guidelines and processes that have worked for me. Obviously, everybody goes about their business differently, so feel free to use this info as a jump-off point for further dialogue.

One: Ask the money questions up front

One of the most important things I’ve learned is to cut the bullshit and just ask the money questions right off the bat. You’re doing business, after all. Before you even accept the job, ask: What’s the day rate? Is there OT (overtime after ten hours)? Is the job advertising or commercial? (If money is being generated through the pictures that are being taken you should be compensated accordingly). Are the travel days paid? Also, get the billing details (are you invoicing the photographer, the photo agency or the production company?) up front, or at least before the job begins. That way, you can just seamlessly shoot off the invoice right after the shoot (I’ll talk more about this later). It sucks, but handling your business, literally, at the very beginning ensures that you’re not wasting brain space thinking about money on the day of, and that everyone’s on the same page. Payment-wise, anyway.

Two: Know your rates

In my experience, no matter how much money a company or publication has, many will still try to cut corners. You’ll also deal with photographers who’ll try to squeeze on rates. But if you know your rates, you’re less likely to get taken advantage of. For U.S. photo assistants, editorial (magazine) rates should be around $250 for a ten-hour day. It’s common to hear $200 or even $150 from some publications, and though this might have been fine in the 80s, there’s that pesky little thing called inflation. If you think your time and services are valuable, fight for that $250.

For advertising gigs, $350 for a ten-hour day is acceptable, but first assistants that work regularly for the same photographer can command day rates of $400 and upwards. Digital tech rates start at around $500 for a ten-hour day. While this might seem like a lot in comparison to the aforementioned assistant rates, the responsibility of organizing workflow and archiving and processing the entire shoot is worth that money. Also, after ten hours, time-and-a-half is the norm. Make sure you keep track of how many OT hours you’ve done so you can bill accurately and ensure you don’t get short-changed.

Three: Bill accurately, and ASAP

Bill directly after the job if possible, or within one day after. It goes without saying, but the sooner you bill, the sooner you get paid. (Also, this way the job is still fresh in everyone’s mind). Like I said earlier, it helps if you get all the billing details upfront.

A note on billing: the photo industry is not standardized and you can be confronted with a different system of billing and invoicing with each job. It’s important to find out whether you’re being treated as an independent contractor or an employee. If you’re an independent contractor, you’re treated as your own business and will be asked to provide a W9 form at the end of a job (I keep one scanned on my desktop, signed and ready to go, so it’s easy to attach to an email). You’ll later receive a 1099 form from your client, so you’ll be able to reconcile your taxes. Alternatively, you could be treated as a temporary employee: this comes with the added benefit of having your taxes already deducted from your “paycheck,” and instead of a 1099, you’ll get a W2. Just some things to note, which leads me to my next point.

Four: Get organized. OCD-like organized

Unless you’re one of the rare salaried assistants out there, then, like me, you’ve got to make this freelancing thing work for you. This means keeping your shop in order: scrupulously tracking all your outgoing invoices, monitoring what money you’ve received and what payments are still outstanding, etc. I use Blinkbid which I think is a pretty sweet billing program for photo assistants and photographers. It keeps track of all of the above and allows you to send email reminders when payments are due. Keeping everything organized will also allow you to keep an eye on your steady revenue stream (or lack thereof), which is crucial for freelancers like us.

Five: Chase that paper

Even if you’ve followed all the steps up until this point, the sad truth is that there’s no guarantee you’ll get paid when you want, even if you’re getting the rate you want. Often studios, locations and equipment rentals all get paid up front, so it boggles me why photographers and their assistants should wait – but that’s the reality. That said, don’t wait more than 30 days to get paid. If you’ve hit the three-week mark and still haven’t gotten your check, follow up with a quick email.

Realistically though, payment can sometimes take over 30 days. I’m not going to lie: that’s annoying as hell. In these cases, if it’s a client I’ve worked with before and I know are truly trying to get me paid, I’ll let it slide with weekly friendly reminders until I get my money. This typically works, and I’ll usually get paid a couple of weeks outside the initial 30-day mark. Should it take any longer than that, I strongly suggest you sign up for Square. It’s a smartphone app/device that allows you to accept credit card payments, which will give the photographer, production company or agency the ability to pay you while buying them time (ideally with the money they receive from their client, by the time their bill is due. But that’s not really your problem). Any longer than 60 days and I’ve known assistants take the matter to small claims court – also the route I would take, but thankfully, I haven’t been in that situation.

