Exploiting photographers in India

There are many photographers in India who can barely afford to eat, to them $150 is the difference between feeding their families and not. Why is that shameful?

it is shamefull because this is exploiting people and taking their rightfull ownership rights because you can! and then you go and make money on their back. photographers need to be appreciated and earn their living honestly, this is slavery.
Have you been to India? do you have any idea about the amounts of money that is flowwing in this country’s veins? where have you seen “many photographers in India who can barely afford to eat”??? and do you think this guy is doing them a favor?

actually i’ve seen many struggling photographers in india..

hey gary, you know vicky from SV photographics in delhi?

Exploiting photographers it’s not any different from exploiting cleaning ladies, from exploiting construction workers, engineers, miners, taxi drivers, waitresses, sex workers, lawyers, electricians, dog trainers, babysitters, you name it. It happens every day in your neighborhood. I have not seen indian photographers who can bearly afford to eat, but i know photographers/designers/artists/creative guys in Eastern Europe working for $200 a MONTH and not being able to keep their copyright, and even more, having to steal a low-res jpeg or two, of their own work for their portfolio (the boss is afraid they might re-sell the ‘masterpiece’ to another client). Unfortunately, there are black spots on the world map where ‘copyright’ means very little. Where people don’t even know that what they have created today has a value beyond the payment they feel happy to get at the end of the month. Why don’t you put up a story about it?

Dear Sephi,

Yes, I have been going to India for about 20 years, and you? You can see some of my work on my agency website of you are that interested – www.viiphoto.com.

I have many Indian friends and many of them struggle to earn a living. Most Indian photographers working for domestic newspapers earn nothing approaching $150 a day, they don’t even earn $150 a week, and some freelance photographers do not earn that in a month. I had a long discussion with about 20 Indian photographers based in Delhi in April this year and another group from Kashmir, the suggestion from them was that the amounts of money flowing about that you talk about had not reached them to any significant degree. It may seem shameful to a foreigner from a developed country with access to money for whom $150 is easilly obtained but shaming and criticising Indian photographers is an awfull thing to do. The target of your ire should be the paymaster, if you think that these guys at photosindia.net are being abusive then what about AP, Reuters, AFP, and the local newspapers etc – what health care plan and access to expensive equipment do you think they provide? You should – in my opinion – be more discriminating in your target selection and considerably more sensitive about the reality of being a freelance photographer in the developing world.

Best wishes

Gary Knight

Sohrab – yes I know Vicky and SV, good people.

As an Australian photographer in the Maldives, I have had my fair share of conversations with Maldivian clients about copyright. In a nut shell, the Maldivian companies I have dealt with are all used to a work for hire arrangements. Interestingly, the companies that have hired me have been fine with me retaining copyright and licensing the work to them. That isn’t to say it hasn’t involved some explaining and education – it has. I have also met a number of Maldivian photogs and they have all confirmed what I thought – they are used to doing just work for hire and in one instance, one of the photographers had no idea about the concept of licensing.

IMHO, part of the problem over here can be attributed to two things – 1. There are no copyright laws in the Maldives and 2. Photographers here are there own worst enemy. As a result, when ever I meet a Maldivian photographer I ALWAYS go out of my way to talk with them about copyright; what it means; the importance; why you shouldn’t give it away etc…

Now, in case you are wondering what this has to do with this thread, it is this: there is no use complaining about this situation. Instead, each and everyone one of us that believes and understands in the value of copyright has to educate those that don’t know any better

Dear Gary,
I have been coming to India since ten years and have been living and working here for almost five years now and have a great respect for this country and its people.
(you are welcome to see my work on www.sephi.com)
I was the president of the professional photographers association in Israel in 2000-01 and have put a lot of energy and efforts trying to turn it into a proper union, unfortunately with little success, but I know a bit about rights and working conditions.
I am not attacking the photographers but the ‘agency’. I fail to understand how you do not think that this is exploitation to hire someone for $150 a day and taking all his rights. anyway, this is your view and I think differently.
but what made you think that I am trying to “shame and criticize Indian photographers”? I was not born in India and I am not an Indian citizen but I chose to make my life in India and I AM an Indian photographer! it is my duty to point out this kind of working conditions as I feel that by doing so I contribute to the improvement of their condition.
“be more discriminating in your target selection and considerably more sensitive about the reality of being a freelance photographer in the developing world.” – I feel that a photographer who chooses to take such an assignment at this cost is hurting himself and his fellow photographers and only justifies all the rest of them, AP, AFP and all the others that exploit all of us here. one needs to shout out and I would have expected you to understand and support this cause. this agency is a stock agency based in Delhi and US and is not giving work for $150 a day to poor photographers in Nagpur or Kashmir. this is high level studio work in a well equipped studio in Gurgaon!
next time you are in India please do give me a call and maybe we could exchange a few ideas and opinions. My only aim is to try and improve working conditions for all of us here.
best wishes
Sephi Bergeron

And one more thing Gary, this is not an Indian newspaper but a stock agency who is going to make a lot of money from these images. how can you compare what a local paper pays to what you can potencially make from stock?

Hi Sephi

Thank yo for your e-mail. I use the word “shame” only because you used it in your first post when you referred to the Indian photographers as shameful. I do not know anything more about photoindia than what you put in that post to, which was that they were Indian. I took exception at your calling Indian photographers shameful for taking $150 dollars a day, I did not say anywhere that I do not think its exploitative, or even a bad idea, but I am not in the position of my Indian friends who are – in some cases – losing sleep at night worrying about money. I have always made it clear where I stand on these issues, in fact the reason I conceived VII was to ensure that I was not exploited, but I think that we need to be a little tolerant of people who are not as fortunate as we are. I think for many photographers in emerging or developing economies the issues we discuss are all well and good but the realities they face everyday are such that they take whatever they can get, and I can’t really blame them for that. Anyway, I think we probably agree more than we differ, and I would be very happy to see you when I am next in India. Nice website and I respect your efforts to make the working environment in India a better one.

Best wishes

Gary

I think the point is that while this is clear exploitation from OUR point of view, US$150 a day is a lot of money for people who are less fortunate. I wouldn’t criticize people in these situations and contexts too hard for selling away copyright, especially if that’s one way for them to feed their families, etc.
Why not get in touch, if it’s possible, with the folks who are contributing to this agency, and ask them about their situation, and why they’re doing this? If they don’t know any better, then it’s a chance for a bit of info sharing and education. If they do know better, but feels they NEED to do this for practical reason, then perhaps we who are more fortunate need to be more understanding.
But yes, I agree overall that companies will try to exploit as much as possible. Welcome to capitalism, and yes, globalization.

