How to Get Free Pics from Professional PhotographersWritten by Elizabeth Orr on May 28, 2008 · Comments (6) |
A hearty welcome to guest blogger Elizabeth Orr of Savor-the-Rhubarb.com who tells us how she not only gets free pics to use on her website from professional photographers, but also how she gets extra traffic in the deal.
Despite being a webmaster, I am not technical - at least not in the ways of website building - and one thing I am definitely not, is a photographer.
Fortunately I get tons of help. Everyday I learn something new and either try to apply it immediately or file the information for another time. I also rely heavily on those great photographers who supply their photos freely for public use.
It is very easy and convenient to visit photo sites such as Flickr.com and simply download a photo for free, copy and paste a link, and add it to your material along with proper attribution.
FreeFoto’s conditions of free use are as follows:
ANYONE, by which we mean commercial and non-commercial alike, can use FreeFoto.com images in an online setting, providing they provide attribution to the image and a link back to FreeFoto.com (either the image or the main site). This license allows blogs, social networking sites and use in emails, just to name a few, providing they provide the required attribution, this includes sites that pay people to write, carry advertising or are selling and promoting products. The only requirement the attribution and link back.
Despite those very clear licensing requirements, I almost always contact the photographer via email and say that I would like to use their photo. I tell them what my site is about but do not give them a web address. I assume if they want to know, they will eventually ask. On the other hand, providing the address can save them time, and they can peruse the site and decide if they would like the association.
It is very rare that I don’t get a response.
Of every ten emails I send to the photographers, I typically get two responses that say “sure, go ahead, just credit me properly” and some don’t even care about the credit. I still respond with a thank you and tell them that their generosity is very much appreciated.
Do you know what the other 8 responses typically are?
“Oh wow - how refreshing to be asked or informed.”
I also hear “I am so flattered you like my picture. Certainly you may use it, and please email me your link. I want to see it.”
These photographers want to see their work displayed and if I was a photographer, I would want that also. There is another advantage to making contact with the photographers. They show a friend or family members where their work is and some of those people enjoy my site content enough to become regular readers and subscribers.
It is clearly a win-win situation.
Oh, and if you should make a terrible error like I did once, and ask for a photo that was clearly not available — apologize.
In that case, I was not paying attention. I didn’t know the rules well enough, and got a very abrupt “absolutely not” as a response. However, after I said I was sorry, my apology was not only accepted but the photographer later offered me other pictures to post on my site. This is something else to remember too. Many photographers make their living with their talents. You have to respect their wishes.
By the same token, don’t be afraid to request information on where to find a specific photo based on their knowledge. Instead of chasing another prospect, you may be pleasantly surprised and offered a picture from their own collection that initially was not available to the public.
I have tremendous respect and appreciation for the generosity of these talented photographers who so graciously share their work on stock photo sites. As the old saying goes, ‘a picture is worth a thousand words’ , so they save me a LOT of writing. The very least we can do is thank them for their contribution to helping to beautify the web.
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Comments
6 Responses to “How to Get Free Pics from Professional Photographers”
Curtis Penner on May 28th, 2008 17:37 pm
Fantastic resource. Thanks for sharing.
Do you use WordPress for your website? I’m wondering if the javascript that’s used to link back to the photo will mess with a WP site?
[Reply]
Elizabeth reply on Thursday, May 29, 2008 2:24 am:
No, I don’t use Wordpress at the moment, so I’m afraid I can’t address your
question. I found eventually that for my niche, I needed more pictures so
obtained the bulk from Flickr. Not being very technical at all, I didn’t have to
resize or do anything.
No matter where you get your photos though, the message is the same -
communicate with the photographer if possible and link back. They do
appreciate it.
Thankyou for your kind comments.
Elizabeth
[Reply]
Chrystalline reply on Saturday, May 31, 2008 18:20 pm:
Javascript can be used in WP installations, if you pay attention to where and how you insert it, but if you’re talking about linking a static image, HTML is probably a better choice. Less likely to be killed by ad-blockers.
“No matter where you get your photos though, the message is the same -
communicate with the photographer if possible and link back. They do
appreciate it.”
YES. I was furious when I once attended a business training course where the girl telling everyone how to use Constant Contact actually recommended using Google’s image search to find any image that looked useful, copy the image URL, and HOTLINK it into the newsletter. When I pointed out that it was copyright violation (not to mention bandwidth theft), she (and her boss) dismissed my concerns as irrelevant.
Even on Flickr, the image creator retains copyright and should be asked for permission. For myself and other image creators, I thank you for pointing this out!
[Reply]
SueM on May 29th, 2008 6:48 am
Thanks so much for sharing, Elizabeth. I was just working on that challenge, how to get great photos. Your generosity is what sets you apart!
Warmly,
Sue
[Reply]
Elizabeth reply on Thursday, May 29, 2008 18:00 pm:
a long way I think. The photographers I have contact with are truly a great
bunch of people and extremely generous and helpful. The process is easy
as well.
Elizabeth
[Reply]
Elizabeth on June 1st, 2008 8:11 am
You are welcome, and maybe some will begin to think a little bit differently in the future as they search for material. It’s simple respect, if nothing else.
On behalf of myself, and others like me who are “technically challenged” in
this area, thank YOU!
Elizabeth
[Reply]