'Personal use' policy | photojournalist

Personal use policy

“Can you send me the photos please?” This is a question that I am asked frequently. Some days I can photograph literally hundreds of people and the time it would take to separately select and edit and send photos for all those that want them for free would be immense. I learnt this early on when as a rookie the host of an event asked me why I was still at an event about 3 hours after it had finished. I had agreed to send people at the charity event the photos with their children in it. Even though there were only a handful of parents with their children, matching the children to the parents in every photo and then waiting for them to send, etc was time consuming. Time is money as they say and working nearly half a day for free every day is obviously not sustainable in the long run.

Although I would love to provide everyone with free photos, at the end of the day I have to eat otherwise I will die and I will no longer be able to take photos. In order to obtain food I have to give the person at the shop money. As a freelancer no one is paying me a salary or wage. As a press photographer/’paparazzi’ I have to make money by licensing my images primarily to media outlets.

With this in mind I have developed the following policy in an attempt to treat everyone as fairly as possible. The policy aims to recognise those celebrities who pose for me at events and help me do my job. It also aims to ensure that I do not end up doing unpaid work for often rich individuals whose image is worthless except to them and corporations who want free high quality photos. I have costs to cover (camera gear is not cheap) and my time needs to be remunerated.

Photos for free:

If you see a photo of you online (most likely in the Daily Mail) I am happy to ‘turn a blind eye’ if you want to use it for ‘personal use’* (please credit me as the photographer). This applies to celebrities and others that have posed for me at an event and does not apply in other instances such as alleged criminals that I have photographed leaving court, ISIS supporters handing out leaflets outside Sydney Town Hall, etc. Any media outlets, companies or organisations using my photos without licensing through the relevant agency will be pursued legally for maximum costs.

Another way is to ask the PR of an event. Usually they have an ‘official photographer’ who they have paid and they may be able to provide you with copies of their images or direct you as to where to find them.

Photos for $50:

Although my primary purpose at events is to provide images to the press, there is obviously a demand for images by individuals who want a copy of the photo to share on social media (Instagram, facebook, etc) or for their blog to make personal prints, or just as a memento, etc

If you are someone who is not famous at an event, you have almost zero chance of getting in the Daily Mail, etc unless it is an event such as Cosplay or Comic-con and you are dressed in an interesting costume. Therefore your only option is likely to be to purchase the photos for $50 each.

This works as follows:

I can send you the images by ‘We Transfer’ low-res with watermark across the middle so it can’t be easily cropped off.
You give me the reference numbers of the photos you want (if any – no obligation)
You transfer the money to my Paypal account or bank account (Aud $50 x number of images) and email me back the payment advice as proof of payment.
I send you the requested photos high resolution with no watermark by ‘We Transfer’. (If possible it is appreciated if you can credit the photographer along the lines of ‘© Richard Milnes’ or ‘Copyright Richard Milnes’ but it is up to you).

Note: $50 applies only to ‘personal use’ by individuals. Media outlets, companies and organisations must licence images through the relevant photo agency.

The bargain price of $50 applies only to photos where I am already at an event anyway. Otherwise current hourly rates of $268/hr apply for photography assignments.

*‘Personal use’ is defined as “Personal prints, cards and gifts. Non-commercial use only, not for resale. In this case it also includes social media use, personal websites and blogs, where I am credited as the photographer (e.g. “© Richard Milnes” or “Copyright Richard Milnes”)

Examples of when a ‘personal use’ license isn’t enough:

Internal or external presentations – for this you need a presentation license
Company, business or organisation websites or blogs (as opposed to personal websites) – for this you need a website license
Book use
Any sort of advertising including leaflets, posters, billboards – you need a marketing license for this

Companies, business and organisations:

For images licensed directly from myself rates are as follows (in Aud $):

Website use - $50

Print use (inside) - $200

Print use (cover) - $500

Note: All prices subject to change (last updated October 2017)

The photographer owns the copyright in images.

In order to use the image you need permission.

Permission is obtained by payment of a licensing fee depending upon how the image will be used.