Hello. India is not de only one. In Argentine you have good luck if you have a work at a newspaper for something around 600 dolars per month (30 uss per day). In some cases the paper not provide you the camera. Some latin american newspapers have an agency that resells the work of the staff photographers do and they pay nothing to them. The big conglomerates use your pictures in several media without compensation.The entreprises ignore all the copyrights. And the congress are deaf to the several petitions for make one law that make clear the game. I tried all the time to do other things but I have to pay de rent and give money to my family. Only my two cents about exploitation.

the stock agency in question is certainly exploitative…it is also not entirely ‘indian’….one of the owners is based in austin, texas and it lists an office in austin and has a production office in gurgaon, delhi. i think its current fee structure reflects the ugly face of capitalism…certainly from the photographers’ standpoint, it is exploitative…but from the agency’s standpoint, it’s paying what it feels will be accepted by some local photographers (who are willing to do so for economical reasons).

eventually, india’s economic growth will beget increased demand for stock photography (adverts etc), this will generate competition for good photographers…and hopefully better day rates. i would suggest that stock agency business in india is in its infancy and naturally, this company sees an opportunity to enhance its profitability…eventually, the industry will mature and hopefully, the local photogs will be better paid, and get organized in associations et al. in the meantime though, some will accept that rate because they have to. it’s unfortunate but reality is frequently cruel.

I was waiting for someone from the Latin American contingent to chime in. Thanks Hernan. Quite right, the situation in this hemisphere, with the exception of Canada and the US, is pretty dismal. The situation at the papers is exactly as Hernan described, and you really dont have options. One of my best friends here in St Domingo was a photojournalist and now works as an editor for the magazines that his paper puts out (Listín Diario, the best and oldest paper here, a bit like a Dominican NY Times). He earns about 24,000 pesos a month, which translates roughly to $740 US dollars. You cannot really live on that here. Talk about exploitation. (And let’s not even get into the freedom of the press to investigate stories properly, since the papers are owned and run by the same people who are making money off of corrupt deals involving projects to develop the country, like the current construction of the new subway.) Everything is work for hire, they dont hire independents except when they need to extend coverage a bit during big events like the elections, and they dictate everything from ownership of the image to the style in which it is shot (that is, the rather conservative conventions of newspaper shooting prevail without question here). Magazine work is a step up, but there are very few magazines, and they are mostly just celebrity/society stuff or weddings and such rot. The newspapers are the only organs that have magazines running serious photo essays. And the Wires are no better: AP, for example, operates here with a nod and a handshake, and the deal that obtains is prejudicial to the interests of the photographer: they own your image, they pay you a set salary, they give you nothing from the profits made on resale of your images.

That is the reality of the situation, and as Gary pointed out, the photogs might be lucky to get a decent salary — $150 US a day in India is pretty damn good, better than here, obviously. I agree with you Sephi, it is exploitation, but right now I live in a society that regularly exploits its workers, a legacy of colonialism no doubt, and changing that environment will take some time, a few generations I am sure. By the way, even the First World is experiencing an upsurge in these prejudicial contractual arrangements, and magazines connect to Time/Life are,some of them apparently, beginning to enforce work for hire contracts.

After read this post, I’m thinking to move to India……

U$s 150 per day.

It’s a lot of money if you think the wire services pay less than it and they keep the copyright too.

Thanks to Gary, Hernan and Jon for your explanations.

Sadly all that they said it’s true, and it going worst

Walter

Hello,
this topic is pretty interesting.
Here’s an additional thought :
Maybe 150 USD could be an emergency solution, but certainly not a standard procedure….
Here in China even certain western publications & companies try to apply “different” standards ( = from what I know in some cases less than 50 % the normal day rate ) for Chinese photographers. While some think " great opportunity to get a foot into the western world ", others wonder why they are treated like second rate for doing the same work as foreign photographers.
Why is that ? Probabely due to a lack of exchange between foreign and native photographers and/ or misunderstood competition.
In the end- sorry for being selfish- cheap standards bite back, at least when you base yourself in a country outside the US /EU/etc :last year- for the first time – a EU client asked me to go down with my day rate as the company “could also hire a Chinese photographer for less than a third” I was asking for …..
This discussion so far has been about local standards, but I thought it’s useful to add my angle as in theory western publications & companies giving out assignments/jobs overseas should keep the standards up.
best,
kat.
PS: Gary, still hope we can work out something.Just got back.

Well, the “ethical trade” label nowadays gets applied to food, drinks, clothing and other kinds of consumer goods and services. Is there room to ask Time, or Newsweek, or The New York Times where they get their photographic content from, and whether or not such products had been procured in an ethical (and fair to photographers and anyone else associated with the production process) manner?

thank you everyone for contributing to this thread. one thing for sure is that there is a lot to talk about and many things to try and change.
I am going to try and get some Indian and foreign photographers together in Delhi and start a discussion and maybe in the future this could be a first step towards a union in Delhi/India.

I would also like to hear what local Indian photographers have to say. lets see what they think about what came up here.
Also please refer to the thread about meeting in Delhi.

The $150 per day offered here has to be put into perspective. Since teachers in India only earn the equivalent of 50-100 US$ per month, someone working 10 days a month at that rate is on a relative basis doing quite well by Indian standards. Many of the Indian call center workers (jobs viewed as HIGHLY desirable), are paid in that range.

IMHO, owning the copyright is only one of several possible business terms to be negotiated in any deal. There are legitimate occasions when someone hiring a photographer would want to control usage of the photos and ownership of the copyright is a way to do that. The photographer, on the other hand, should negotiate that in her price for the gig. If the final price looks OK to the photographer from that prospective, then I am not sure that we should be so critical of either the agency or the photograper. I think that was Gary’s point.

Sure, by North American and European standards $150 per day is peanuts, but I don’t think a photographer’s union or other organized activity is likely to change the economic standards for photographers in India very soon. I think that Jon’s observation that it may take a few generations before these things will change in Latin America is probably the correct one here too. However, I suspect that the change in the marketplace will not be driven by time but rather by economic development, with which India is CERTAINLY going to rocket forward in the next decade.

Sephi, i have thought along similar lines, as I am currently involved in an effort to promote photography here in DR and explore the means of bringing it to new heights, part of which would certainly involve loosening the hold that the employers have on the photographers. But while China or India, for their sheer size and the interest that Western publications have in the place, might provide a promising context for such an endeavor, I have doubts that we can accomplish much here on an island whose whole problem is its lack of autonomy and persistent enthrallment to larger powers, not to mention the lack of outside media. That system of exploitation gets reproduced at every level of the society, and because there are so few opportunities here, the market is entirely tilted in favor of those who currently control it. It is a buyers market and the producers have no choice but to capitulate — or starve. They do not have the option, really, of working for outside concerns or for marketing their material outside (though, actually, in terms of stock sales they could at least upload to Alamy and so on). There have been attempts to create image banks and agencies, but so far as I know none of them could make it. The place is just too small.

