email requesting to use a photo of mine

[Ockie]

Hey folks, I got an email yesterday, asking me the following:

Your ostrich on deviantart pleases me. I am starting a business called
> > OSTRICH TALES and would like to use your sketch on my website and
> > possibly on some self promotion pieces. Will be doing 'scrapping for
> > others' in my home based business and your sketch works perfectly
> for me.
> >
> > thanks
> > Catherine

We exchanged a couple of emails, since my spam-assassin marked the first email as JUNK... I wanted to be sure it was a person...

That said, I'm unsure what I should reply, I don't really mind her using the photo for her website or something similar, but I wouldn't want it to be used in anything commercial, unless decent copyright is given...
I guess someone here must have had a similar experience before, so can anyone give me some tips on how I should handle this?

I'm also not sure what she could mean with "using it on self-promotional services"...

:er:
PS: here is the photo where she is talking about

Thanks in advance,

 

[neea]

I gotta say... That is the most beautiful ostrich I've ever seen!!!
I can see why she likes the picture!!

Personally I wouldnt let anyone have my picture. Especially when they ask through an email. But then again Im completley paranoid.

If you do give her your picture I'd do up a contract stating that she can not make a profit or if she does then she must give you credit etc.

 

[Ockie]

I gotta say... That is the most beautiful ostrich I've ever seen!!!
I can see why she likes the picture!!

Thanks!

By the way, I found this about her...
http://www.wordlab.com/wordboard/messageview.cfm?catid=3&threadid=7650


Any tips on how I should handle this?

Could I, for example, offer to "sell" her the photo, so she can do with it whatever she wants? If so, what would a reasonable price be?

Personally I don't care too much about that photo, I've got a couple similar I took in the same burst so one more or less won't bother me...

 

[Orrin]

At least she asked....
In the past, I have found that some websites will 'hotlink' to the images on
my site. My solution was to replace the hotlinked photo with a photo of some
condoms, then added some code to make the practice more difficult.
I also modified my robots.txt file to forbid google from indexing them.

 

[neea]

I don't think I quite understand what it is that this girl is doing..
That last link she says something about a product line. A product such as... what? Ostrich forks? Socks? I just dont understand.
Am I missing something?

If you do sell your photo outright.. make her PAY for it.

I was told yesterday (regarding freelance for a newspaper) that $50.00 for one time use is fair. To outright purchase... hundreds and hundreds of dollars.

 

[Ockie]

I don't think I quite understand what it is that this girl is doing..
That last link she says something about a product line. A product such as... what? Ostrich forks? Socks? I just dont understand.
Am I missing something?

If you do sell your photo outright.. make her PAY for it.

I was told yesterday (regarding freelance for a newspaper) that $50.00 for one time use is fair. To outright purchase... hundreds and hundreds of dollars.

I'm glad its not only me who gets confused by her.

I'll ask her for her MSN address, so I can have a chat and clear things out...

 

[neea]

Honestly... it sounds pretty shady.
IMO

 

[The_Traveler]

So she wants to use your picture for free so she can make money from her site.

After you send her the picture, just send me hi-res digital copies of everything you've ever done and I'll try to sell them. (and keep the money of course)

You made something good, don't give it away.

 

[gmarquez]

PS: here is the photo where she is talking about

Off topic, but that is a pretty cool picture...it's almost like the ostrich has an expression on it's face. :thumbup:

 

[Jon, The Elder]

I don't suppose anyone considered a "phone call". You can learn a lot in a short time. There is very little emotion or inflection on the printed screen.

 

[Ockie]

Hmmm, Phone call might be a bit hard in this case.. I think she lives in USA... I live in Spain... but I'll send her another email asking.. she never replied to my one asking for her MSN / other IM...

 

[xfloggingkylex]

I think selling the picture is a perfect idea since she is looking to use it to make money, and you arent particularly attached to the photo. That seems like a win win, not to mention the acknowledgement you'd get by word of mouth and through any scrapbooking sites.

It's not like she is selling the picture, but rather using it to represent her small business that she wants to name Ostrich Tales.

I'd personally be honored to have a picture of mine represent a business, no matter how small.

 

[rmh159]

I'd personally be honored to have a picture of mine represent a business, no matter how small.

I'd take Kyle's approach as well. Be flattered that she even bothered to contact you about it... decide a fair price (consider the quality, what she's using it for, where it will be placed on the site, how much $$$ she'll generate from it being used, etc.) and come up with a number.

That's perfectly fair. She wants a product from you, you know how she's going to use it, she buys it and each go on their merry way.

 

[Ockie]

Thanks for all the responses, I've just emailed her again... I'll post when (or perhaps I should say if ) she answers