If you have any more tips or questions on how to handle money, invoicing and billing, or finances in general as a photo assistant, feel free to comment below or get discussion flowing on the Photo Assistants’ Association Facebook page.

To Be A Member The Majority Of Your Income Must Come From The Publication Of Your Images

Our Constitution currently states that to be a General Member (GM) one must be, amongst other things, a “photographer(s) for whom the majority of their earned income comes from publication of their images.”  Some of our GM’s currently make less than 51% of their income in this way and would not qualify to become a GM today.  For those who did qualify and find themselves adjusting their careers in such a way that they no longer meet this requirement, what should they do? Well there is no system in place that forces them to re-apply for General Membership at any time.  Once a GM, always a GM.   So seriously, what should they do?

via ASMP.

The Daily Edit
GQ : Phil Toledano

Monday:  4.8.13

Design Director: Fred Woodward
Creative Director: Jim Moore
Director of Photography: Dora Somosi
Senior Photo Editor: Krista Prestek
Photo Editor: Justin O’Neil
Art Director: Chelsea Cardinal
Photographer: Phil Toledano

This Week In Photography Books – Tony Fouhse

by Jonathan Blaustein

I picked up a nasty virus in Mexico the other day. No, not the Montezuma’s-revenge-type-thing. I’ve had that one before, though. Nasty business. Over the course of a twenty-six hour bus ride from Juarez to Mazatlan, I brazenly ate food from filthy roadside taco stands. The flies were buzzing around the fetid meat, which had obviously been sitting in the sun for hours.

Why would I do such a thing? I had a strong stomach and a small brain. I can handle it, I assumed. Over the course of a miserable four-day illness, I remember thinking how some lessons have to be learned the hard way. They say youth is wasted on the young, but really, if we don’t learn from our mistakes, what’s the point of it all?

Now, though, I’m struggling with an evil sore throat that feels like I’ve got an acorn back there. Every time I swallow, it’s like I’m rubbing sandpaper over my swollen squirrel’s treat. As it’s a virus, there was no tidy anti-biotic to quickly squash the little bugger. Instead, I’m hopped up on doctor prescribed percoset. (So if my ramblings are slightly less coherent today, please forgive.)

I paid for my poor choice of taco selection, but only for a few days. The suffering was brief, and the ramifications of my decision-making were not life-altering. Thank goodness. Because other youthful mistakes can be deadly. The alcohol-fueled cockiness that leads to drunk driving. The pent-up testosterone-rage that leads to violence. The foolish sense of immortality that allows for the first taste of forbidden addictions.

Honestly, I never want this column to be too dour. Sometimes, I like to write about light and fluffy things, but I’m at the mercy of the book-stack. I reach into the pile, and respond to the quality of other artists’ visions. (So if you crave a book on Easter eggs this week, I’ll disappoint.) But if you’re looking to see how an artist deals with one of the most serious social problems of our times, then today’s book certainly belongs beside Mr. Rochkind and Ms. Emdur’s offerings. (The two previous columns.)

“Live Through This”, published by STRAYLIGHT Press, is packaged smartly. I faced a plastic sleeve, sealed with a carefully placed sticker. Open it up, and there is a cardboard cover, secured with a single rubber band. There is no artist name, or any info beyond the title. I was intrigued. The first blank page features only the pencil signature by the artist, Tony Fouhse. Turn again, and you get a small story about Stephanie, and how she should have died, to make what follows a better story. What?

I’ll cut to the chase, and give you the crux of the narrative, as you don’t actually have the ability to slowly parse it out, page by page. (Unless you buy the book, which I would recommend.) Apparently, Mr. Fouhse was photographing heroin and crack junkies in Ottawa, and asked the young Stephanie MacDonald if he could take her picture. It’s the first portrait in the book, and she has a stunned-but-vacant look in her eye, a pock-marked face, and a staggering Eat Me tattoo just above her lady parts.

Thus began a relationship in which the artist offered to help Ms. MacDonald get clean. He intervened in her life, setting up a rehab stint, and stood by her when she had brain surgery, due to a dirty needle. The pictures throughout the book are accompanied by Stephanie’s own diaristic text, replete with bad spelling. (Who am I to criticize? I have typos almost every week.)