Also you have to figure the wage scale locally, as Neal points out: 150 bucks is lots of money. Here in DR it is a fortune, and most middle class people earn about two thirds that sum. If I were to work for a company for such a sum, I would probably do so, as that sum here would provide me with the means to live an upper middle class lifestyle and subsidize my personal work, which for me is the whole point of it anyway. Walter mi pana, ya tu sabes bien como se hace aquí — lamentablemente. Y ciento cincuenta dólares diario es muy buen pago: con tal suma uno podría vivir muy bien aquí (imaginate, casi 5000 pesos diario, 25,000 semanal, 100,000 mensual!!!! Ojalá pudiera ganar tanto!)

in my view and as i posted earlier, the growth in the indian economy with all its concomittant results is what will improve the local photographers’ lot. and it’s much more than just the economy…for instance, i would think the indian legal system is so byzantine and riddled with bureaucracy that the enforcement of copyright law would be at the very bottom of the courts’ priorities unless it involves a major multinational company or a large Indian company like Tata et al. so what would be the chances of a struggling photog to bring a copyright suit against a stock company or whatever?

increasing the awareness and political clout of local photographers is an admirable thought…but regretably marketplace economics such as wage levels, availability of supply, etc. will still prevail. particularly in india where the average wage is low…and many are willing to replace those who resist or who don’t want to work for these wages. regretably, the change and improvement will come slowly…i wish they would come sooner for the local photographers, and for that matter, for all Indians.

I’m not positive if this is current, but that is the same amount that New York stringers used to make from AP four years ago, and they had the same terms. I suspect that the cost of living is higher in New York than in many parts of India.

Its heartening (or disheartening) to see that we are all in the same boat. In Managua its the same. My paper owns the rights of its staff photogs. Even the new copyright law approved this year protects the rights of the corporation and not the individual that produced the work. I believe that in Frnace for example copyright law awards the ownership of the images to the phototogs, no matter what. Can anybody clarify this. In my exprience with the wire services they keep the copyright of the images you xmit, but at least you get to keep the out takes for yourself, plus they gave you gear and support to do your work as a country stringer. When newsmakers started years ago that was their strategy, feeding off the out takes of wire service country stringers. It worked for both sides.

On a postive note, individual pj’s in Managua have sued in order to get compensation for copyright infringement, and they have won. For example PJ Ruben Fariña sued Parmalat (before its collapse) and won. Here in LA PRENSA some idiot text editors have pirated images from internet and its been up to me to untangle the mess before it ended up in court. Most PJ’s just want a fair payment for thier work. At least in LA PRENSA now, there is respect for other PJ’s copyright (specially since the offending editors have been stuck witht the bill).

I beleive its all a question of getting sufficiently organized. This forum is a great example of what can happen if we get organized. The technology is now availale for us to controll, market, sell our own work. I think Digital Railroad for example is the best thing that has happned to us since sliced bread. We can now by-pass the middle men and go directly to the client. Digital technology has allowed us to store and make market ready ungodly amounts of images. We no longer need agencies or wire services to do it for us. We can xmit images efficiently and cheaply from almost anywhere in the planet, wich also was the other advantage that wire services has over individuals. We used to have to spend vasts amounts of money on film, chemicals, telephone bills!! Now days just fire up your digital camera, hook up to the internet and off you go.

I think a read a post just last week in wich somebody said “lightstalkers photo agency” Well shit! Why not. Let,s not complain about others controlling our copyright, or the market. There are enough PJ’s signed up in this forum to give any agency a run for thier money.

“Whatever you can do or dream you can, begin it.
Boldness has genius, power, and magic in it.” – Goethe

Tomas

I own an agency, who works for Latin American only. We made a change and the media here is paying the fees for a photographer. The difference that we make is just we had rates by day, half day and full day.

But still there is people here in Chile working for newspapers for 30 dollars by day and the media holds the copyrigth. Shit, I think many PJ wants to go to India.
A stringer for AFP, Reuters or AP collect 150 per day. The same fees that the Indian Agency. And they hold the copyright too. What is the diference.

Also, there is some agencies, based on US, that low their fees to 250 per day. Wich leave to a PJ 175 per day.

May be we must fix the problems with the agncies in the States first. They are getting the fees lower.

Exactly Scout. I dont think the wages have changed a bit for NYC, but the point is as Gary, Neal and I pointed out, this wage in a place like India or St Domingo is very handsome and would definitely pose a real option to those whose choice is between work and unemployment, food on the table and no food at all, a chance to work at the thing that one loves to do and the necessity of making ends meet with whatever odd job comes to hand. Well, when you add all that up, there is really little to consider: given the circumstances, copyright and subsequent earnings from stock sales are somewhat irrelevant and moot. Also, I dont know about this particular case, but sometimes work for hire contracts posit a mutual ownership of copyright, and that means at the very least you are free to use the images yourself as you wish, though the other party will continue to make money off them too and becomes in effect your competitor. Viewed from the perspective of a successful freelancer in the “First World” the contract is indeed injurious, but viewed within the context of a third world country, it is actually an attractive option.

I agree with Sephi about rights but the reality of living and working as local photographer in India changes that.
When I was working in India as a staff photographer for $300 monthly salary, I had to get my own gear and provide my own trasportation with no health insurance. I had a friend who was shooting for a multinational stock/media company for $200 monthly salary with the condition that he can never use those pictures for any purpose, not even for his portfolio. My other friends who were freelancing could barely even buy a second hand camera and lenses. The issue of rights was the last thing on their mind. This was five years ago, and may be things have changed quite a bit. But even now, a major Indian newsmagazine pays $100 per picture(almost like a day rate of $100) for freelancers based in New York with the condition that they own all the rights for the picture forever and no payment for repeat use. These rules are made up on the fly, as there no similar organizations like ASMP or EP who can lookout for photographers. So in this situation, $150/day does not sound too bad to me.

