Stumbled on a little treasure, need advice!!

[sinner6000]

Hello everyone,

Hoping you pros's might be able to give a little advice or point me in the right direction here. A friend of mine recently aquired a few proof sheets and negatives of a very popular model that was shot probably in the 1950's or early 1960's. These were given to her from the photographer himself, saying she could have them and do as she pleased, he was just going to trash them. She was not really knowing what to do with them, has given them to me as I am a graphic designer and we figure we can come up with a great portfolio, or coffee table book or something of the like.

Now the first of many questions is what do I need to do to secure rights? Is it inherent as a gift? Are they old enough it doesn't matter? I've never dealt with direct stuff like this, I'm used to gettyimages basically.

Plus, with the age of these, what preparations should I take to preserve them? I've put them in plastic sleeves, but not sure if I need a spray or ? to keep them in good condition.

So thanks for reading, and I'm sure I'll be popping in with questions during this process, I'm sure you guys are a priceless resource!!

Thanks!

 

[craig]

I would make it clear to the photographer that you plan on making money from the images. Rights to the shots need to be clearly understood by both parties before any work begins. If things get sticky halfway into production you will have a mess on your hands.

I would not worry too much about the proofs. The negs on the other hand are golden. Buy the most expensive sleeves you can and keep them dust free. There are plenty of real archivists on the forum so hopefully they will chime in.

 

[sinner6000]

Thanks a lot! I have a great camera shop here in town, I'll check out the sleeves

 

[fmw]

You need a signed model release from the model or the model's estate as well as a signed release from the photographer. The latter won't be hard. The former will be impossible unless you provide a royalty.