The pictures are certainly difficult to look at, but unlike those Meth-head billboards they have up some places, (I mean you, Colorado,) these images are not just meant to scare. They’re intimate and caring, while also representing a vision of reality that we don’t want to see, but should. Powerful stuff.

While I’m pretty sure Hollywood has not yet relocated to Canada, despite Vancouver’s sterling reputation for filmmaking, this book does have a happy ending. Stephanie cleans up, and even spent some time living with Mr. Fouhse and his wife. There is a cool little insert in the back that includes Stephanie’s entire narrative, the results of a drug test properly passed, and a signed portrait of her, post-addiction, with clear skin.

Drugs are a problem that will not go away. Despite being illegal, outlawed, the demand never dies. At present, the people reaping the rewards are often armed thugs, gangs of killers. So people push for legalization, which will bring tax benefits, and shift the profits elsewhere. Who will make the money instead? I’m not sure that’s been addressed.

But like David Simon demonstrated in his provocative “Hamsterdam” scenario in “The Wire,” even legalization will not tie a pretty pink bow on this intractable problem. People will succumb to addiction, do horrible things, and then die lonely deaths, either way. I had a cousin who went that way, despite seeming to have everything to live for. Demons often win in the end.

This book is a beautiful counterpoint to the misery, and a valuable lesson to us all. I know journalists are often in a position of having to tell the story, rather than intervene. That’s just the way it is. But here is a case where someone’s creative practice and generous heart made a difference in a young girl’s life. One less corpse to be discovered, and hauled off to the morgue.

Bottom Line: Difficult photographs of young woman’s climb out of addiction

To Purchase “Live Through This” Visit Photo-Eye

Full Disclosure: Books are provided by Photo-Eye in exchange for links back for purchase.

Books are found in the bookstore and submissions are not accepted.

 

Getty Loaning Images Instead Of Licensing Them

Getty is allowing CafePress to choose from their thousands of Royalty-Free* images and authorizing them to sell those photographs on mouse-pads, coffee mugs, and other products all around the world, free of commitment. CafePress only owes Getty money on every individual item sold, essentially putting these photographs on consignment, thus allowing CafePress to increase their “inventory” of products, with our beautiful images, without spending anything out-of-pocket.

More: NEWS – Remi Thornton Photography.

Art Producers Speak: Joanna McClure

We emailed Art Buyers and Art Producers around the world asking them to submit names of established photographers who were keeping it fresh and up-and-comers who they are keeping their eye on. If you are an Art Buyer/Producer or an Art Director at an agency and want to submit a photographer anonymously for this column email: Suzanne.sease@verizon.net

Anonymous Art Producer: I nominate Joanna McClure

How many years have you been in business?

I have been shooting on my own for about 2 years.

Are you self-taught or photography school taught?

I studied photography at Savannah College of Art and Design- though I would say that most of what I know was learned from trial and error.

Who was your greatest influence that inspired you to get into this business?

There are many- Sarah Moon, early Nylon Magazine, the movie Great Expectations, the illustrator Julie Verhoeven, the band Hum,Yelena Yemchuk, Dazed and Confused magazine. There is not a straight forward answer but these were the things that, collectively, made me realize I was interested in visual expression at an early age.

How do you find your inspiration to be so fresh, push the envelope, stay true to yourself so that creative folks are noticing you and hiring you?

This question has two answers, one very straight forward and one is a bit more esoteric. I find my inspiration by looking for it. Anywhere. I read constantly and this helps me develop images in my head. I constantly look at art ( I am not married only to photography).  I watch almost every movie that comes out. I am always searching for something to highten my sense of what is possible. The other way I find inspiration is through my work. Work begets work-an idea may come through experimenting with something and this diverges into something totally different. Often my work starts out as an interest in texture, or how two materials work together.

Do you find that some creatives love your work but the client holds you back?

If ever there are times that I feel held back, it is in the final edit- I may submit what I consider a really strong edit, but the client may need something that fits the layout better, or serves their audience in a different way. In those times the work starts to get a bit watered down- perhaps moving away from what I am drawn to initially. But it all has its purpose.

What are you doing to get your vision out to the buying audience?

Approaching people in a personal way is very important to me-even though emails and promos can be far from personal, I try to keep the visuals in line with my vision so people feel like they know what they are going to get when they hire me.

What is your advice for those who are showing what they think the buyers want to see?

How can you ever know what someone else wants to see? You must create your own market.

Are you shooting for yourself and creating new work to keep your artistic talent true to you?

