APA: 'Photographers' Rights Have Been Under Attack'

In the past few weeks, three events have surfaced that serve to illustrate the assault working and emerging professional photographers are under to surrender their federally-guaranteed rights to earn a living from their images. The American Photographic Artists (APA), the most prestigious national organization for professional photographers, and its national chapter, APA/EP (focused on editorial photographers), are deeply concerned with these ongoing developments.

APA continues to urge independent photographers to resist surrendering rights to their images without fair compensation, while continuing to evolve and adapt to a new digital-media reality.

1. Condé Nast publications' Vogue Magazine has partnered with the Italian fashion designer, Bottega Veneta, in a photography competition that unnecessarily and unfairly grabs unlimited, non-photo-credited rights, including lucrative publication and advertising rights, to every image submitted to the contest – NOT just winning images, but EVERY IMAGE: http://promotions.vogue.com/promo_newexposure2013.php. Unfortunately, they are not alone in their strategy. Hundreds of photo contests every year build vast libraries of free imagery by dangling the promise of exposure and publicity, then insidiously seizing broad usage rights to every image submitted via the fine print of the contests' terms.

APA endorses the mission of the Artists Bill of Rights organization http://artists-bil-of-rights.org and strongly believes that while photo contests can play a role within a photographer's well-planned marketing strategy, the price of admission should not be the complete surrender of copyright to every image submitted. We should never be so vain, or so desperate, to get published that we forget that the ultimate goal of being published is to be paid.

2. On May 20, Yahoo CEO Marissa Mayer was quoted as saying, "There's no such thing as Flickr Pro today because [with so many people taking photographs] there's really no such thing as professional photographers anymore." While she quickly apologized on her Twitter account @marissamayer and claimed the comment was taken out of context, this slip by the CEO of one of America's largest Internet companies brutally highlights the lens with which our profession is viewed by much of corporate America.

APA would like to reiterate that copyright protects the work of ALL creatives – big Internet, media, and movie companies, and independent small business owners alike. Millions of sole proprietors and small creative businesses are able to make their livings, pay their taxes, and send their children to college because federal copyright law grants them the right to charge for the use of their creations if they choose to do so. And yes, professional photographers are still alive and kicking and bringing you images from Afghanistan, Boston, Sandy Hook, and Fukushima, thank you very much.

3. Finally, as widely reported by NPR HERE and the Chicago Tribune HERE among others, on May 28 the Chicago Sun-Times laid off their entire professional photo staff of twenty eight people and plans to replace them with freelancers and images shot by reporters. Among those laid off was Pulitzer Prize winner, John H. White. In a wired world that is more visual than ever, the Sun-Times has shortsidedly decided that "good enough" is all their readers deserve.

Our friends at National Press Photographers Association (NPPA) have a follow up story of the Sun-Times photographers and supporters picketing the newspaper's office that you can read HERE.

APA and APA/EP strongly affirm that in this increasingly visual world, professional-quality photojournalism is more important than ever, not less. Visual and written storytelling are equally important, but distinctly different, skills. Just as true news-gathering organizations do not write their lead stories from cut-and-paste Twitter feeds, they should not rely on anything less than the best original photojournalism they can afford.

APA and our partners believe that creativity is the cultural soul of our nation. As such, it deserves to be valued, respected, nurtured, and protected. Assaults on the right to profit from creative efforts are assaults on our country's cultural identity. Despite our free market economy, APA believes we as a nation value our cultural heritage more than pure profit at any cost for corporate America. We urge photographers, other visual artists, and all creatives to protect their copyrights, earn from them fairly, and continue to create for the benefit of our nation.

About American Photographic Artists (APA)
The American Photographic Artists (www.apanational.com) is a leading national organization run by and for professional photographers. With a culture that promotes a spirit of mutual cooperation, sharing and support, APA offers outstanding benefits, educational programs and essential business resources to help its members achieve their professional and artistic goals. Headquartered in Atlanta, Georgia with chapters in Atlanta, Los Angeles, the Midwest, New York, San Diego, San Francisco, Charlotte, the Northwest, Colorado and Washington, DC, APA strives to improve the environment for photographic artists and clear the pathways to success in the industry. Recognized for its broad industry reach, APA continues to expand benefits for its members and works to champion the rights of photographers and image-makers worldwide.

About Editorial Photographers (EP)
Editorial Photographers (www.editorialphoto.com) is a non-profit organization dedicated to improving the health and profitability of editorial photography. Our mission is to educate photographers and photography buyers about business issues affecting our industry, and in the process raise the level of business practices in the profession.