Rights-management and Royalty-free - a tactic!

I entered the world of commercial photography long after the arrival of royalty free imagery. Its arrival as an affordable and simpler system for buyers as compared to rights management was a mixed blessing. Picture buyers welcomed it due to the added freedom over usage and photographers complained it reduced their control over their images and reduced prices.

In 2011 the two licence types for the purchase of stock photographs are now equal partners in most agencies and there is a new villain on the block. This new target for photographers to complain about is a subset of royalty free - microstock. Microstock combines the one-off fee in return for free non-exclusive use of the image, but this time for a tiny price - often as low as a dollar. Bad news for photographers but another story altogether.

As a new photographer in 2004, I followed the advice of the 'old and bold' - the experienced veterans of stock who were sceptical of royalty free. I could see why - they advocated the advantages of retaining control over images by licensing them for a particular purpose and allowing exclusivity. However, the price of rights managed licences can often now be lower than royalty free rates due to increased competition and oversupply of images.

Royalty free might not be in the best interests of the photographer, but as long as microstock is avoided, it now has a place in my workflow with editors at my agencies.

My rule of thumb when selecting the licence type for a photograph is:

Is the image one that, regardless of quality, I can go out now and reproduce? If so, I may choose Royalty Free.

Is the image one that has a definite uniqueness or high cost of production? If so, would choose Rights Managed. This keeps the image under my control long-term and allows for high-value licences.

Sarah Phillips Charity EP CD cover

I'm delighted to have shot the cover and promo images for Sarah Phillips' new release:

Recent tests

Here are a few images from some lifestyle test shoots I've been up to in the past few weeks. My set-up for them was very portable and lightweight - a Canon full-frame body, 70-200mm lens and a single diffused flashgun. Models were Vicki @ MD and Rachel @ Base.

Scouting for London location shoot

In a few spare moments I had in London over the last few days, I headed west of the centre to find some quiet mews streets for a location shoot later this month. Well, I was in luck! It's amazing that only a few minutes walk from the crazy hustle and bustle of the Kings Road and Knightsbridge are these time-warp locations with no traffic. The cobbles and old houses have so much character. It's absolutely vital to scout out potential locations before a shoot - it allows the day to run more smoothly and makes sure you get the very best images!

Here are some snaps to jog my memory:

Mareaka photoshoot

Here are some of my favourite frames from yesterday's shoot with Mareaka.