Yes- this is the most important part of my work.

How often are you shooting new work?

At least weekly, if not daily. If I am not shooting it, I am thinking about how to shoot it.

Joanna McClure is a photographer living and working in New York City. Her style combines portraiture, fashion, and still life- all with a common sensibility. Color plays a large role in her photography, where mood is often dictated by the color choice and use of light. Often described as  “fashion from the outside,” Joanna’s work tends to mix fashion with fine-art, blurring the line between the two. Her work has been shown in numerous editorials as well as gallery showings. Most recently, a group show at 511 Gallery in Chelsea, New York
www.joannamcclure.com
www.joannamcclure.tumblr.com
www.iheartreps.com

APE contributor Suzanne Sease currently works as a consultant for photographers and illustrators around the world. She has been involved in the photography and illustration industry since the mid 80s, after founding the art buying department at The Martin Agency then working for Kaplan-Thaler, Capital One, Best Buy and numerous smaller agencies and companies. She has a new Twitter fed with helpful marketing information.  Follow her@SuzanneSease.

Format ’13, Derby, UK

by Jonathan Blaustein

We used to have a film festival here in Taos. It took place in early April each year. Everybody in town would get excited, as there were opportunities to see films to which residents would otherwise not have access. (Pre-Netflix, obviously.) The locals loved it, and the film-makers did too. I got to meet James Coburn, so that was cool.

I worked for the festival in 1997, as an overly confident twenty-two year old. All bluster and little experience, I was hired as the Volunteer Co-ordinator, meant to boss around dozens of older folks who were working for free. I was hired last minute, as the original VC was poorly-equipped for the position, and subsequently fired.

I was told to do whatever I saw fit with the volunteers, so my first act was to handpick an assistant. Why not make my job easier, I thought. I went through the list, and chose a middle-aged female attorney who’d recently moved to Taos. She seemed sharp, and ended up helping immeasurably.

Within a year, she’d been elevated to Executive Director of the organization. A few years later, the festival was defunct. (Not that I’m blaming her, mind you.) There was some debt accrued at the beginning that could never be dealt with properly, and the best of intentions are not always enough. Competence, across a broad swath of areas, is required to run a successful event over time.

So I was displeased, if not completely surprised, at my experience with the Format Festival in England over the last six months. It gives me no pleasure to write this article, and I’ve certainly given some consideration to why there used to be boundaries between artists and journalists. Ethically, the tale that follows seem important to share, as I know our readers look to us for helpful information about what goes on inside the industry. But I’ve spent many a moment wondering whether this will damage the “artist” portion of my career.

Here’s the breakdown.

I met the Artistic Director of the festival at FotoFest last year. She seemed nice, and I was glad when she wrote a few months later to say the submission process to Format ’13 was about to open. Cool, I thought. If she took the time to reach out, I assumed they must be interested in my work.

Like the many competitions that exist around the world, there was a fee involved in submitting work for consideration. Nothing huge, but still, it cost something. When I didn’t hear back a month beyond the original deadline for replies, I knew things were not efficient as one might hope. Still, I wanted it to work out, and was thrilled when my work was accepted. Having an international exhibition on my resumé seemed like a great career move, and I’m enamoured of the British photo community.

Foolishly, I chose to overlook the fact that the exhibition to which I was applying, “EXPOSURE,” required me to pay all the production costs for my work, as well as shipping fees in each direction. (I don’t believe that’s the case with every exhibition they put on.) The forms also claimed there would be a stipend offered, but that was the last I heard of it until I arrived in England. My inquiries into how much funding I might receive were not answered. (Nor were most of the emails I sent looking for information.)

As the festival approached, I was asked to submit a proposal for my exhibition design. I worked on it for weeks, scratching sketches and fiddling in Photoshop. Surely, I thought, someone will be impressed. They will wonder at the power of my creativity and the brilliance of my art. (They didn’t. I shipped the box off and hoped for the best.)

So by the time I headed to Derby last month, I was pretty put out by the whole thing. I’d spent almost $600, and was beginning to regret it. (Not including travel costs, or return shipping, which I also need to arrange on my own. They won’t schedule the DHL pickup, apparently.) I’m sure they’re all nice people, with so much to organize. I get that there is a lot of responsibility. I do.

At last, though, on a Saturday in early March, I caught the train North from London with my friend Hin Chua. He told me he’d participated in the 2011 version of Format, and had encountered some problems too. He chalked it up to biting off more work than they could chew, rather than malicious intent, and said that most of the people he’d spoken to had some issues as well.

