Use of photos in sponsored social media ads without permission or credit

gooser

gooser

Member
I want to get a feel for how some of you have handled situations where a company uses one or more of your photos in a online ad or similar without previously reaching out to you ahead of time, or giving photocredit?

I have recently seen some of my own photos pop up on my Instagram feed in sponsored ads run by companies (I'll leave their names out) that I have never even been in direct contact with before. It seems pretty disrespectful to use someones photos for paid advertising without any permission or credit.

Curious to know how you guys feel about this...
 
I would absolutely reach out and ask for payment, and for the photos to be taken down in the meantime.

For me personally, if I post something on social and it gets shared, I usually don't mind too much. I might reach out privately and make sure they ask in the future. However, if I were to see something I shot being used in an ad, I would absolutely reach out.

You were working at Windells this summer, right? If it's a shot from there, you'll have to look at the terms of your employment/talk to your boss, because the odds are you don't own the rights to those.

If it's something else, and they used it for an ad, you should be paid for that.

**This post was edited on Sep 12th 2017 at 8:26:25pm
 
13835782:Sklar said:
I would absolutely reach out and ask for payment, and for the photos to be taken down in the meantime.

For me personally, if I post something on social and it gets shared, I usually don't mind too much. I might reach out privately and make sure they ask in the future. However, if I were to see something I shot being used in an ad, I would absolutely reach out.

You were working at Windells this summer, right? If it's a shot from there, you'll have to look at the terms of your employment/talk to your boss, because the odds are you don't own the rights to those.

If it's something else, and they used it for an ad, you should be paid for that.

**This post was edited on Sep 12th 2017 at 8:26:25pm
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I appreciate the feedback!

I did work at Windells over the summer, so I'll have to take a look at the terms and talk to my boss, because one of the two companies was a camp sponsor, while the other was not.
 
Dm'd you

**This post was edited on Sep 18th 2017 at 2:37:45pm

**This post was edited on Sep 18th 2017 at 2:45:14pm
 
So one of my friends recently informed me the ski company she was riding for is using one of my photos on their ski description this year (the little stickers that they put on the skis in the shops or whatever) without my permission.

How should I go about this and how much should I ask for? Definitely illegal what they did so I feel like I should be able to get some money for it.
 
13840515:chris.goodhue said:
So one of my friends recently informed me the ski company she was riding for is using one of my photos on their ski description this year (the little stickers that they put on the skis in the shops or whatever) without my permission.

How should I go about this and how much should I ask for? Definitely illegal what they did so I feel like I should be able to get some money for it.
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I'd ask how many of those went out and charge accordingly.

Ask the friend for the contact info of their marketing people and contact them directly. You should be direct, but not rude in informing them that they used your photo without permission, and that you are seeking compensation. If you can't get in touch directly, try their customer service, their shop, etc. until you get the right person.

This is the most common headache of any ski photographer. You show an athlete a photo, they send it to their sponsors, the sponsor assumes they can use it. It's the worst. That's why I always try to deal directly with the companies myself, not through the rider. It is most likely a misunderstanding, but still it's 100% on the company to clear the rights before they use a photo. You should indeed be paid.
 
13840533:Sklar said:
I'd ask how many of those went out and charge accordingly.

Ask the friend for the contact info of their marketing people and contact them directly. You should be direct, but not rude in informing them that they used your photo without permission, and that you are seeking compensation. If you can't get in touch directly, try their customer service, their shop, etc. until you get the right person.

This is the most common headache of any ski photographer. You show an athlete a photo, they send it to their sponsors, the sponsor assumes they can use it. It's the worst. That's why I always try to deal directly with the companies myself, not through the rider. It is most likely a misunderstanding, but still it's 100% on the company to clear the rights before they use a photo. You should indeed be paid.
Click to expand...

Awesome thanks for the info. I'll definitely reach out to the company myself...so if this photo goes on every one of those pairs whats a good asking price for a photo? I've never sold a photo before, stoked but don't really know what a realistic price would be
 
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