Whe should make a union on LS

Well, Hugo, LS is already acting as a kind of watchdog when it comes to the various competitions and grants that have presented us with poorly structured contracts, and in response to the stink we made they changed them, so maybe there is indeed a means of creating some kind of union by reaching out to everyone on this forum, but I dont know just how we would go about enforcing our standards. The key lies in open markets where the demand is not wholly controlled by one centralized source. If Dominicans for example had access to other magazines and competing media that would provide better terms, that could perhaps create a wedge with which to open things up.

i think photographers get exploited everywhere in the world, all of us must be aware of low rates and copyright permissions. isn’t it true? the thing is, perhaps some of us are able to say no to work that pays bad, but i’m sure some of us depend on that work to live, pay bills and food. i’m not saying we should accept every work and say thank’s, i don’t do that. but i have to understand that in a country like India 150USD is a lot of money. Even in Portugal i know photographers that work for much less than that a whole day. so, i think this thread is very positive, because is a kind of watchdog as Jon said, and i understand Sephi for is concern, but i have to be realist, and be glad that there is someone in India paying that to photographers. i also think that we should all try to make clients pay better, and we can only do that if we’re globally informed of market prices. but i wont ask someone who needs money to eat to say no to work. whatever that is. cheers all

p.s. i like the idea of a Union

I agree that when you are hard up any job is better than starving. I see it on a regular basis in Nicaragua. But the part that really gets to me is that we are in the middle of a wolrd wide grab for images. There is a huge apetite for images (on the cheap). You have Getty and Corbis acquiring photobanks all around the world and we the photogs that produce the work are cut out of the profits of residuals sales. The recent unilateral decision by Getty of spliting residuals 40/60 (the 60% for Getty) is just and example of it. So the market is there, we are just being left out and we need to take control of it. That was for example the very reason MAGNUM was founded. That model showed that it could be done.

Tomas

Jon:
I saw your feature on Revista Geográfica. Powerful images!!!!

PS: Lets do a union!!!!!!!!!!!!!!!

Co-op or ownership arrangements like Magnum or VII are the most powerful arrangement, but they do not lend themselves to participation by large groups of people…the governance becomes a horror. The only similar non-profit I can think of in the US that works on a large level is ASCAP, and the use of their material (musical compositions)is very different from photos.

BTW, in the US unless you are an employee (not a freelancer,) it is illegal to exercise many of the usual powers of a union. It would be, for example, a violation of the antitrust laws for the members to go on strike (it would be viewed as a group boycott). Practicing doctors (not the HMO types, who are usually employees) tried to get around that for years, principally for the purpose of using economic power against the insurance companies. They were blunted at every corner. I think they were better positioned than the freelance photo community, so I would not get my hopes up on unions, at least in the United States.

I apoligize to Sephi for taking this discussion in this direction but the fact of the matter is that these agencies that pay crap money and demand full rights can do it because they controll the market. As I see it nobody is going to change the business model un less we force them to. They controll access to the clients, but that is changing rapidly. Why do you think that Digital Railroad is so popular with PJ’s. This is the perfect forum to educate and organize for such an idea.

Tomas

Tomas, let me just point out one thing: before I became a full time shooter, I worked at Black Star as one of those middle men. My job as a researcher was to help clients get hold of whatever imagery they needed, and I didnt simply put a package together, I sold them on it. I sold them an “idea” as well as a set of images, I convinced them that our goods were the best for their needs. DRR and Photoshelter cannot do that, and I am not yet persuaded that cutting out the middle man is always such a good thing. As to the rest of your argument, I am in full agreement. Personally I think that sometimes it behooves us to work through agencies and middle men because they do the salesmanship that we do not have time for (or the ability). But of course, I dont advocate such arrangements if the terms of the contract are such that Getty gets 60 percent of stock sales instead of the traditional 50 percent!

Hugo, gracias! Verdad, me encantó lo que hicieron Caro y su equipo. Hoy en día hay muy pocas oportunidades para publicar ensayos fotográficos así.

Jon,

Absolutely right! You got to have a a salesforce. Just like MAGNUM did or any other reputable agency that protects the PJ’s interests as well as its clients. There is no reason why if properly organized we could not do the same. DRR only offers the space for storage, showcase and medium of delivery. The rest is up to us. We are already out every day shooting. Why not maximize our work by having it there for all to see and buy on a daily basis. AP started as a newspaper coop, beacuase as large business’ they could afford it. Now the costs of production and distribution have come down enough for us, the primary producers of the images to partake, if not controll, the business.

Tomas

Maybe something simple to begin is to know how much is the payment in a limited number of countries from different continents. I don’t know what can be like the price of a big mac that economists use like a unit to compare different economies. Or what kind of universal rates we can try to compare: day rate; AP, Reuters, AFP salary or day rate? A picture in a cover of national xxxx copies, a story four pages, etc. I think all this information is important not only for us. There are a lot of beginners photojournalist that need to know how much is the payment.

OK. To start the daily rate in Managua is $250 plus expenses. And you do not sign away your rights.

Tomas

Jon, Hugo,

queria ver la publicacion pero solo pude acceder a la tapa.

Hay alguna pagina donde pueda ver el articulo entero?

Un abrazo

Wal

and to give you an idea how much commercial photographers make in delhi; the daily rate for commercial shooting (and this stock agency is talking about commercial work) is between Rs 35,000-60,000 ($750 – $1,300) per day.
Documentary work for major companies in Delhi (UNICEF etc.) is $400 a day.
TIME magazine pays $400 + $100 for online usage and you keep the rights.
now judge for yourself!

Wow! I always wanted to live in India! At those rates, if one could keep a flow of work of that variety moving one could live pretty well. But how far down the mix of work do these rates go? Is this only the cream of the work (i.e., the top 2%)?

Sephi, I’ll support anyone who challenges the rates and conditions that are currently offered to photographers, but I’m surprised that you appear to see Time in a positive light. “$400 + $100 for online usage and you keep the rights” might be good for New Delhi, but if you’re based in New York, Paris, or Tokyo then it borders on the abusive. The $400 day rate hasn’t budged for more than a decade, and it wasn’t a great deal even in the early 90s. The figure of $100 for “digital rights” becomes farcical when you consider it’s not unknown for a 1 day assignment to generate a 20 picture photoessay on the Time.com website – end result, $5/image. You concluded your comments on the Indian stock agency with the words “$150 PER DAY and you give up all copyrights in your images for them to sell it as stock!!! what would you call this other than EXPLOITATION? and to think that there are photographers that would do it! Shamefull.” Maybe it is exploitative, but, within context, I think it’s actually less abusive than the deal offered by Time, and there’s no shortage of photographers accepting this – are they also “shameful”?. I single out Time because you highlighted their terms, but most of the internationally assigning publications are no better – some are even worse. If we really want to survive then we have to challenge the major players – they’re a much greater threat to us than local stock agencies.

Andrew, I do not think that Sephi was necessarily attempting to put Time in a positive light. He simply was responding to Hernan’s request to list some benchmark rates.

