Opportunity to shoot a...

[Bitter Jeweler]

...Civil War re-enactment.

updated:
Pictures are on pages 2 and 3!

I never shoot people, so this could be a fun experience. My question, if you look at my sig to see my gear, is if I were to rent a better lens, what would you recommend? I am thinking I should rent a better long zoom, since my 55-250 is slow and soft. Should I just wing it with what I have? Should I rent a second camera body to keep 2 lenses "On"? I am not getting paid for this, this is an offer made available to my photo club. The historical society is giving us rights to our images, with due credit, and wants copies of our images with rights to use in publication, marketing, archiving, etc.

I think this is a fantastic opportunity, and I want to give it my best shot.

Annual Civil War Reenactment

Once again, Hale Farm & Village hosts its popular Annual Civil War Reenactment weekend with more than 500 reenactors descending on the farm, making this one of the largest Civil War reenactments in Ohio! Reenactors recreate several days in the lives of Union and Confederate battalions, their families and other accompanists. They spend their time preparing meals at campsite, tending to their uniform and weapons, and preparing for their next battle. Each day at 2 PM, the muskets and cannon fire disrupt the tranquility of the north pasture as Hale Farm is transformed into a reenactment battle of one of the most costly and bloody wars in American history. In addition, reenactors spend their time mingling with visitors and sharing information about their lives, clothing, articles of war and what the daily grind was like for a Civil War soldier. President Abraham Lincoln mingles with both troops and visitors alike, and addresses the importance of Ohio’s role in the war.

 

[KmH]

The historical society is giving us rights to our images

Huh? Once you trip the shutter you own all the rights to your images, even if made on private property.

with due credit

Who will see the credits?

and wants copies of our images with rights to use in publication, marketing, archiving, etc.

That could be worth thousands, if not 10's of thousands of dollars over a several year period. Commercial Use Licenses don't often run for more than 12 months. This sounds like forever.

I think this is a fantastic opportunity, and I want to give it my best shot.

Ok, but from a business perspective something doesn't add up here for me. I get the feeling there are missing details about how the Hale Farm and Village makes out in this deal and the relationship with the historical society.

IMO, at the least, you, and each member of your club, should have a contract going in, stating the specific terms. Deals like this are not good for the industry.

 

[musicaleCA]

If they aren't a charity, you'd better be getting paid for those images. I wouldn't accept less than what KmH has roughly quoted here. I have to agree that anytime people with cameras take photos for free, it's bad for the industry. Hell, I was undercut by someone recently; a friend offered to do a photoshoot for free. Thing is, in deference to them being a poor artist like myself, I offered a deal that wouldn't have really amounted to much for me (maybe, if I worked fast, I would've made minimum wage for my time; sheesh). So, doing stuff like this hurts those trying to make a living at it. :-/

When they offer due credit, it had better darn well be in writing, with very, very explicit and clear terms. Terms that are explicit to the point of font size, or relative aspect ratio to the image, or whatever. And it should be in writing exactly what text should be used to give credit (a simple "© <year> <name>" has worked for me), and exactly where such text must be placed in relation to the printed/displayed image (say, directly below the image, or in the bottom right corner of the image. Else they could put it in fine print at the bottom of the page, and no one's going to see that.

 

[Bitter Jeweler]

Oh, Ok then. I won't go.

Ok, but from a business perspective something doesn't add up here for me. I get the feeling there are missing details about how the Hale Farm and Village makes out in this deal and the relationship with the historical society.

IMO, at the least, you, and each member of your club, should have a contract going in, stating the specific terms. Deals like this are not good for the industry.

This is a deal between the historical society and the photo club.
They are waiting for a final agreement.
I am not privy to all the info at this time, since I am new, but it is my understanding that the club has worked hard to get to be able to photograph this event, from a stand point that the visitors don't get.

But thanks for answering my questions, you guys are awesome.

 

[musicaleCA]

Hey, no one said you shouldn't do it period. Just get your eggs in order before you do.

 

[DScience]

dude if u want to go, then go. who cares about the industry....some of us are in it for other reasons than $$$$.

 

[Derrel]

I would think about renting a lens that could give you some good photos from longer distances, so I would specifically suggest the 100-400 Canon zoom lens, which will allow you to get good,selective photos from the distances that I 'expect' they will keep the photographers from the action.

 

[Gaerek]

dude if u want to go, then go. who cares about the industry....some of us are in it for other reasons than $$$$.

What do you do for a living? How would you feel if people did your job for free? That would mean you would either:

a) be out of a job.

b) at the very least, be paid less for your work.

