asafrye

<p>Thanks Dennis! A model release isn't necessary since the "model"/athlete and shop owner requesting the images are the same person.</p>

<p>@ Lorne: the prospect of reducing world SPAM and simultaneously putting my kids through college is intriguing but not likely with a single licensing agreement ; )<br>

@ Dan: I'll inquire about the size of the email distribution. Should I assume a flat fee say per 100 recipients? Or discount (or inflate) as the distribution increases? I really have no clue for a starting price point. Since this is a "friend" I suppose I can just ask what they typically pay. Of course this might reveal that I lack a perception of the value of my work. But since I'm still learning, that's not too far removed from the truth. : )</p>

<p>I've been contacted by a "friend" (more of an acquaintance and FB "friend") who is an athlete and sports shop owner. They (the shop) would like to use two of my action shots of the athlete, which I suppose showcases specific dealer products, in an email blast. I'm happy to allow them to use my photos, I just have no clue as to what is a fair price to charge for what will be a one time use. I also don't suspect a licensing agreement is appropriate for this kind of use. I'd love to know if anyone has any experience or informed opinions that may give me some direction on how to respond to their inquiry. Thanks!</p>

<p>Jeff/John, thank you so much for your responses! I did get another response from the Bloomsbury contact with more detail about the project. I've copied some detail from the response below. . .</p>

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<p>Thank you for your email. . .The usage for the photos needs to include any possible reprints, foreign language editions and possible ebooks but you will, of course, retain copyright. I am able to offer a small fee of £35 (approx $60) per image for photos for this book. This is quite an 'experimental' book for the company which I have managed to convince them to publish as a personal project of mine so they have not given me much of a budget. I understand that this is not a lot but we have decided that, as this is a great way to generate publicity for the sport and for photographers to showcase their work to an international readership, we will credit each photographer fully in the photo caption, rather than using a credits page at the back of the book as we normally do.<br /> <br /> Our submission deadline is fast approaching so do you think you would be able to send me the photos by 17th June? The submission process is usually based on an agreement reached through email correspondence. We usually ask photographers to submit their photos by email or by uploading them to our ftp site. When the photos are received, we allocate a purchase order number to those photos. We send this PO number to the photographer to quote on their invoice and then they send us an invoice for the agreed fee. We then arrange for our accounts department to make the payment. I can provide you with a contract if you wish to have one for your own files.<br /> <br /> I can also send you some sample pages and cover design to give you an idea of the overall design of the book. Let me know if you do and I can email them to you.</p>

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<p>I have a copy of Tad Crawford's Business and Legal Forms which contains a sample invoice that I suppose I can use. Do you think that it's necessary that I copyright the photos that they are interested in before FTPing to them?<br /></p>

<p>I recently received a request from someone who claims to work for a company called Bloomsbury Publishing Plc and located in the U.K. I'm told in the email that they are planning to publish a book on roller derby fashion and are interesting in using some of my roller derby photos that they've seen posted on Flickr. I have no experience or knowledge in these types of transactions and I was given no details on the submission process. They just asked if they can use a particular set of images and would need hi Res copies. I'm not a professional. While it might be cool to see my work in book format, I'm a bit apprehensive about just giving my work away for what has been described as primarily a photo book. I wonder if any of you p.net photo transaction veterans would mind giving me some quick tips on how to proceed in something like this? Do I need to contact the athletes in the photos to obtain photo releases? Should I expect to charge for usage of my photos? If so, what is a reasonable request? Since my work already exists, should this be treated like a photo stock transaction? Thank you all!</p>

<p>i tossed my cookies. . .ugh!</p>

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<p>I'm going to add this to my tasks, and sit one day at a road and just practice panning shots of moving cars</p>

