an email requesting use of one of my photos

[NetMagi]

Just got this email today:



Sir,

I the director for the US Marine Corps Semper Fit, Sports and Recreation programs.
We currently trying to increase more interest in our Chess program and I found a
jpeg image on your web page and seeking permission to use it. (chess.jpg)

Very Respectfully,


NAME REMOVED





He's referring to this image:

http://photos.netmagi.com/images/chess.jpg

that's posted on an old,old,old photo site of mine from way back.



What should I do. .

Should I request a small amt. of money for use of the picture, or just say ok, but credit me for the photo?

This is the first time anyone has ever wanted to 'use' one of my pics. It's not even a good pic. . lol

-Rich

[storm]

ONE MILLION DOLLARS!!!!HAHHAHHAHHHAAAAHHAHHA

[NetMagi]

ONE MILLION DOLLARS!!!!HAHHAHHAHHHAAAAHHAHHA

i no longer like u.

[NetMagi]

so far I've emailed the following response:

Sir,

In what medium (print, video, internet, etc.) and in what way would you
use the image to promote your chess program?

-Rich

[NetMagi]

received this response:

Rich,

We are looking to use the image in print as we develop a poster or possible logo
for our Chess Program.




now im thinking I STILL have that chessboard and pieces. .maybe I should dust it off and shoot a whole bunch with the D70 (the other pic is ancient and shot with a minolta P&S)

[Aussie Dave]

received this response:

Rich,

We are looking to use the image in print as we develop a poster or possible logo
for our Chess Program.




now im thinking I STILL have that chessboard and pieces. .maybe I should dust it off and shoot a whole bunch with the D70 (the other pic is ancient and shot with a minolta P&S)

NetMagi
you can always offer to take some new photos and display them on the net for him to view. Perhaps it would be prudent to ask straight up if he is willing to pay anything for the rights to print your photo. If not, and this bothers you then you can gracefully decline. If he can pay, or you don't mind letting him use the photo for free, you can then proceed to the next step and either grant permission for the old photo, or as mentioned earlier, offer to take some new (& improved) photos

The ball's in your court.....

[MHD]

My policy is simple on this: If there is a chance of profit for the buyer I want some of it...

If the use is strictly non-profit I *consider* free use as long as I have obvioius credit some where...

[gstark]

What Scott said, but there's an aspect that's not yet been considered: what will the quality of the image be like when printed as a poster?

Rich, do you have a copy of the image at a high enough resolution for publication in that manner?

IU suspect that you may need to broach this area in an effort to manage the client's expectations; web quality isn't print quality.

[NetMagi]

considering the US military is basically non-profit (I know we could get into LOTS of tangents regarding that statement, but let's leave it at that ) I've decided to go this route:

Sir,

I would be willing to grant use of the photograph for your print and online use in exchange for credit and a copy of any poster/pamphlet/logo/etc. you produce using the image for my portfolio.

At the time that photo was taken, I was just getting into photography as a hobby. The picture was taken with a Minolta Dimage prosumer digital camera. I'm now a professional photographer, and shoot with a Nikon D-Series digital SLR.

I would like to re-shoot the chess pieces with my digital SLR so you have a higher quality shot that will enlarge to poster-size without any degradation. I can also shoot a series of photos along the same theme, so you have different orientations and styles to work with. I'm not looking for any compensation for this, just proper credit and copies of whatever you produce for my portfolio.

-Rich

I'm thinking if they do end up using my work for a full-size production poster, a copy of it along with a letter thanking me would be great for the portfolio I'm trying very hard to develop.

Thanks for all your inputs!

[gstark]

Rich,

Perfect.

[NetMagi]

What Scott said, but there's an aspect that's not yet been considered: what will the quality of the image be like when printed as a poster?

Rich, do you have a copy of the image at a high enough resolution for publication in that manner?

IU suspect that you may need to broach this area in an effort to manage the client's expectations; web quality isn't print quality.

The original I have is 5mp, taken with a Minolta dimage7i. It probably wouldn't look too good at poster-size. I hope if he does choose to continue to pursue using my image, he decides to use a re-shoot from the D70.

-Rich

[stubbsy]

Rich

Is the email text here exactly as you received it or is it suffering from being retyped? The reason I ask is the wording sounds like something written by a person with a poor grasp of english. This in turn makes me wonder if it is actually legit. Does the email address seem to be a US Navy email address?

If the whole thing sounds on the level then yes, do as you say - great chance to get some properly credited exposure.

[NetMagi]

just checked the headers, and it's definetely legit

[MHD]

Sounds good!

I had a similar thing happen, a church in Brazil asked if they could use a sunset picture I took ages ago on a DVD they were producing...