People who get paid to take photographs aren't hobbyists. While you are sitting in an office in front of your computer (or whatever you do for a living) being paid, these people are out shooting, or editing, or whatever, making money to eat. When they get paid, it's not just "extra money." It is their paycheck that pays for them to live.

Is it about money? Yes. Is it about greed? Not in the least. It's about food on the table, and a roof over the head.

I'm not a professional photographer. I do this for fun. But I for one am happy that there are people who can make a living doing this. I know I would be upset if people did my job for free.

 

[thenikonguy]

i dont know if its an option, but if it was me, I would go, shoot the event, and keep the pics for myself, for my portfolio... but it sounds like the agreement (a crappy one BTW) is that, if your shooting, you have to give the images to the hosts..

but if your able to do it without handing your photos over, it would be a great opportunity to learn, and to add some cool shots to your portfolio.

 

[mishele]

Bitter........go for it man!!! I cant wait to see some of the pics!! Forget about the "getting paid" thing. If its not you doing it for free they will find someone else for free. I live near Gettsburg so the whole reenactment is pretty cool! Just have fun!!

 

[tirediron]

I would want a little more information on such things as how close to the action and how many people will be involved before I spent too much money on extra gear. That said, if you're willing to drop a few dollars, than by all means, the 100-400 sounds like an excellent choice. I would recommend a monopod to go with that, since even if it is a VR/IS lens, it's gonna get 'freakin' heavy after a while. I would also suggest considering something in the 24-70 range, since you may want to capture a larger segment of the action rather than just counting the Colour Sargeant's nosehairs!

 

[inTempus]

While I've never shot a Civil War re-enactment I have shot a WWII re-enactment this year.

Here are the pics:

inTempus Photography- powered by SmugMug

I would bring the 18-55mm 3.5-5.6 IS and 55-250mm 4-5.6 IS. Chances are you'll leave the 55-250 attached the whole time. I shot pretty much exclusively with the 70-200. I had my 17-40 handy for some close-up creative shots and my 24-70 too. I carried everything around in a Newswear vest.

 

[c.cloudwalker]

As an ex-pro who lost part of his business (and one I enjoyed quite a lot) to people willing to work for free, I tend not to like the idea. But there are limits. The main one being that everyone has the right to do whatever the h*ll they want.

I believe I told musicaleCA just recently to go and do such a job. But it is for a non-profit. Is this Hysterical Society a non-profit? But whether they are or not, in this case, unless you can talk the whole club into refusing the deal, you'd be shooting yourself in the foot, it seems to me. Just go and do it if the contract is right.

What I would try and do is make sure that whatever deal happens between the historical society and your club is in writing and is fair to you, the photographers. You can give your rights to the society but they sure can't give them to you. They are yours.

Considering the free use the society seems to want I would make darn sure that you retain all rights to use your photos as you see fit in exchange. Without this I'm not sure I would do it.

Just want to go back to working for free for a minute. I once did a job for free. it was for a non-profit that I like and it was going to be a national campaign. The exposure I was going to get was worth way more than my loss by not actually getting paid for the shoot. The designer and model also worked for free on that deal and for the same reason. The designer and I worked together on the idea for the image and it was going to be a beauty. In that case, there was really no reason to not do it.

All that to say that sometimes there are very good reasons to work for free.

 

[Gaerek]

As an ex-pro who lost part of his business (and one I enjoyed quite a lot) to people willing to work for free, I tend not to like the idea. But there are limits. The main one being that everyone has the right to do whatever the h*ll they want.

Maybe I ought to clarify. I actually agree with this statement. Free is fine. I was more upset with the "Screw everyone!" attitude that DScience had, than the fact Bitter would do this job for free.

Having said that, be sure to know exactly what you are signing up for. If you want to do it just for the opportunity to do it, then by all means. Should you do it for free? That's for you to decide. Personally, as long as I still had rights to my photos, and I would get due credit for the photos, I would probably do this for free for the experience, the exposure, and the additions to the portfolio.

As for the lenses, unless you really want to spring for something, I wouldn't spend any money on renting anything. It looks like you have a good range, and should be able to get almost all the shots you could want. As with everything else though, if you want the extra reach of a longer tele-zoom, then go for it, but I don't know if you'll need it.

 

[Clawed]

I think it sounds like it could be fun. Plus, it will allow you to shoot something you have little experience with, and with your creativity I think you could definitely bring something to the table that other photographers could easily overlook.

I think you should go for it, assuming the terms are acceptable to you. Regarding a lens, the 55-250 would probably be just fine, but if you have some money you do not mind spending, you could always look into renting the 70-200 (just as tharmsen used).

Anyway, if you decide to do it, let us know and good luck!