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<p>This is essentially why I started shooting roller derby games. Then I just fell in love with the sport so I shoot it all the time now! ; ) I'm still not sure I've completely perfected the art of panning even though nearly every shot I make of roller derby is a panning shot. It does take time but will get easier with the practice that you put into it. I shoot at indoor tracks and flash photography is allowed, so I do use the flash as a main light to help "freeze" action and bump the contrast up of hopefully the most interesting part of the moving subject. I use a relatively slow shutter in manual mode (typically 1/60 or 1/80), or I'll shoot in aperture priority with matrix metering and set my speed light in balanced fill-flash mode. So I let the camera/speed light system figure out the appropriate shutter speed and I just focus on following the subject with panning motion.</p>

<p><a title="PRG ECE 2010_0625_417 by ChaiTGuy, on Flickr" href="http://www.flickr.com/photos/chaitguy/4736932588/"><img src="http://farm5.static.flickr.com/4140/4736932588_63013c2e55_z.jpg" alt="PRG ECE 2010_0625_417" width="640" height="414" /></a><br>

some women's flat track roller derby for me. . .</p>

<p>Assuming you use a tripod, things that aren't moving and are located within your focal plane won't be blurry. Everything else probably will be.</p>

 

<p>I'm sure there are many for me since I have no formal training. The first thing that comes to mind, however, is that I need to learn and practice more in the area of controlled lighting techniques. . .i.e., "studio" lighting. But my biggest weakness is probably more related to my greatest wish with respect to my photography - more shooting! I just don't shoot enough in other areas in which I have an interest such as portraiture. I'm currently reading the excellent book "Light - Science and Magic" by Hunter, Biver & Fuqua. If you haven't read it, I highly recommend it. All I need after that are some willing victims to sit for me. So far I haven't succeeded in convincing my wife to do it. I think she may be waiting for me to get to the point where I know what I'm doing. A smart lady! ; )</p>

<p>Mine was indoor sports</p>

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<p>I think your photo is quite well done. I'm not sure what you don't like about the color. My first thought was that maybe you could have used some sort of fill light for the shadows. When used in the right way, even a flash or strobe can be made to look natural. As mentioned already, you can ensure the color temperature of your main light matches the existing background light. This can be done in various ways including using color correction gels on your flash or strobe. Another thing to consider is how much of the light that is illuminating your subject is coming directly from your main light source and how much is coming from reflections off of nearby surfaces. The latter can deliver a color cast that you may not want. I wonder if this may be contributing to what you're not comfortable with in your photo?</p>

<p>National Photography Month? Never heard of it before! Now I have another reason to love the month of May. . .other than that it's the month of my birthday ; ) I'll have to find some way to celebrate the month photographically. Only 9 days left now!</p>

<p>Just one point of correction and a couple of more points as food for thought/discussion. . .<br /> To correct my last post, I think the program is a good IDEA. . .I don't know if it's a good program yet. That will depend on the quality and effectiveness of the training.<br /> After reading a few more of the posts I couldn't help but think how much of the fears and concerns seem so familiar. If you've ever had the distinction (LOL) to be a black man in America, then this would all be old hat for you. Try this: Shopping in Gristedes on 96th and Broadway is "suspicious activity" when the shopper is a black male. (Been there. Done that.) Less than a year ago I was approached by a cop as I stood at the check out counter at CVS and questioned because I fit the description of a man who was passing off bad checks at a local bank. What was his description: a black male. I had to leave the line, walk back to my car and hand over my ID. The cop didn't apologize when he told me (after taking my info) that I couldn't be the guy because the guy they were looking for fled on foot, not by car. Yes, this was inconvenient for me, but believe it or not, I was not bothered by it at all. . .I guess I've gotten so accustomed to this sort of thing. That doesn't make it right. But I do recognize that it could have been worse if the cop was a little bit stupider!<br /> So, hey. . .now in post 9/11 America I get to be both black AND a photographer! Being a photographer is no more a crime than being black or being a catholic priest. And being profiled and/or harassed is never OK, no matter what the reason. But it happens folks. Protest and activism may increase awareness and maybe even result in improved policy and/or legislation. And these will be beneficial. But it won't guarantee incidents of harassment will never occur again. Best thing you can do if you become a target of profiling is be cool. . .and make sure at the end of your day you return to the comfort of your home.<br /> Finally, I would think that in their program to combat terrorism the government might realize that photographers (esp. street photogs) can be helpful. After all, when they're looking for a "person of interest" I'd think a nice sharp image of a street scene shot by one of those BIG cameras would be more helpful than those blurry screen shots from a remote building lobby video camera. There are cameras everywhere today. . .from the average tourist with a P&S or cell phone to the street photogs with their BIG lenses. Rather than scaring off photographers, I'd think the government might encourage us to shoot more often and in more places. Then set up a web site where photogs can have the option to upload images that they think might help in an investigation. I'm not a crime specialist so it may not always be obvious to me what constitutes a smoking gun. But if I was freely shooting street activity in an area where an attempted crime or terrorist act took place, somewhere in my images there might be key evidence or clues. Moreover, if a would-be terrorist was engaged in plotting or conducting a terror act in a densely populated area, maybe that person might be deterred somewhat if they found themselves immersed in a sea of clicking shutters. Duh! ; )</p>

