The Business of Photography

August 23, 2010

5 Tips For Avoiding The Rights Grab

Get exposure for your work without losing ownership of it

By Samuel Lewis
Read the terms and conditions of just about any contract, website and even some venues, and it’s almost inevitable that you’ll find some form of the "rights grab." Even doing something as seemingly innocuous as posting images on social media can result in a "rights grab." What Is The "Rights Grab"? At a fundamental... Read more
August 9, 2010

Vision To Visuals: Feed The Models!

Jane Gennaro’s extraordinary project to highlight the bizarre and troubling state of today’s fashion models

By Baldev Duggal
I want to love models. I want to feed them and take care of them and make them better… These opening lines from “Feed the Models!” a monologue performed on NPR’s “All Things Considered” by artist Jane Gennaro, are the genesis of her solo exhibition that Duggal helped launch at the World Monuments Fund Gallery in... Read more
June 7, 2010

Trademark Yourself Part II

Picking up where our May/June article left off, DPP delves into acquiring, registering and protecting your business trademark

By Samuel Lewis
In the first part of this article, we addressed some of the key reasons why a photographer should make use of trademarks and how to use and clear that trademark. In this conclusion, we’ll go over how to acquire your trademark and the registration process. Acquiring Trademark Rights And Deciding Whether To Register Trademark law varies from... Read more
June 4, 2010

Vision To Visuals: Preserving Image Quality

Staying true to the originals through successive generations or reproduction

By Baldev Duggal
I’ve written a fair amount in this column about the rich experience of working with artists who donate their works for charities. We’re so frequently involved in such projects that we’ve become quite adept at navigating the maze of stakeholders who make these artists’ exhibitions possible, namely the sponsors, collectors, exhibitors and the... Read more
April 5, 2010

Trademark Yourself: Part 1 – Trademark Law & Photography

The key to protecting business goodwill

By Samuel Lewis
Ask just about any photographer what area of law protects his or her business, and the answer you’re likely to hear is “copyright.” However, copyright law only protects a photographer’s work product and doesn’t prevent a competing business from attempting to capitalize on the goodwill that the photographer has built with... Read more
March 31, 2010

Vision To Visuals: Artistry And Philanthropy

Artist Elizabeth Jordan and sustainable fundraising

By Baldev Duggal
Among some of the most powerful ideas that are shaping the zeitgeist of today, social responsibility, conscious capitalism, social entrepreneurship and global citizenship are at the top. In this decade, I’ve observed a significant shift away from the traditional philanthropy model of invisible charity and toward a more conscious engagement between... Read more
February 22, 2010

What Do You Really Know About Copyright Law?

Legal issues about your photography can be confusing, but becoming knowledgeable in the area is part of being a professional in the 21st century

By Samuel Lewis
Ask a fellow photographer what the first thing he or she learned about copyright law was, and you’re likely to come up with a variety of responses that have little to do with the reason copyright law exists, what it seeks to protect or even what rights it confers upon owners. Yet, it’s these concepts that help photographers secure and enjoy... Read more
February 2, 2010

Vision To Visuals: Walk, Don’t Walk

By crowd sourcing, an artist created a unique display in Lower Manhattan

By Baldev Duggal
Art and real estate enjoy a unique complementary relationship. The depreciation of real estate prices inevitably creates a downward demand trend for art as well. This kinship was most evident earlier in this decade, when prominent art shows in the country were overwhelmingly attended by real estate developers, and realtors began creating residential... Read more
January 4, 2010

Release Me!

If you want to feel properly protected and have the latitude to maximize your ability to sell an image, don’t forget the model releases when you hit the street

By Samuel Lewis
Like many photographers, my way of seeing the world was influenced by images capturing discrete moments in time in everyday places. Whether it was Alfred Eisenstaedt’s iconic image of a sailor kissing a woman in Times Square on VJ Day or Cartier-Bresson’s image of a man jumping a puddle, images like these scenes captured on the street continue... Read more
December 14, 2009

Vision To Visuals: Challenging The Norms

Find your style

By Baldev Duggal
Photography always has played an integral role in the world of fashion. From early masters like Man Ray, Irving Penn and Richard Avedon to contemporaries like Juergen Teller and Karl Lagerfeld, photographers have elevated fashion brands out of their commercial milieu and rendered them timeless. A successful relationship between a fashion designer and... Read more
November 9, 2009

Vision To Visuals: The Model Project

A cutting-edge display for a cutting-edge project

By Baldev Duggal
Illustration has long struggled to gain a distinct place for itself in the fine-art world. Perhaps because of its commercial applications in the advertising and entertainment industries that have rendered it into popular culture, illustration seems to have been silently stigmatized as inferior to the other fine arts—sculpture, painting and even photography.... Read more
November 9, 2009

Is Fair Use Really Fair?

As it exists today, “fair use” is a confusing and complex problem for photographers

By Samuel Lewis
One of the most perplexing and confusing aspects of copyright law is the concept of “fair use.” Of the various limitations on the rights that copyright owners have under U.S. copyright law, fair use is the most widely known. Given the tremendous amount of confusion associated with this doctrine, and the difficulties involved in applying... Read more
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