For some perspective: Norway is arguably the most costly country in the world to live in. A BigMac is about 6 dollars , if you want to use that measure (but I am veggie!). A pint of lager at a pub or restaurant is starting at about $8..

At the moment freelancers working for an average newspaper rarely earns more than $300 for daily work for hire. Weekly magazines and larger newspapers are somewhat better. Publishers are constantly trying to introduce rights grabbing contracts, and many PJs are so afraid to loose work they sign anything that is put in front of them. The journalist union has been slow to react, and is only now looking into this. The same union suggest a 25 % added fee for internet use, but many PJs don’t get any at all, often because they are too insecure to ask for it. For single images a standard minimum fee is (according to the union) approx $250, but PJs rarely get that for their day to day images, certainly not in smaller newspapers. As for images sold through agencies, snappers get 50% of $150 that stock images are sold for on average. That said, not many PJs have contracts with stock agencies here. However, some get a certain percentage (often 30%) if the image is sold through the paper they worked for at the time.

As most places, I guess, commercial photography is valued much higher than photojournalism. So spending 30 minutes shooting someone with a suit and tie is much more rewarding numerically, than doing PJ stuff all day…

Gentlemen,

I feel we are just running in circles. If we do not control our market than we will naver be able to move on from this point wich has been the major complaint of photojournlists since this business was created more than one hundred years ago. Money talks, and in these days money talks louder. If we ever ore going to break free from this cycle than we need to figure out how to dictate terms and gain control of our market, where ever we are. I still believe that we have finaly arrived at the point where technology allows us to attempt this.

Tomas

Ok guys, lets try to put some order here as we are already talking about completely different subjects than the one we started with. it is a known thing that commercial pays better and i just wanted to show that commercial photographers in delhi are paid about the same as in other countries, so that we could compare the daily work basis to the $150 offer. I consider this kind of work, for a stock agency that shoots business images etc., as commercial and not PJ so I feel this is a humiliating offer! It seems that we are a struggling people but it also seems, as Tomas said, that we might have finally arrived at the point where technology allows us to attempt to change our realities (I am also happy to hear such good responses about DRR as I am about to open an account there:). The wheel is already in motion. I am sure that if this bunch of people that contributed to this thread had assembled in one place we would have had an interesting evening and a hell of a party.

Also; after many people thought I was attacking Indian photographers, please accept my appology. this was meant to say that the offer is shamfull because the agency people know there are photographers here that will do it! it is a colonialist approach and sad to see. this company, by the way, “was the proud sponsor of the ending coctail banquet for the Picture Archive Council of America PACA semi-annual convention” i.e they know what they are doing! They also teamed up with Getti.

Oh, and you know what else? until now NO Indian photographer wrote to me about the idea of getting people together in Delhi. NON! a point to think about.

As for the party stuff, my experience is that’s true generally about Lightstalkers people! The largest known non-virtual gathering of LS people (in Perpignan last month) was a first-rate party — which, speaking of DRR, was funded to the tune of an hour’s worth of booze by the DRR people (many of whom are LS members, including the CEO and founder, Evan Nisselsen). So, as for me, I feel very KINDLY toward DRR (did so even when I confronted the headache the next morning!).

Sephi,
I had sent a PM to you couple of days ago about getting people together in Delhi.
I do see Indian photographers asking about gear and equipment questions on Lightstalkers.
I have no idea why Indian photographers do not show any enthusiasm when it comes
to discussing serious issues of photography. There are a whole lot of Indian photojournalists
working in India for many years for both Indian and International publications. I would love to hear their opinions and experiences.

no offence people..
i mean sephi and hari..
i’m indian.. but i consider the issues that i’m working on far more important than monetary matters regarding photography..
and i’m all for discussions when it comes to that.. infact most of my time when i’m in delhi is spent in places like JNU and places like that.. but i’ve just begun photography.. and to be honest.. money is the last thing on my mind right now.. all that matters to me is that my work has meaning.. and when i say that i also mean that i’m not going to ever give my work to a stock agency.. whether it’s for $150 or $1500..

i think maybe the indian photographers are not showing any enthusiasm when it comes to discussing “serious” issues of photography is because perhaps some of them are satisfied with how much ever they’re earning.. (there are also some commercial photographers here on LS) and do not consider joining a discussion on monetary issues not worth their while..

there may be some like me, who’re not attached to any newspaper or nay organisation as such, and not even considering taking up any freelance contracts any time soon, but instead pursuing personal projects, functioning on fellowships and other fundings.. plus if any other person is like me, then he/she won’t have any clue regarding payment issues and differences between payments in india and elsewhere and so on.. pretty much naive about the worldly matters of photography and happy to be so.. so will not be able to contribute anything constructive to this particular discussion at all.. :)

then there ofcourse might be some who’re just shying away from talking about it.. and c’mon.. it’s quite silly to hold that against them.. considering we’re all people who “document” life around us.. and are thus in a position to be more receptove and understanding to others.. don’t many of us claim that “photography has made us see life that we wouldn’t have seen if we were not photographers” ?? so if some people have read this thread and haven’t responded because they’re shying away from it.. well then nothing can be done about it.. you can’t force them.. even rambling on about it in an attempt to make them feel guilty or anything like that is of no use.. suppose some of them do feel obliged to join in, even then it MIGHT not be of much use because.. only if the matter is close to their hearts will they really contribute..

you should also realise that many of the lightstalker members MIGHT just enjoy photography as a hobby… i know very well that for some of the members here, photography is just a hobby.. so…

it MIGHT also be that some of the members haven’t logged on in some time.. and this thread is not too old.. so maybe they haven’t checked it out yet…
as far as members posting queries about equipment etc is concerned.. there is a POSSIBILITY those people simply check out the forum page when they need to ask for information that they require..

no???

i’ve written certain words in BOLD letters simply to emphasise that apart from my own reasons, the other points that i’ve written are merely suggestions.. just to say “hey, who knows.. there might be a reason for it..”

to be honest.. if you really want to talk about “serious” matters of photography, i’d rather talk about how photography in india is pretty much down the gutter.. and infact how i’m not getting to see any inspirational work in india at all.. and actually you could say that the whole world if you consider recent times.. and how photography is still such a primitive bloody medium.. and i’m not even sure if i love it..
however.. i don’t think i’ll get many takers on this..
afterall everything is very subjective and what might be important to on might not be so to another and vice versa :)

have a good day ;)

p.s. sephi actually i’ve met you a few times already.. the last time being about 2 years ago at your exhibtion on indian street food at the visual arts gallery at ihc..
take care,..

oh.. and i also totally understand what gary wrote in the beginning..
i mean.. i’ve met lots of photographers not just from delhi and other metros, but also from smaller towns working for regional papers etc.. who have not had the OPPORTUNITY have photography as a passion, but simply a means of livelihood to support their family..
and so many of them are only happy enough to have got a sort of a stable job.. and what matters to them is how to earn just a little more, maybe to buy their kids new shoes, or to take their families out to a dinner to a place they couldn’t afford to go to before..
these are just a few very small examples.. as silly as they might seem to many here, sometimes these things matter more to these photographers than copyrights..

