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Was I snubbed for a photo shoot I did?
Lucid
Registered User regular
Registered User regular
Last summer I attended a local event(involving human rights), a marathon. I was initially volunteering as a non photo related position. Shortly after I arrived however, I was recruited on the spot to take pictures(I had my camera with me as I always do) for the event by someone working with amnesty international.
So, I spent the entire morning/afternoon taking pictures of everything. I gave me contact info to the appropriate people(all volunteers) and they said they'd get in contact with me.
After a month or so they had not contacted me yet, so I decided to email them(through the site) and inquire as to whether they needed photos. The woman I communicated with seemed enthused and I got the pictures together and sent them(although they initially failed to send somehow, and there was a minor misunderstanding with this, but it was cleared and they received my photos). The woman I was in contact with seemed excited and said they were great photos. I don't believe she specifically proclaimed that they'd use them on the site, but I felt that this impression was given to some extent. Especially since I had to work with someone else who did the release form stuff at the event.
I checked periodically to see if they updated the site, and just recently they did(it's volunteer run, so a little slow in updating).
However they didn't use any of my photos. Honestly the photos they have online aren't as good either(I know, bias right), they were mostly standing around shots and very few actual running/walking shots. I was a little dissapointed.
I don't have a lot of experience with event shoots, so I'm a little unsure of the protocol here.
Would it be worth it to contact the woman I communicated with previously to inquire about them not using my photos? Should I just forget it and move on to whatever event I find next?
So, I spent the entire morning/afternoon taking pictures of everything. I gave me contact info to the appropriate people(all volunteers) and they said they'd get in contact with me.
After a month or so they had not contacted me yet, so I decided to email them(through the site) and inquire as to whether they needed photos. The woman I communicated with seemed enthused and I got the pictures together and sent them(although they initially failed to send somehow, and there was a minor misunderstanding with this, but it was cleared and they received my photos). The woman I was in contact with seemed excited and said they were great photos. I don't believe she specifically proclaimed that they'd use them on the site, but I felt that this impression was given to some extent. Especially since I had to work with someone else who did the release form stuff at the event.
I checked periodically to see if they updated the site, and just recently they did(it's volunteer run, so a little slow in updating).
However they didn't use any of my photos. Honestly the photos they have online aren't as good either(I know, bias right), they were mostly standing around shots and very few actual running/walking shots. I was a little dissapointed.
I don't have a lot of experience with event shoots, so I'm a little unsure of the protocol here.
Would it be worth it to contact the woman I communicated with previously to inquire about them not using my photos? Should I just forget it and move on to whatever event I find next?
Lucid on
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Someone on some sort of executive advisory board or something probably took the pictures you're not too impressed with... I'd just ask that woman if she wouldn't mind being a reference wrt your abilities as a photographer, and put the best photos you took into your portfolio. No harm, no foul.
It's more likely that either your photos never made it to the web people for whatever reason, or whoever was responsible for putting up the photos just put up their own or their friends'.
The whole situation reminds me of how all the friends of the yearbook staff would always get like 4x as many photos as everyone else.
But I'm sure we've all got stories of that time we got snubbed by someone on some sort of committee.
You shot/drew/wrote something on a freelance basis that didn't get used for whatever reason; internal politics, someone didn't like it, they never actually got the photos at all and didn't want to hassle with you, who knows. I'm sure you think it's awesome because you did it, and maybe it actually is better than whatever they used, but this is pretty much how it goes. If you think they're portfolio material or something then run with it, but there's no real point in badgering the organization about it.
that's why we call it the struggle, you're supposed to sweat
It's not a big deal really. I was pretty much set on just shrugging my shoulders but I thought I'd check H/A to see if there was a better alternative. Apparently it's as I thought however, not really worth getting into.
I guess it's just different than other organizations I've shot for which when they decided not to use my material, mail me to let me know and inquire as to whether they can keep them on file for possible future use.
Subsequently, the woman who talked to you forgot your contact information, or forgot to give it to the person who decided about photos, or didn't relay your call to anyone else, or was too busy to get in touch with you, or felt awkward about contacting you after acting so enthusiastic, or tried to contact you but had your phone # wrong, or some other event happened out of the millions of reasons why you might not get contacted.
This isn't some sort of personal slight against your abilities as a photographer. Stuff happens. How many times have you forgotten to do something, ever, or done something inadequately? All it takes is for someone else to forget something or screw up a bit and blammo, your photographs aren't on a website. That's how life works, and it's not something to get worked up over.
Anyways thanks for the insight. I've went on the path of changing careers later in life(30) so this path is somewhat new to me, even if I've been artistically inclined my entire life. Any learning experience is appreciated, no matter how sardonic.
that's why we call it the struggle, you're supposed to sweat
Random anonymous validation: Hey, thanks for coming out! Good hustle out there!