Over the past month or so there has been a lot of concern over many larger bands photo contracts.  One in particular is the Foo Fighters photo release you must sign before shooting them.  Yes the contact is over the top, yes it discusses turning over the copyrights but no it’s not really as big of a deal as you think.  What’s going on is people are blowing the release way out of proportion.  You have a choice, you can sign it and shoot or you could do neither.  It’s no skin off the bands back since you would simply be shooting the same photos as everyone else.
 
What you have to understand is the contract doesn’t say you can’t use the images, it doesn’t say they will take your ownership right from under you.  It says they have the ability to do whatever they want with your images if and only if they ever ask you for them.  Do you see any spaces on the contract that asks for contact info, NO.
 
So why did I choose to sign the contract?  One, I was work for hire, meaning I was getting paid to shoot the photos.  Two if someone is paying me to use the photos they need the rights to use the photos.  Three, what else would I be doing?  Sitting at home wishing I was shooting something opposed to actually putting myself in a position to be successful. 
 
I never expected to end up shooting backstage, it just happened.  But the truth of the matter is I can not share those images without permission.  You know what, I am fine with that right now because I was work for hire.  I shouldn’t be able to just share the images without permission in this one case.  I want to share them but our agreement said I needed them to sign off on it.
 
The moral of the story is by me going out and shooting, aka doing my job, I may have opened up some very important doors.  Am I guaranteed anything further, nope.  That’s okay with me because guess what, I already got my foot in the door, I did the work and they LIKED IT, the liked it a lot. 
 
This weeks episode is brought to you by ATOMOS.  If you are investing in anything 4K and you want to give yourself the ability to select a professional codec, you should check out the shogun.  Not only will you be able to record in professional codecs, you have a larger screen, tons of pro functions, better audio and so much more.  If you’re not in the market for a 4k camera and simply want an inexpensive way to record longer than 20 or 30 min you should check out the “bare bones” option starting at $395.  Check it out right here http://www.atomos.com/
 
Stephen brings us this weeks photo stories and much much more.  While Todd fills his chair and we test out “Todd cam” with the new GoPro Hero4 Session. 
 
Gear of the week is my very own I SHOOT RAW ThinkTank Photo Retrospective 30 bag.  If you’re in the market for a shoulder bag, this is the one bag you will own for many years to come.  It fits everything I need on a shoot and is built to last.  You can pick up a bag right here http://bit.ly/rawbag
 
Thank you to all our sponsors and everyone who checks out the show each week.  LEXAR is the official card of RAWtalk.