Before I got to Derby, I’d been warned several times that it was a less-than-enthralling place. Basically, people laughed when I said I was showing work there, and confidently described the place grim. I assumed it was just the famous British wit, pushing my buttons and dampening my expectations. Surely, they’re exaggerating, I thought. (Alas…)

The city was bleak and gray; the air freezing cold and moist, sucking the joy from my soul. (What little was left, that is.) I’m not trying to denigrate this Post-Industrial city, which has obviously fallen on hard times, but it is what it is. Folks were surly and suspicious, and the ramifications of decline were rampant. (I saw two businesses closing down on High Street.) As we got off the train, the first two people we saw outside the station were muscle-head teenagers in rolled up T-shirts. Genius.

After that, we stopped in at the Quad theater to see the Erik Kessels exhibition. I know he’s trendy at the moment, and I loved and reviewed one of his books recently, but this exhibit was surprisingly limp. Appropriated family album photographs were everywhere, though most were not-very-interesting. They were blown up into graphics that covered the walls, and were also presented on foam core, in racks, meant to be flipped through like items at a poster shop. (Points for trying to break out of the box, I guess.) I queried some fellow visitors who were equally disappointed, and one described the show as “graphic design” and “cotton candy.”

Next was a brief visit to the “Photo Market,” a few photo related stalls mingled amongst the cheesemongers of the local indoor market. The air was stale, the mood depressing. I got to see a few cool photo books, as there were several major publishers in attendance. It was pretty quiet, though, and one participating photographer told me there was a public opening the night before, and ten people came.

From there, we headed into an industrial neighborhood to the “Chocolate Factory,” to see the exhibition in which my work was included. It was the hub of the festival, in that portfolio reviews were being held there that day. I knew of several friends who’d be in attendance, and was excited to finally have some fun. We walked in, and noticed the entryway was open to the elements. No doors at all.

Immediately, I bumped into a colleague, who asked if I’d seen my work yet. His voice trailed off at the end of the sentence, so I knew something was awry. “No,” I said, “I’ve just arrived. Is there a problem?” He paused. “Well, the pictures are in the back. Better you see for yourself.”

We headed in that direction, and I quickly stuffed my hands in my pockets. It was even colder in the Chocolate Factory that it was outside: barely above freezing. The place had been abandoned, and reclaimed by Format as an exhibition space. It was filthy, and reminded me of something out of a former Soviet republic. Given that the festival theme was “Factory,” I should add that the choice wasn’t pointless. It makes sense in theory, but was poorly executed. (If the festival took place in Summer, it would have been an entirely different story.)

My pictures were at the very far end of the venue, by the toilets. While the location would normally be considered unappealing, on that day, at least, I knew my work would be seen. People kept heading to the loo to use the electric hand dryer to warm up, because the entire venue had no heat whatsoever.

Photographers were shivering, jumping up and down to stay warm. (Except for one of the festival sponsors, who was dressed in a burly Swedish mackinaw and fur hat. He was toasty, and suggested I not take my treatment personally. They didn’t reply to his emails either, he said, because they’re always so busy.)

I was told that the reviewers were provided with hot water bottles, those rubber things that evoke the 19th Century, and hot coffee as well. The photographers, on the other side of the table, were not. One American photographer told me she hadn’t even bothered to go see her exhibition, elsewhere in town, because she was too worn down by the travel, the elements, and the expensive cab fares.

Another photographer, a friend who was also attending the reviews, ranted about it perfectly: “I’m a f-cking chump. I just spent £200 to sit in a f-cking warehouse freezing my ass off all day. Even people who work in warehouses get minimum wage.” He wrote to me thereafter to stress that he did have some very good experiences in the review meetings, so it balanced out.

Just as I was about to lose my mind and head back to the station to grab the next train South, I saw a friend from Italy, Michele Palazzi. Michele and I, along with his wingman Raphaele, started to crack each other up almost immediately. (Telling jokes about Berlusconi, arguing about who made a better spaghetti carbonara.)Then, Barry Hughes, the publisher of the excellent online magazine Super Massive Black Hole, turned the corner. We’d corresponded on social media, but had not yet met in person. Format brought us all together.