Sohrab, good to hear your opinion. Many of us have been fortunate enough to take up
photography as a passion rather than a means of livelihood. But you soon realise that to continue working as a professional photographer, you have to consider the business aspects of it. This is quite serious in my opinion as ignorance about this issue is ultimately detrimental to the photo community as a whole. Thats why there is a talk about unions and collectives. This is not the romantic part of the profession, but just a reality. Though India still does not have photography education in schools and universities unlike west, in this day and age with access to information on internet, everybody surely can have opinions. Its just amazing to see any discussion regarding an issue which could be extremely
relevant to Indian photographers, almost no Indian photographers working in India express their opinions. Who else can undeerstand the situation better than the local photographers? I think their views are pretty critical. Only with such a discussion can people can come together and lookout for each other regarding the rights issues.

“to be honest.. if you really want to talk about “serious” matters of photography, i’d rather talk about how photography in india is pretty much down the gutter.. and infact how i’m not getting to see any inspirational work in india at all.. and actually you could say that the whole world if you consider recent times.. and how photography is still such a primitive bloody medium.. and i’m not even sure if i love it.. however.. i don’t think i’ll get many takers on this.. afterall everything is very subjective and what might be important to on might not be so to another and vice versa :)”
If you feel that, please express your views here and let there be a constructive debate. Take care.

“Andrew, I do not think that Sephi was necessarily attempting to put Time in a positive light”

Neal, unless I hear otherwise from Sephi I’ll conclude that I made a correct reading of his post – that, at least relatively, the Time deal is OK.

I’m not saying we shouldn’t challenge an outfit like PhotosIndia, I’m just suggesting that our collective efforts might be better directed at the multinationals that set the tone for how we’re all treated/valued. If we won’t, or can’t, challenge the likes of Getty and Time Inc then we have little long-term future.

“Many of us have been fortunate enough to take up photography as a passion rather than a means of livelihood. But you soon realise that to continue working as a professional photographer, you have to consider the business aspects of it. This is quite serious in my opinion as ignorance about this issue is ultimately detrimental to the photo community as a whole. Thats why there is a talk about unions and collectives. This is not the romantic part of the profession, but just a reality.”

well ok that might be true hari.. but the fact that i’m naive about all this is by choice..
since i’m very new to this.. i’d rather ride the wave of romanticism for as long as i can..
i want to fall flat on my face onto the dead beach of reality solely because of me, not becuase i learnt something that might be true because others told me so.. see you all might be giving me really good advice.. but i don’t wanna miss out this part of growing up, i mean the romantic part..

see hari, the passion seems quite evident in you.. i mean for example.. you switched from IIT to photography.. :) but then you also seem to have been able to afford that passion.. don’t get me wrong.. but you did study in photography in the states didn’t you?

but then there are far more photographers who’ve become photographers not because they’re passionate about it.. but because they simply have to ear a living.. they could have become anything else that’d pay them the same or more..

then there are also many photographers, who although passionate about photography, haven’t had the opportunity to be in a job that pays them well according to them.. but because they have a family to support..

which is why i supported what gary said in the beginning..

about indian photographers joining the discussion.. ok i’ll also add that most, maybe not all.. participants of the discussion are those who you’ll find participating in disussions on lS regularly… i myself got to see this post by chance.. because i’m not on LS the whole time.. i’m assuming that there are many indian photographers who’re here on this site, haven’t yet come across this post.. there could just be so many reasons..

so while what you’re saying does feel close to the truth- i.e. when it comes to discussions relevant to Indian photographers, they don’t participate- not leaving a little space for the other side of the viewpoint, would still be jumping to conclusion..

if creating a union is infact so important to some people, then maybe they can try directly contacting photographers in delhi, india or wherever else they want the members to be from..
and if then there is no response.. then so be it..
now if you all who think that a union of sorts is infact imperative, start feeling like “why should we contact them, we already posted this in the forum.. they should contact us.” or anything like that, then this idea is going to go nowhere..

about my starting the discussions on some of the issues that i mentioned above and consider far more important than monetary matters..

well… there are a few reasons for not starting them..

1. i don’t at all feel confused about them.. so there is no real urge to make that post.. ofcourse i’m always curious about what others think.. but that urge to know is kind of missing here.. perhaps because they are also one of those issues where i’ve reached a stage where i happily accept that others have their own opinion.. and that they’re not wrong and neither am i.. so for me it will not be a debate but simply everyone listing down their ideas.. but for a discussion to help me.. ideas have to gush from either side, clash against each other and what is thrown up as a result is very imporant..
ok i guess i’m just being selfish ;)

2.i have no “thikana”.. i don’t know where i am going to be the next day.. most of the times i’m places where there is no internet or electricity at all.. even when i’m in delhi, i usually have no idea where i will be in the next 2 days.. now i’m leaving delhi tomorrow for an indefinite period of time.. maybe back in 2 days.. maybe a week or 2, maybe a month or more.. ok i don’t think it will be more than a month.. because i have some other wok to do then i mean i have to get back to delhi for atleast 1-2 days and go somewhere else..
so i’m quite nomadic in that sense..
and hence starting a discussion here just for the sake of starting and not participating in it atleast from time to time doesn’t make sense for me.. don’t know if this makes sense to anybody..

i really think you should contact indian photographers directly.. send them out like a group mail if you can..
atleast what i think right now (i mean my feelings, thoughts can change later..) at this very moment is that i will never be a part of any organisation.. (except maybe say 3.. but then that’s about it..) whether it’s a newspaper, magazine, union, most of the agencies..
i’m just too scared of getting distracted from life.. ;)

Fair enough Sohrab, I understand what you are saying. I grew up in India and so I am acutely aware of the economic disparity in the society. Thats why one cannot be judgemental and have the same yardstick for professional practice everywhere.

:)

$150 per day is a good sum of money , certainly not the best . If only Indian photogs get the day rates foreign mags give. We lag behind in gear as US$1= INR 46. So buying gear or updating them is a very expensive proposition, but $150 per diem will certainly help an Indian photog to go a long way and removing lot of roadblocks in their life.

but do u get that per diem daily ? I mean does any average Indian Photog ( working for earning money ) get daily assignment ?? I will be happy to quit my job and come full time in Photography if I get 150 USD X 30 =4500 USD per month while staying in India.

