Newspapers and magazines will consider buying a huge range of photos. A photo suitable for publication in the national press might be as simple as your cat and pet hamster asleep together. Or it might be you have a photo of a celebrity you went to school with. You might own photo no-one else has of someone who is famous, such as a politician or you might find yourself on the spot when a big story breaks. For example, you witness the rescue of someone from the sea. Potentially any photograph that either makes people laugh, look again, is informative or linked to a current big news story can be sold.
The price of your photo depends on its exclusivity, how good the quality is and how sought after it is. Some photos can be very sought after and just like a much wanted story, can be sold for thousands. Others might be worth just £100. We will be able to tell you if we believe your photo is very valuable. To ensure the best price, we will speak to a number of editors who will be invited to put in an offer – and we are also able to sell your photo for you worldwide. As you will be paid each time your photo is printed, the money can soon add up. Incidentally, as with ordinary stories, we are paid the standard page rate by the publication printing the photo. So if we get your photo onto the front page of a national newspaper, we earn more and so do you.
Will I have to send you my photo?
Yes. Unless we see your photo, we cannot tell you if it is valuable or not. However, as the law stands, the copyright to the photo always belongs to you. This means we cannot sell it for you – and it cannot be printed – without your written consent. We tell you exactly which papers/magazines are interested – ultimately the decision about who publishes your photo is down to you – and put all deals in writing to you guaranteeing your payment prior to publication.
Why should I not sell my photo directly to a newspaper or magazine?
As with any story, we are able to find you multiple deals for your photo, not only in the UK but abroad. Because we have so many contacts with so many publications all over the world, and are selling photos and stories every day, we are also able to find you the best deals. Added to this, going directly to a publication can be fraught with difficulties. The biggest problem can be misunderstandings of the ownership of the photo. Unless you know what you are doing, it is all too easy to sell a photo to a newspaper and not realise you are also signing away your rights to your photo. For example, we’ve had people contact us for advice who’ve simply gone to their local newspaper and their photo has been syndicated to the national media without their consent. Unfortunately, not only have they not been paid, that has rendered their photo unsaleable to anyone else.
But when we sell your photo to a newspaper or magazine, not only will we have all the legal issues in place, that publication will know it is your photo. It is often possible for example to ensure the credit for the photo is given to you (if you wish, although it is often possible to sell a photo and remain anonymous.) This is because we understand how important a credit is if you are a photographer wanting to get your name out there and gain further commissions.
Selling a video clip
With the popularity of newspaper websites such as Mail Online, videos have become more sought after. As with selling a photo, there is money to be made by selling your video to a newspaper or magazine.
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