I’m sure we’ve all heard the term, “snapshot”. Unfortunately for many camera owners that’s all they end up taking is, quickly composed and automatically exposed pictures that have the electronic brain in the camera making all the exposure decisions and their own quick effort to frame the shot usually leaves most people with pictures that are poorly framed and with bad lighting of their subject.
A professional photographer will take the time to really look at a scene, observe the lighting conditions with meters, and make use of additional lighting equipment to properly illuminate the subject in the scene being mindful of shadows, back lighting, key lighting and how they all interact together to present the subject in their best light.
A professional photographer will also tend to use cameras that can be adjusted fully manually because they know about all the different characteristics of aperture and exposure settings and how they interact together to create an image that brings out key elements of the shot in clear sharp detail while reducing the focus on other parts of the scene which are better served not commanding as much attention in the final image.
The other thing that a professional photographer will bring to the table is a wide variety of lenses, with each one suited to different subject sizes and distances. They will also have the experience to know which one is best to use under all different shooting environments.
A person with a simple point and shoot camera could never faithfully accomplish all these things because their camera has one fixed lens and their cameras often don’t allow them to fully manually adjust all the parameters of their cameras to obtain the best results.
The last item in this answer deals with experience and costs. A professional photographer brings all of these skills and all of these very expensive tools into the project and usually at prices that are less then what the daily rental fees would be if the person wanted to just rent the same pro level gear and do the job themselves. This is a very important point that should not be overlooked! If you don’t believe me, call up your local camera store and ask them how much it would cost to rent a top end $8000.00 camera body and 3 or 4 Pro lenses with a similar retail value and all the lighting equipment; you’ll quickly discover that not only is this an even more expensive option but will also force you to very quickly learn how to make use of all of it and then quickly take your pictures and hurry the gear back to the store before the late fees kick in.
Once you carefully consider all the points raised in this quick question that requires a very detailed and accurate answer, you’ll soon realize the value and professionalism that an experienced, well equipped photographer brings to the table.
What are Non-Exclusive Usage Rights?
Non-exclusive usage rights are a widely employed standard used by the photographic industry as a means of setting out what the images taken may be used for, the duration of time they can be used and set in place the limitations of what can not be done with them. They also set out what rights the original photographer will hold onto as the creator of the image.
These terms vary on the application so in cases like a personal portrait taken for non-commercial usage, the client generally will have the right to display the image in their home, post it on social networking web-sites and make back up copies for security or for giving out to family and friends for private, non-commercial use in perpetuity. The Photographer will generally hold onto the original digital negative and hold the right to use that image for their portfolios both in print and on-line and will charge a nominal fee for reprints and additional data file replacements should the customer loose their copy of the picture.
Corporate clients who are using the pictures for the purposes of promoting their business, services and products will also have all the rights of a non-commercial user and additionally have the right to use the images to help them promote their business in perpetuity but restrictions might be placed on using the images for specific activities only. As an example, a picture might be licensed to use on an informational website but not give the client the right to put that image on a T shirt of coffee mug which they intend to sell for a profit. Here too, the photographer will retain ownership copyrights for the purposes of promoting their own business in print or by electronic means but will normally conform to reasonable non-compete terms so that they could not sell those images to a business competitor of the original client. The photographer would also hold the right to additionally license the image for other specific usages to the original client at additional fees.
This is all done as a means of pricing the images appropriately for the needs of the client, as a person who wants a picture of their child, to put up on their mantle shouldn’t have to pay the same price as a client who needs a picture that will be sold to the masses and that they will realize a large return on their investment from. Or, take for example the needs of a not-for-profit agency that might need an image to help them promote a campaign about informing the public about a health or safety issue. They too shouldn’t have to pay for an image what say a Fashion magazine might pay to have an image of a popular celebrity that might help them to sell millions of copies of their publication.
In summary, non-exclusive usage rights are used to help price an image for fair market value based on the intended usage of the image and as a means of establishing ownership as well as spelling out the rights and responsibilities of all the parties involved. So, when I give you a price quotation for my services, I have to factor in what the intended usage of the images will be used for and draw up an estimate and rights doccument based on your specific usage needs. Rest assured though that these terms are written to be read and understood by normal people, not just lawyers, and my prices are always competitive and priced to reflect the fair market value of their stated usage.