Rob Mc 0 Posted August 2, 2021 Giving my video clips and photos to a nonprofit conservation group sounds very fulfilling, especially if those photos/videos weren't otherwise being used. Finding a new purpose for non-portfolio work seems like a great idea. But with all the stories here of people removing your watermarks and not crediting you it seems like the act of giving material to a non-profit might seem like you're "donating" it and I'd imagine that adds a level of vagueness to how it is shared and where your material goes. Several groups that I have contact with are very low-key and low budget so anything "legal" looking might scare them instead of getting my material out there. Does anyone have advice on how to properly go about this with non-profits? Maybe I'm overthinking this but it just seems like you'd want to clarify the terms as much as possible as if it were a for-profit scenario even if it's awkward? Share this post Link to post Share on other sites
Pomacentridae 22 Posted August 2, 2021 Maybe go with the bigger organizations like WWF or RARE? They have standard agreements on things like data protection and copyright. I signed off some research images for them to use. Share this post Link to post Share on other sites
ChrisRoss 150 Posted August 3, 2021 You don't need to make it sound legal. Just a cover letter stating the photo is copyright and you are granting them a licence to use for a specific purpose whatever that may be and conditions such as always attributing copyright, no stripping of EXIF data etc. etc. when they use it. Also state if they want to use it for another purpose they need permission. Share this post Link to post Share on other sites
Rob Mc 0 Posted August 4, 2021 Ah that makes sense. The question of where it will go and getting passed around for other purposes was my main concern and I wasn't sure how to start. Thanks guys. Share this post Link to post Share on other sites
PeteAtkinson 53 Posted November 12, 2021 I like the idea of always charging a license fee, so they know that they are buying something with value. But if you want to donate, simply charge $10 as the fee for a license. It helps train clients that every picture they can find on Google isn't free to steal. Share this post Link to post Share on other sites
rwe 4 Posted November 20, 2021 Note I don't actively try to sell photos although I have sold a few. I have donated a number of pictures to various groups. Mostly when they find my photos on Flickr and ask if they can use. I usually just ask that I be credited and let it go at that. If it is to be used on a website, I usually ask for a link to it. My largest number of donations (~ 150) has been to the Smithsonian Tropical Research Institute for use in their fish ID program Shorefishes - Homepage . They provide the contributor two options with respect to copyright. Below is a screenshot of one of my photos from that site and showing the copyright info that viewers are shown that might be helpful if you are drafting something. Note if you copy this picture it is only 81KB so not high resolution while you can download my Flicker pictures without asking at high resolution even though it says they are copyrighted. With all that said, I have found a few of my pictures on websites who did not ask. But if you use Flickr and put your pictures there at high resolutions, there is really no way to prevent that so if I were actively trying to sell pictures, I probably wouldn't put many pictures on any of the picture sharing websites. Rick Share this post Link to post Share on other sites
troporobo 251 Posted November 20, 2021 I'm not even remotely trying to make money with my photography (nor am I good enough to do so) so am happy to donate them to good causes. Depending on the destination i may or may not request credit, but in general I default to credit. I would not want to compete with working professionals so only donate to nonprofits and volunteers. My organization has a large environmental program and one component is on oceans, so I and a few others give them images for publications and web pages. The UW photographers tend to be well known as we are always prattling on and showing images around on phones and tablets at coffee breaks and social events! Share this post Link to post Share on other sites
hatidua 0 Posted April 27, 2022 What I've found since being in the industry (photography) since the early to mid 80's is that every single non-profit will ask for free imagery. Not one of those non-profit places asks the utility company for free electricity, or refuses to pay their employees, but they want photographers to give up their images in return for "photo credit". My local supermarket doesn't take "photo credit" in return for groceries. I shoot images to earn a living, I don't give away my work for free. Share this post Link to post Share on other sites
JPA Water Films 0 Posted April 28, 2022 On 4/26/2022 at 10:15 PM, hatidua said: What I've found since being in the industry (photography) since the early to mid 80's is that every single non-profit will ask for free imagery. Not one of those non-profit places asks the utility company for free electricity, or refuses to pay their employees, but they want photographers to give up their images in return for "photo credit". My local supermarket doesn't take "photo credit" in return for groceries. I shoot images to earn a living, I don't give away my work for free. This is a very good point Share this post Link to post Share on other sites
