More ripoffs in the photography industry -- a snowboard photog getting told off and called "unstable" by the CEO of a company because he invoiced them for an image they used on their Web site.
There's two changes going on here. With decent hobbyists and unthinking rookies giving out free work, professional photogs really need to prove their value in their fees, contracts and deliverables, and need to stand up to crap contracts and deadbeat companies. Chris Messervey is doing the right thing here. I hope he gets his, at the compounded rate that he's asking. The other shifting grounds are these industries. There's some comments calling Messervey unprofessional, purportedly by established professional photographers, presumably by ones who aren't part of that specific industry.
I don't know jack about snowboarding, only what I've gleaned from skateboarders who do it too and because it gets lumped together in what used to be called "action sports". I figure the snowboarding industry has gone through the same insane growth skating has, probably sooner, quicker and on a larger scale. Companies started up by bros who live the life and took out a loan, turning into major teams/brands, then evolving into what are now called "core companies" that might hire execs from outside the industry, and sharing a market with household-name, publicly trade corporations tapping into that segment.
For anyone who's working as a photog or video shooter in snowboarding, skating, etc., some companies are not going to operate like it was back in the day. That bro network is fine between the shooter, the sponsored person and the team manager, but beyond that, it'll probably be different. Some numbers guy from outside the industry doesn't care, doesn't think about doing it or laying on the ground or climbing up something to get the shot, or things like that. He never did it, and doesn't appreciate it beyond what it does for the bottom line. The CEO stiffing Messervey, Joseph Condorelli of Grenade Gloves, an apparel company, is a skiier who can hardly stand up on a board. From what I gather, he took the reins of an established company, and maybe ruined it as far as "core customers" go.
For the future, I don't know how it will work in situations like how this one started -- Messervey gave an image file to the snowboarder he shot. That's par for the course, give him a low-res jpeg. They went on a trip together, not commissioned by company or mag. He shares the good times/end results, and the snowboarder figures out which team manager to send it to. He acts as an agent for himself and the photog, for whichever coverage is best or needed -- magazines where the rider gets a photo incentive from his sponsor, or to a sponsor for use in an ad. This was standard operating procedure in skating not too many years ago, probably still today in many places, and works fine if this guy's main sponsors are really core companies that won't screw over a photog. It doesn't make sense to -- if the sponsored guy went on a mission and brought along this shooter, they're probably friends and have been and will continue doing this together. But if these industries are all going the way of every other big business, that M.O. is going to have to change. You go on a trip like this with friends, but after that, it's business, and it might have to be conducted the same way as you would a client in any other industry.
H/T to Lightstalkers' Alerts and PDN Pulse.
