I was recently offered an assignment from a national magazine. They wanted me to photograph Jeff Beck. They sent me an email address for his publicist. I emailed her and asked what the photo policy was and if there would be any kind of contract.
Her reply:
Photo policy is the standard first three songs. She also told me that there would be no contract. I decided to turn down the assignment, but wanted to ask her one more question: Would photographers be allowed to shoot from the front of the theater. Ten minutes later the word came back that photographers would have to shoot from the back of the theater. So I told her I would not be shooting, and also relayed the message to the magazine’s editor.
So the question is- at what point does the magazine stop calling me, and starts looking for the photographers that are willing to take mediocre pictures and have their name printed next to them in national magazines?
Another thing:
This week I had a conversation with a photo researcher who is putting out a box set project for the label she works for. During the discussion, I asked her what she would be doing 15 years from now when every time she calls photographers looking for photos from a bands 2011 tour, she receives 200 identical images form the first minute of the show. She replied, “I hope I am retired by then!”