We stood there, the four of us, laughing, beginning to see the humor in the situation. The seratonin flooded back into my brain. This, I thought, is why I really came here. Nothing beats the camaraderie of hanging out with cool people from around the world. Sometimes, a little temporary suffering brings everyone closer together.

From there, too cold to go searching for more exhibitions to see, we headed up the street to the pub. My mood improved, and the strong dark beer helped me get back to myself. For hours, we laughed, talked about photography, and shared stories about our respective communities. If not for the festival, our motley crew would have been spread back around the planet.

To be clear, I’m sure the Format does good things for Derby, providing opportunities for locals to see art and and expand their understanding of the world. Its residents must benefit greatly. In a parallel universe, I had a great day in Derby, visiting the many exhibitions spread all over the city, and came away impressed by what I saw. Just the other day, a colleague wrote on Facebook that he saw lots of great work at Format, and called the city “cool.”

There are many festivals around the world, and countless opportunities to show one’s work. Frankly, I submitted to Format without having done any research, and relied upon some specious assumptions. That’s on me. If you’re reading this in the US, though, I’d probably recommend you start somewhere else on your quest for world domination.

Shoot, Rinse and Repeat Over And Over Again

Gimmick Photography is a term I frequently use when discussing photographic concepts and styles with photographers and students I work with. I use it when describing how and why some photographers get known and remembered faster than others. It’s when an artist shoots, rinses and repeats over and over again, sometimes for many years, giving their audience a repetition of subjets that makes a connection and recalls earlier efforts. Like playing that same 45RPM single over and over and over… the song frequently becomes a hit!

via Gimmick Photography: A Primer – Manhattman.

The Daily Edit
Real Simple: Dan Winters

Wednesday: 4.3.13

Creative Director: Janet Froelich
Senior Art Director: Abby Kuster Prokell
Art Director: Joele Cuyler
Photo Director: Casey Tierney
Photo Editor: Lauren Reichbach Epstein
Associate Photo Editor: Brain Madigan

Photographer: Dan Winters

Pricing & Negotiating: DITLO Contract

by Bill Cramer, Wonderful Machine

Ditlo is an innovative stock photography company that collaborates with photographers and up-and-coming celebrities to create content that they then license to commercial and editorial clients. It may be too soon to say whether this is a viable business model, but I admire them for trying it. Ditlo (which stands for Day In The Life Of) is the brain child of Bruce Kramer of Kramer Creative Group, which owns Artmix Creative, Artmix Beauty, Glue, as well as Ditlo.

The way it works is that Ditlo finds interesting people who are trending in the news (whether they’re athletes, actors, musicians or chefs) who are willing to do a photo shoot specifically for stock. Ditlo matches up the celebrity with a photographer. Ditlo fronts a portion of the production costs and they provide art direction for the shoot. When the pictures sell, Ditlo pays a royalty to the subject (that’s the innovative part), they pay any other out-of-pocket costs, then they split the remainder 50/50 with the photographer.

My first impression was that it was a little weird that we’re now paying B-List celebrities to give them publicity. After all, the pictures will either be used editorially or commercially. If they get used commercially, the subject is going to get paid for use of their likeness anyway. And if they’re used editorially, isn’t that that something they normally pay a publicist to get for them? I guess it’s possible that when I wasn’t looking, the balance of power in our celebrity-crazed culture has changed the rules on me. Alrighty then, maybe this is just the new normal.

But if you’re going to go down this road (or any other), you’ll want to understand the agreements you’ll be signing. I’m sure that Mr. Kramer is an honorable man, but he’s a businessman none the less. Here’s the Ditlo contract (in italics) and my comments:

This agreement (“Agreement”) is entered into as of this ____ day of _______, 2012 by and between The Ditlo, LLC, having an address c/o 2332 South Centinela, Suite C, Los Angeles, California 90064 (hereinafter “Company”) and _______________, having an address of ___________________ (hereinafter “Contractor”) in connection with Contractor’s provision of services and grant of rights as set forth herein.

1. Services: Contractor shall perform services as a photographer in connection with the photography shoots produced, arranged or in which Contractor is engaged by Company during the Term which are set forth on Schedule A, and as updated from time to time by Company (each a “Shoot”). Contractor shall additionally be responsible for editing, re-touching (upon request by Company) and delivering to Company the photographic images from the Shoots (each an “Image”) within four (4) days after each Shoot. Contractor’s services shall be performed with diligence consistent with industry standards. Additionally, after Company has posted Image(s) from, or information related to the Shoot on www.ditlo.com Contractor shall use commercially reasonable efforts to promote Company and the Project in all of Contractor’s social media networks including but not limited to Facebook, Twitter, Pinterest and Instagram.