<p>I think it's a good program and necessary since we are at war. Sometimes I wonder if Americans fully understand this. It's not a conventional war by any means. . .but clearly lives are at stake. . .and blood has already been shed on American soil. The garage attendants and MMs would not just be looking for photographers. . .but for suspicious activity suggestive of terrorist (i.e., war) activity.</p>

<p>Me too!</p><div></div>

<p>Sounds like you should have a sobering talk with her about selecting the right tool for the right job. But if that doesn't work, she can go "exploring" on Flickr using their camera finder feature. Select a P&S model, then type "sports" or "indoor sports" in the search field; can choose "tags only"; and view sample photos taken with the camera that she chose. Keep in mind, that if the venue has sufficiently bright lights then the P&S results might be "good enough" depending on how real her expectations are. Under any given lighting situation the results will never match what can be achieved with a DSLR. Good luck!</p>

<p>I think anonymous should stay. I'm suspicious about the 3/3 rater(s) though. I've seen many many examples of good work (and I'm not referring to my own) that get rated with 3/3. I appreciate that everyone is entitled to express their opinion, and tastes vary. . .but gosh, sometimes it just doesn't make any logical sense to me. It happens to so many photos, and so quickly (often the first rating a photo would receive) that it seems someone is programmed to do it. Although, it's hard to imagine someone with that much time on their hands (and misery in their soul) to just sit in the forum and rate everything that goes by with a 3/3. So we need the anonymous system because this person (or persons) should be protected from abusive responses.</p>

<p>and. . .</p><div></div>

<p>ok, so now for the pictures!</p><div></div>

<p>women's roller derby in NYC has begun. . .<br>

<br /> <img src="http://www.flickr.com/photos/chaitguy/4517805548/in/set-72157623845615774/" alt="" /><br /> <img src="http://www.flickr.com/photos/chaitguy/4517171869/in/set-72157623845615774/" alt="" /><br /> <img src="http://www.flickr.com/photos/chaitguy/4522597368/in/set-72157623845615774/" alt="" /></p>

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<p>editing, never a long suit for most photographers, will become positively hellish</p>

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<p>And this is why I insist on taking photos one at a time. . .even with my sports photography. . .I just don't have the time or the desire (with my carpal tunnel and all) to comb through thousands of digital photos searching for the "decisive moment" IMHO, if there were such a moment, it should take place in the process of image capture, not during image editing.</p>

<p>What a handsome guy! Congratulations! Glad to hear there were no troubles with the cord. My son came out with two knots tied in his cord. We figured he was done with waiting for the contractions and was fixing to climb out! ; )</p>

<p>The majority of your image contains relatively dark and shaded area. It could be that your camera is taking an average reading and setting the exposure conditions to get some detail in the shaded region. . .this will then blow out the sky. Sounds like you might want to look into getting a graduated neutral density filter for your lens. Google it! Or you can start with this <a href="http://www.great-landscape-photography.com/graduated-filters.html">link</a></p>