Business Practice

Licensing the Use of Your Images -Part I of II

As professional equine photographers, we are entitled to compensation for advertising or editorial use of our images whether they are taken at shows or portrait sessions. We have every right and, in truth, we have an obligation to ourselves to stand firm on this. We are perhaps doing what we love but as professionals we do it with a goal of providing income for ourselves. When we give away the use of our work, we devalue it. Giving it away, is no more than donating that use for the profit-seeking motives of other entities. It is clear that using an image in an ad gives value to the ad likely resulting in more income for the advertiser. The same holds true of editorial use as great images boost readership which boosts ad rates. As the professional providing that valuable image, you should be fairly compensated through licensing the use of your images.

Why do you need a licensing agreement? All professional photographers should be using licensing agreements as they are designed to protect the rights of the creator. Handshake agreements have a way of falling apart and the fallout is not pretty. Written agreements ensure all parties know the terms and conditions of the license. 

Protect your rights with a well written usage license and remember that a lot of clients will ask and would love for you to agree to "give" away usage rights for free or a pittance. Your acceptance of that kind of plea just confirms for them that you know the value of your work: almost worthless if you're giving it away. It is up to you to shape your own reputation and acknowledge the great value of the fruits of your professional labor by appropriately licensing the use of your images.

Look for Part II of Licensing the Use of Your Images in the next issue of the EPNet News. Part II explains the different types of uses, bartering and donating use of your images and provides some excellent resources to assist in writing your own use agreements.  

     "My quest, through the magic of light and shadow, is to isolate, to simplify and to give emphasis to form with the greatest clarity. To indicate the ideal proportion, to reveal sculptural mass and the dominating spirit is my goal."

Spotlight: Behind the Camera

Susan Sexton

I started shooting horses in 1977 or so as a single mother with three children in high school. The first advice I got from a professional photographer was to use a long lens on a 35mm camera. That was also the most useful tip in my entire career.

In 1980 I bought a one-ton Ford pickup with an extended cab, a 27 foot gooseneck trailer, and a complete color darkroom that I installed in the trailer. I traveled the Western states for several years going from horse show to horse show shooting on Saturdays, staying up all night to print 100 8X10s and selling them on Sundays. My children accompanied me to some of the shows doing some of the work. The summer of 1981, we traveled around the entire US from California to Vermont to Virginia, doing a show every weekend all summer long. It was a truly fabulous experience; even the kids (who are all thirty- to forty-something now) agree.

Being one of the official photographers at the 1996 Olympics is a personal, favorite highlight of my career.

I retired from shooting shows in 1999, and concentrate now on shooting horses at home. A photographer's rep markets my images to all kinds of businesses (not just horses), and I started a graphic design business four years ago; designing the ads for the stallions I shoot seemed like a very logical off-shoot in my ever evolving company.

My images have been used in many ways over the last 25 years: most recently in ads for Pfizer and on their packaging; in many Farnam ads; posters for Continental Airlines; Purina feedbags; inspirational posters; calendars; books; video covers; and illustrating many, many articles in the English riding magazines for years, most notably Dressage Today and Equus. There's probably more; I just can't think of them, right now.

A move to Chicago is happening at the end of August so that one of my daughters can come on board to learn how to run the business. If things go as planned, it'll give me time to write a few books, one of which will be on photographing horses. My website will have all that information when it's available...maybe for Christmas 2002.

My new website will be up and running in late fall. All brand new images.

Susan Sexton
www.susansexton.com

When shooting a horse show, if you find a competitor whose horse doesn't seem very photogenic in action, try to get some head shots after the class. I've had good luck selling those.