I have recently started earning through photography, and the transition from web-designing and desktop publishing to photography has taught me a few important things that I could not understand before.

Most importantly, I’ve learnt to value photographs. I have seen many people, (including myself) use photographs for publications without prior permission from the photographers. Most of the times it was impossible to trace the origin because you get CDs packed with thousands of photographs, copied over and over, among friends and buddies. Now I realize what is going on in the publishing business!! I feel ashamed that I have been a part of it, and I try to give back at least a part of what I have taken by making photographs and putting them online (under a Creative Commons License). I realize they might also be stolen and used for commercial purposes, but I guess that’s my punishment for once ignoring other photographer’s rights.

Anyway, what is more important is that I try to talk to fellow photographers and make them understand the importance of rights, I talk to the people in the publishing world and remind them that using photographs without the license from the photographer is illegal. So far, I’ve been laughed at, made fun of and sometimes insulted too.

It is true that many photographers in India are not in this profession because of their passion, but solely because of the money – however small it may be, and at the cost of whatever conditions they might have to agree to.

Work on “per-day-basis” is common here, and photographers feel proud of earning a few thousand Rupees a day. Its sad that none of these photographers could show me their best work and say “This is what I have made!” – because immediately after the shoot, their films/photos on the memory cards are taken away (I’d like to say “confiscated”) by the company and these people return home with nothing except some cash.

People also look for photographers who charge on a per-print basis. They prefer digital medium because they want to see all the photos first, then they choose only a few photos and pay anything starting from Rs. 15 per print (4×6 inches). Repeat prints are supposed to cost even less. And nobody but we photographers are responsible for this downgradation of the value for our skill.

Another very sad observation, an accusation I have had to face is that photographers don’t need to really be skilled anymore – the camera does everything. “You have a digital camera, you don’t need film, everything is done automatically – so you should charge less.” these were the words of a possible client. I explained why the eye behind the camera matters and that photography is not analogus to making bread – because he was calculating only the cost of tangible items – why I feel I should charge more than some other photographer and why that cost is justified, before letting him know that I would not be working for him.

This last step, of rejecting an assignment is difficult for most of my bretheren to do. I cannot blame them completely for agreeing on making their skill count as cheap. Yet, if we have to survive and make a good living out of this profession, I certainly feel the need for a group or an assosiation of some sort that can help photographers learn about their rights and actually put them to use!

I am glad that I have done most of my theory-learning part on the Internet and have been exposed to knowledge and information from all over the world, but for most of the photographers who have been trained by the “experts” and “professionals” here, they believe that getting paid once for clicking a photo is fair enough. They do not think of photography as “creating” a photograph (that can be used and reused), for them it is just “clicking the button”.

I would be happy to contribute whatever I can to an association that educates photographers about rights management and educates the industry to respect the rights of the photographers.

Thanks to Sephi, Gary, Sohrab and everyone for their contribution to this thread.

I sincerely thank Lightstalkers.org and Editorial Photographers ( http://www.editorialphotographers.com/ ) for the valuable lessons on this issue!

It’s sad but true that there are still many corners of the world where ‘artists’, photographers, designers, whatever, are not aware of their rights, where those buying an image regard it as just a click on a camera. I can imagine that such things might be hard to realize for most of you guys here, working on a professional level, or even the aspiring photographers who have acces to internet, read articles and browse Magnum/VII/Polaris/GodKnowsWhichOtherAgency pages, chat for hours on LS, search for the latest news on photo sites. There are people who have no idea such sites exist. Because they cannot afford an internet connection, not to mention they are happy to sell their work for a few dollars, just because they need the money. I received an email a couple of days ago from a girl in Romania. Romania, a country about to get accepted into the European Union in a few months! She was offered the ‘chance’ to design a yoghurt label, by a local diary factory. She works as a secretary in the factory, but has some design aspirations. The boss doesn’t even think of going to an advertising agency. Those guys charge more than he is paying his driver for 4 months! So the boss adviced her to go on the net and ‘copy’ some pictures from the internet, stick them on his label and voila! she gets some extra buks. More than half her payment for a month work. The boss proved generous this time! Neither of them have no idea of copyright. The damn’ milk-guy had no idea he wanted to ‘steal’ pictures! Let’s be serious ….. pictures are just a click away, what do you mean?! Pay hundreds of dollars for one ‘click’?! …when I pay my workers with less for a whole month?! you must be joking…. It’s just about lack of knowledge, education, hunger. It happens. I wouldn’t cry too much about it. There will allways be ‘clients’ looking for cheap shity, deals. But they also get cheap, shity quality work…. Any of you, willing to take yoghurt pics for my milk-guy? He might agree to pay you 10 dollars a pic and sign whatever you have to require about copyright. He doesn’t understand it anyway. It’s just about lack of education, and that comes along with poverty ….. and so on. Many of the guys here do just that, document poor areas about the world, why wonder about things like that?

Interesting matters and opinions on this posts.

Well….. to make a living in photography (not easy) sometimes its very frustrating but we all do for a BIG and REAL purpose, also as a passion or even as a hobby its the same thing.Of course Comercial photo its well paid we all know that!!
About the press photo or work for an agency covering news, I have to tell you, that not only in India you win 150$ per cover (one event) now Im working based in Japan (really expensive place!!) and sometimes I work for a client that its a big news agency, one of the biggest named EFE (spanish news agency) so…. they pay me that price no more no less, no expenses even included 150$ dollars guys!!
So its not a matter of the country ( i mean yes it is by the way) because its not the same to live in Oslo or Tokyo to live in India or Kathmandu.. The problem are the companies and how are they educated or organized…lets do something right noww!!!!
About LS comunity Im learning a lot from all of you and I have to give you thanks a lot to share your thoughts and be like this.

Interesting matters and opinions on this posts.

Well….. to make a living in photography (not easy) sometimes its very frustrating but we all do for a BIG and REAL purpose, also as a passion or even as a hobby its the same thing.Of course Comercial photo its well paid we all know that!!
About the press photo or work for an agency covering news, I have to tell you, that not only in India you win 150$ per cover (one event) now Im working based in Japan (really expensive place!!) and sometimes I work for a client that its a big news agency, one of the biggest named EFE (spanish news agency) so…. they pay me that price no more no less, no expenses even included 150$ dollars guys!!
So its not a matter of the country ( i mean yes it is by the way) because its not the same to live in Oslo or Tokyo to live in India or Kathmandu.. The problem are the companies and how are they educated or organized…lets do something right noww!!!!
About LS comunity Im learning a lot from all of you and I have to give you thanks a lot to share your thoughts and be like this.

