What are the key considerations when licensing digital photos for commercial use?

When licensing digital photos for commercial use, key considerations include usage rights, exclusivity, image quality, model releases, and licensing fees. Define the intended use, duration, and distribution, ensuring image resolution meets requirements. Obtain model releases for identifiable individuals. Negotiate licensing fees based on factors like image uniqueness and intended reach. Balance cost and exclusivity, and understand terms and restrictions before finalizing the agreement.

Read the license terms carefully to determine if the license aligns with how the photos will be used. Will the photos be used in company social media? Emails? Website? Find out if there are expiration dates for when the photos need to be taken down. What is the budget your team has for licensing photography, and can you find similar content elsewhere? Not all Creative Commons (CC) licenses are the same; some CC allow commercial use while others don’t, and most CC require attribution except for CC0. Crediting a photo does not correct a misuse. Educating team members on the factors of licensing imagery, and where they should and shouldn't source their content, is also essential.

O mais importante é fazer uma curadoria dessa imagem. Porquê? Mesmo que ela seja uma RF precisa se certificar que a pessoa( imaginando que seja uma) e o fotógrafo autorizaram o uso. Na verdade isso vale para qualquer modalidade de licen?a, por isso a curadoria se torna indispensável. Nela deve-se fazer uma análise de risco.

Always check the attribution requirements carefully. If you’re building a website design, you don’t want photo credits overlaying all of your design elements. It can be a distraction from a compelling hero image too if it’s not for a news story. The images on the free stock sites or images under CC license may or may not require attribution. But if the creator is giving their hard work away for free with only the requirement of attribution, don’t shortchange them on this without their explicit permission. DO try reaching out to the creator, however, if you find the perfect pic for your site design and it requires attribution. They may be willing to work with you. Offer to include a credit another way.

When searching sites for content for commercial use, use caution when the license is the public domain, or Creative Commons Zero (CC0). Some photos may include content that may not be cleared for corporate use (like trademarks, landmarks, people/celebrities). Sites like Unsplash and Pixabay offer photography under the CC0 license; check these sites for their license terms or if they have an FAQ where you can learn more. Sites like Shutterstock sell licenses for a fee, and there may be options to purchase a less expensive license depending on the type of use your company intends (read the license terms carefully before proceeding). Beware of the editorial license as it does not permit use in a commercial setting without proper clearance.

I have worked with larger organizations that have a dedicated person or a team of people managing the licensing rights for images, usually a digital asset manager or a licensing rights manager. If you don’t have the resources for a team make sure to put in a process for requesting images for use in your content for blogs, social media posts, and ads. Having a universal dedicated account with Shutterstock or Unsplash can help with tracking the images used. Be careful to watch the licensing date’s expiration. Even if you purchase the rights to use the image if the licensing rights expire and you re-use the image you may have a hefty financial penalty to pay or get sued.

I think, people overlook the placement of the licensed photo. It makes a big difference whether you use a picture for an internal presentation within your company, or you create merchandise with said photo. You need to carefully read the licensing agreement and choose a picture accordingly. For example, you probably don't need a licensed photo for internal use, and you can just find license-free resources. They aren't exceptionally pretty, but they convey the needed information all the same. Of course, when you talk about merch and external communication, consider only the quality licensed images.

Content available under an editorial license may not be used for commercial use. Mistakes can happen when people see a photo on a stock website, and they buy a license for it but did not read or understand the license terms. If that license is editorial and the photography was used for a corporate setting, like company social media, the company may be fined or sued for misuse. Just because a photo is available on a site to buy does not mean it's the right license for your needs. Read the license terms, and if the license is not appropriate for your use, then avoid buying that license.