2. Term: This Agreement shall be in full force and effect from the date set forth above until terminated by either party upon thirty (30) days written notice to the address first set forth above. Notwithstanding the foregoing, the terms and conditions of Sections 3, 4, and 5 shall survive the expiration or termination of this Agreement.

3. Contractor Compensation: Provided that Contractor is not in breach of this Agreement and has fully performed Contractor’s services, as full and complete compensation thereof and grant of rights contained herein, Company shall additionally pay Contractor a royalty equal to fifty percent (50%) of the Net Revenue received from the sale, use, licensing or syndication of the Images by Company including sales of the Images to the talent in such Images. Company shall provide a statement and pay any amounts due at the address listed above on or about thirty (30) days after the conclusion of each calendar quarter in which sums are received by Company. For the purposes of this section, Net Revenue shall mean the gross amounts actually received by Company from third parties from the sale, license, or exploitation of the Images after deduction of (i) any amounts paid to talent in such Images; (ii) refunds, returns or allowances; (iii) any VAT, duty, levy or other fee or tax withheld, deducted or paid to Company; (iv) shipping charges, insurance charges, services fees or any other out of pocket costs associated with the delivery or access to any Images including but not limited to printing and framing costs; and (v) commissions or other payments made to third parties in connection with the production, sale and exploitation of such Images including but not limited to amounts paid to agents, third party sites, or the subject of such Image. Except as expressly set forth herein, Contractor shall not be entitled to any additional sums in connection with the Shoot, the Project or the Images.

It concerns me that if Ditlo decides that the photographer is in breach of the agreement, they don’t have to pay the commission. Does that mean that if the photographer promotes the project on their Facebook page, but not on Twitter, they might not get paid? The commission should not be contingent on anything. Certainly, if the photographer takes the advance and doesn’t produce useable pictures, they should have to pay the advance back. But if Ditlo makes a profit, the photographer should share in that profit. I would be inclined to cross out the words “Provided that Contractor is not in breach of this Agreement and has fully performed Contractor’s services,”

The contract is vague about what the statement will say. I would insert the clause, “the company shall provide a statement detailing the gross fee and each individual expense item deducted from it.” This should be no extra trouble for Ditlo since they have to keep track of all of those costs anyway in order to arrive at the net fee.

It doesn’t specifically say that the photographer will get an advance and whether the advance will count against the commission.

4. Grant of Rights: For the compensation to be provided herein and other good and valuable consideration, the receipt and sufficiency of which is hereby acknowledged, Contractor hereby grants Company the worldwide, perpetual, irrevocable, exclusive, sub-licensable and unencumbered right in any and all media now known or hereafter developed to print, sell, license, transmit, and syndicate the Images to third parties including the l right to display, publish or include the Images in advertisements or promotions of the Company, on the Company’s website(s), social media pages, inclusion in future book(s) and gallery show(s). Notwithstanding the foregoing, it is acknowledged and agreed, that any sale or license of an Image to the subject of the Image shall require Contractor’s agreement on the 2 terms of such sale or license. Further, Contractor acknowledges and agrees that the talent featured in such Images shall have the right to use, display and publish the Images in which they are featured solely for their own promotional purposes on their personal websites and social media sites only, but not in any way for commercial or advertising unless Contractor and Company agree in writing.

Exclusive license forever concerns me. I think that it would be reasonable for the license to be exclusive while Ditlo is actively promoting the photos. But after a while, if the photos drop off of Ditlo’s website, the photographer should be able to market them on their own without paying a commission to Ditlo.

