photos for a book - would you agree?

[jmdaoudal]

"I'm not in photography for the money"
that is not the question James, but in offering free you don't get respect to you personal work even if this is a hobby, you are not more seen as a photographer and you create an extra profit for the editing company.
More in this case they will multiply prints to other media.
Would be more interesting to invoice and give the money for charity.
Jean Michel

[adam_k]

"One copy of the book for each image used would be shipped to the Mailing address"

---
Just give them one picture and you'll have a nice book to read/ look at :)

[james-r]

"but in offering free you don't get respect to you personal work even if this is a hobby"

I'd get a book and a photographer's credit.

Create profit for the editing company? Fair enough - not an issue for me. If they put the risk and effort into publishing a book, good luck to them. If it doesn't sell, they suffer.

[jmdaoudal]

James, a book is nothing, here when I sale in all case they send the book as an evidence and this is contractualy the time to invoive and be paid.
About profit, I mean unfair profit, as they pay for photos and don't pay for others.
jean Michel

[james-r]

quite frankly I don't care.

I don't consider my photos to be of great quality - if someone wants one of my images and gives me a book in return as well as mentioning my name in the book - I'd be delighted.

I can understand better photographers being more protective of their images and maybe if I improve I'll feel the same as well.

[Homerhomer]

quite frankly I don't care.

I don't consider my photos to be of great quality -
----
that's fine, but I think the thread was started because Maciek wanted advise for him and not what each one of us would have done with our photos, all inferior to his and quite frankly 3 leagues below his quality in most cases.
Peter

[maciekda]

thanks for all your suggestions. Finally I have replied to the guy, that I am not interested in their project (unless they will pay me a few $$).
if they make money, why not paying for photos? I don't see how it would help promoting my work.
but I must admit, that once I gave photos for a book for free, a group of people on Flickr make a book - <a href=http://www.flickr.com/groups/legends_of_the_dragon/">Legends of the dragon</a>. I sent some photos to their pool, they were acepted and the book will be printed soon.

[zips]

As a former NY Post photojournalist told me in front of a camera store in Thailand one day...."don't give em away!". Not that anyone would ever want one of mine...but when I see this 70 year old man hustling around with his D70 to get some photos out to a few small visitor magazines for pay....how could I sleep at night if I gave the publications the same type of photos for free?

I know you aspire to be a National Geographic photographer, and you will be some day.....or with some fancy agency. Giving photos away devalues your work. Like the other guys in the thread said, if names such as McCurrey (and I know you were on a website with him) are involved....you are gonna get paid anyway. Be patient my friend. Your time will come.

Yesterday I picked the August 1995 issue of National Geographic Magazine. It stated the following:

"In 1993 our photographers shot 46,769 rolls, about 1,683,600 frames. That year 1408 pictures were published. A .001 batting average."

[kinginexile]

2 things: I sure gave away some photos in the beginning, mostly to be shown on websites, or limited specialized magazines. I never received the promised issue, or the feedback saying thank you or a link to the site with the photo in. I have better communication when the pix is sold. There is just something that comes with giving something from free, anything, that makes the receiver, could be a friend too, less appreciative of the gift, as if they paid you a favor for considering you.

The comment about Maciej being 3 times better than us is a bit shooting a blank. Maciej, I am sure, is now figuring out how to get in the leagues of those 3 times better than him :-).... Which may simply mean more popular, or more PR-savvy. I see galleries of people who sell their pictures, and the congratulation would be more for running a good little business operation from their keyboards than the outstandingness of their photography, good as it is.

i have a feeling Maciej is in photography to find a personal path and a career maybe, but career and sales are 2 different things. Once leaving the coziness of the net, it's a whole new ball game out there. IMO.

[kinginexile]

by popular, I meant not on the net where Maciej is doing so well, but popular like, well, like Mc Curry.