I know a lot has been said already about this subject but I want to get some of my feelings on this matter out. I have mixed feelings about this deal that PhotosIndia gives. $150 is not a lot of money for all the rights to a photo. But I can say that and then without hesitation go and buy a cup of chai at my nearest coffee shop for $4. (I actually do have hesitations about that but am trying to express my idea here.) I miss the 3 rupee chais (if my calculations are right that is less than 7 cents) that come in a clay cup. I am sure they would charge extra for the clay cup here. Any ways what I am trying to say is what some people have already said here. In India things are so different. They can not be compared number to number with what most of us here on LS are used to. And that goes for everything. A taxi ride from JFK to Manhattan is going to cost about $40. That would get you to halfway through Pennsylvania at Indian costs. The taxi drivers that I talked to in India told me that they make 2000 rs a month! That’s $50. Actually a little less than 50. If they could get a camera and a contact at PhotosIndia, my guess is they would sign up for life. But he would probably have to pawn one of his children to afford even a low end digital camera.

I know that the fact that there are people who will do the job for low pay does not justify paying a unfairly low wage, but isn’t that how every big company does it. That’s the whole idea behind outsourcing. Someone ‘over there’ will do the same job for way less. Then we buy the product. The shoes we wear, probably the camera bag we carry our gear in and a lot of other things, were made by people who were paid a lot less than we think they should have been. And probably less than is morally right. But here is the grey area, if they did not have those low paying jobs, what would they be doing? If they are accepting these crappy jobs they must not have any better offers. They might even see these small paychecks with great happiness.

So what to do? Unionize? With India’s population there will always be competition. So the Union guy want’s more than $150, just get another guy who is new to the game and will do it for $150. It is a vicious thing, but $150 is a lot of $. Not in NY or London, but a heck of a lot of places it really is. And that is the sad fact.

I am in no way saying that this is a battle that should not be fought. I just think that you have to consider the circumstances. And If you take up the cause of the poor photographer (with his last years model digi), who is going to fight for the guy who hauls goods across town on a cart that him and his brother built (out of scraps and an axle that they still owe money to the money lender for).

Change would be nice but it is a lot deeper than PhotosIndia. It is global and way beyond photographers. Not saying that it is way beyond our means of doing anything about it, but rather way beyond photographers being the victim. I would say photographers actually are better off than a lot, so let’s be happy about that.

Sorry for the pessimistic ramblings. It is rainy and dreary and I am stuck in a mall, and when I start thinking about the crap in the world…… more clouds blow in.

It is good to see people getting pissed over other people not getting paid enough.

thanks for letting me ramble
-rad

In Chile, agencies like AFP and Reuters pay 90 dollars per day. Sucks!!!

Definitely. Indian photographers are constantly getting screwed by their publications/agencies, and mostly can’t afford to complain. Also indian publications don’t have much of a concept of what copyright or license is. A friend of mine was a bit surprised to see his wire image used as a massive billboard advert and the agency (AP) refused to complain because they didn’t want to lose a client…

Anyway, I just realised I have this email that might interest some Indian photographers. Its actually past the deadline but knowing how disorganised they are it may well be ok to send stuff now, just give Vibha or Subi a call. It doesn’t say what they’re offering this year (in 2005 it was a digital camera or equivalent value in film) but its good publicity, espically if you’re an exploited indian photographer…

Reference: Inviting entries for the “FUJI SUPER SIX ’07”

We at Jindal Photo would like to extend an invitation to the students of your institution to come and be a part of our Fuji Super Six ’07, a Jindal Photo and Fuji Film initiative.

Since it’s inception in 2004, the Fuji Super Six has been associated with the biggest names in photography and is the best platform for amateurs and professionals to showcase their talent.

The concept of having Fujifilm Supersix photographers was instituted in the year 2004 with an idea of promoting photography amongst the Amateur segment. Fuji film enjoys a premium position in the minds of Professional photographers of the country and we decided to leverage this strength amongst the amateur segment thru this initiative.

1st year we had India’s top photographers in their respective field of specialization viz. Prabuddho Das Gupta [Fashion], Ashok Dilwali [Landscapes], Avinash Pasricha [Dance], Pradeep Mandhani [Sports], Prakash Dubey [Birds] and Rajesh Bedi [Wildlife].

Supersix photographers for the year 2005 were the all-women team which we thought would be an interesting way to promote this concept further in the male dominated bastion. These were Renuka Puri, Sumiko Murgai Nanda, Rita Sawhney, Leena Kejriwal, Olivia Arthur and Sarvesh.

The current set of Fujifilm Supersix photographers are S. Paul, Veeresh Babu, Jyoti Bhatt, Sudharak Olwe, Manish Swarup and Pablo Bartholomew all legends in the thier respective domains of specialisation with the common link being the high degree of sensitivity they display in all their images.

This year Jindal Photo decided to open the prestigious avenue to amateurs for the first time, we do not have a strict theme…. and the best part is that one can work on their chosen subject or subjects and send us a varied and unique body of ones’ work.

Candidates are requested to send in 10 entries each which are truely representative of their Photography as the search is on for the Fuji Super Six Photographers. And not just exhibition quality pints.

The soft copies need to be JPEG images with the longer side being 10 inches at 100 DPI. The last date for receiving the soft copies is the 10 th of October, 2006 whereas the hard copies can be sent in till the 12th of October, 2006. The hard copy can either be in prints, shot and printed on Fuji paper or high resolution images on a cd, the length being 10 inches. The hard copies are to be sent in to Vibha Saini, Jindal Photo Ltd., 56 Hanuman Road. New Delhi -1.

By the end of it we shall have six winners from all across the country. The images would then be part of the annual the Fuji Super Six Exhibition which would open in Delhi in January ’07 and then travel across the country over the span of one year. Two images from each of our Super Six Photographer would then be featured in the annual Fuji Super Six ’07 Calendar and the limited edition Fuji diaries.

All entries ,must be accompanied by a letter certifying that the images have originated on Fuji film, and while sending hard copies kindly ensure that they’ve been printed on Fuji paper only.

The last dates for entries on email is 10th October .For any further enquiries please contact: Subi Chaturvedi at fujisupersix07@gmail.com .

Happy shooting and looking forward to seeing great photography and an even better show.

Or log on to www. jindalphoto.com

Regards,

Curator,
Subi Chaturvedi
contact: 09891894133
011- 20281003
email: fujisupersix07@gmail.com