5. Miscellaneous: Contractor acknowledges that Contractor is an independent contractor and not an employee of Company and that as an independent contractor, Contractor has no authority to, and shall not in any way attempt to, obligate, or create any liability on behalf of Company. Contractor acknowledges that Company is not your employer, Company will not provide worker’s compensation, unemployment compensation, state disability or employment benefits to Contractor. Contractor further acknowledges that Contractor is responsible to pay social security, income or other taxes and agree to indemnify Company and hold Company harmless therefrom, and from any claims or liability for worker’s compensation, unemployment compensation or state disability coverage related to Contractor. Company, its successors, assignees, and licensees, shall have the right, but not the obligation, to use the Works and the results of the services provided under this Agreement, your name, and biography, for any and all purposes and uses in connection with the exploitation of the Images or the Works, in any and all media, now known or hereafter devised, throughout the world, in perpetuity. In the event of any question of Company’s performance of its obligations hereunder or other claims related hereunder, Contractor agrees that Contractor will not seek injunctive relief against us and/or our affiliated companies or any of their agents, licensees, distributors, assigns or partners, and that your relief, if any, will be limited to a claim for monetary damages and you do not have the right to terminate or rescind this Agreement. All remedies, rights and undertakings, obligations and agreements contained in this Agreement shall be cumulative and none of them shall be in limitation of any other remedy, right undertaking, obligation or agreement of either party, except as expressly provided herein. This Agreement is governed by the internal laws of California and each party hereto irrevocably and unconditionally consents to the sole and exclusive jurisdiction and venue of the courts located in Los Angeles County, California for any action to enforce, interpret or construe any provision of this Agreement, or other claim or controversy related to this agreement or otherwise between the parties. The parties additionally hereby irrevocably waive and defenses of improper venue or forum non conveniens for any actions brought in those courts. The execution of this Agreement has not been induced by any representations, statements, warranties, or agreements other than those expressed herein. This Agreement embodies the entire understanding of the parties, and there are no further agreements or understanding, written or oral, in effect between the parties relating to the subject matter hereof. If any portion of this Agreement is held to be invalid, illegal or unenforceable by a court of competent jurisdiction, such finding shall not affect the remainder of this Agreement, and such affected provision shall be enforced to the furthest extent permitted by law. Except for updates to Schedule A by Company, this Agreement cannot be modified, except in a writing signed by both parties. This Agreement can be executed in any number of counterparts and by facsimile or pdf, which when taken together shall be construed as one original document.

The contract specifies that the photographer will indemnify Ditlo. This is reasonable. If the photographer does something wrong, and Ditlo gets sued, the photographer should (have insurance to) cover those costs. However, by the same token, if Ditlo does something wrong that gets the photographer sued, they should indemnify the photographer.

It doesn’t specifically say that you can use the pictures in your portfolio, website and for other self-promotion (including gallery shows), which it should.

Here’s the contract:

Click to enlarge.

 

Judge Rules William Eggleston Can Clone His Own Work, Rebuffing Angry Collector

Photographers across the country can breathe a sigh of relief. The U.S. District Court in the Southern District of New York dismissed collector Jonathan Sobel’s lawsuit against photographer William Eggleston. The case, art law experts say, has broader implications for all artists who incorporate old photographic negatives into new work — and the collectors who support them.

Filed last April, the complaint alleged that Eggleston diluted the value of Sobel’s collection by printing larger, digital versions of some of his best-known works and then selling them for record prices at Christie’s.

via Artinfo.

The Daily Edit
Glamour: Frederike Helwig

Tuesday: 4.2.13

Design Director: Geraldine Hessler
Photo Director: Suzanne Donaldson
Art Director: Sarah Vinas
Deputy Editor, Photo Visuals: Julie Stone
Senior Photo Editor: Martha Maristany
Photo Editor: Brian Marcus

Photographer: Frederike Helwig

Getty Announces 5 Decimal Point Payouts!

You heard it right, not five figure, five decimal points. Getty recently announced a rounding error on contributor statements where photographers who should have gotten a fraction of a penny in royalties got zero instead. So, to solve this problem going forward all the payouts will include tenths, hundredths and thousandths of a cent. Here’s the email you may have received:

$0 transactions on your January 2013 Connect statement

Many of you noticed $0 royalty transactions on your first Connect statement (January 2013) where we should have shown the micro-royalties (fractions of a cent).  This was a processing error where some royalties earned under $0.00500 which were inadvertently rounded to $0.  Going forward you can expect to see the royalty amount (out to five decimal points) for each image earned, even if it is under one penny.  All fractional-cent royalties are then summed on the statement and rounded up or down to the nearest cent for payment.

We have calculated any additional micro-royalties due to you for those zero transactions (which were fractions of a cent).  If you are due an adjustment, we will add this adjustment amount to your payment on April 25th, however no royalty statement for this adjustment will be available.  If applicable, you may see a description for that additional amount in your payment remittance advice as “Jan2013 Connect zero adj”.

NOTE: Sorry, this is not an April Fools joke, but it reads like one so you may be fooled.