Anyone can join the paparazzi with a camera
and a little ingenuity. Have you caught a celebrity in an embarrassing
situation? If you have a camera you may be able to sell the pictures for
hundreds of thousands of dollars, and even mundane celebrity photos can
often be sold. Whether you're a professional paparazzo or you just
happen to be in the right place at the right time, follow these steps to
take valuable celebrity snapshots and sell them.
Steps
- Avoid crowds.
Pictures of celebrities at events, such as the Oscars or movie premiers,
where all the paparazzi are present, will generally be worthless
because so many people have the same pictures. The really valuable
pictures are the ones that no one else has--pictures of the celebrity in
casual or intimate settings--and you'll need to get away from the
crowds to get those.
- Do some research.
Find out where celebrities hang out, what their daily routine is, and
where they stay while on vacation. Reading the tabloids or entertainment
news is a good start, but to get the rare shots, you'll need to do some
extra investigation. Ask taxi drivers, nightclub personnel, and others
who might have valuable information. Stake out the celebrity but keep a
low profile.
- Make your pictures tell a unique story.
If you catch a celebrity in a compromising situation (cheating on a
spouse, doing drugs, shoplifting, etc.), you've got pure gold. Photos of
less damning activities can also be valuable. Getting the first picture
of a celebrity baby, or simply catching a celebrity behaving in a way
that is out of the ordinary, could earn you some big bucks when selling
the photos.
- Connect with someone who will buy your photos.
If your photos are big news, sell them directly to tabloids and
entertainment publications. Look up their contact information on the
Internet or inside a copy of the publication. If your photos are rare,
but not necessarily earthshaking, you may not have much luck going
directly to the publications, so try going through one of many agencies
that act as middlemen between photographers and magazines. These
agencies can also be found with an Internet search. Keep in mind that
they will take a commission for finding a buyer.
- Sell your photos as quickly as possible.
The longer you sit on a photograph the less valuable it becomes,
because either others will have taken similar photos or it becomes "old
news." Develop the photos immediately and get them onto the market
immediately. In many cases, you are better off working with a
professional photo marketplace that specializes in marking of celebrity
images, e.g. SellCelebPhotos.com.
- Establish ownership of your photos before sending them out.
It's a tough business out there, and unscrupulous agencies and
publications may attempt to steal your photos. Develop your photos and add a highly visible watermark or use a knife to score them obviously down the middle.
Then scan them into your computer and e-mail them to the buyer. Once
you've signed a contract, give the publisher the original photos without the watermark or score marks.
- Negotiate a sale. If
you sell your photos through an agency, the agents will attempt to sell
them to several different publications in order to get the best price.
If you want to sell the photos directly to a publication, you should
follow the same approach and contact several publications to start a
bidding war.
- Make sure you understand the sale contract.
What rights of publication are you selling to the publisher, and what
rights do you retain? Will you be paid royalties and an advance, or just
a flat fee? Read the fine print and make sure you know how much you'll
be paid, when you'll be paid, and how your photos will be used. You may
want to hire an attorney to get clarification, especially if you are
selling very valuable photos or if you sell a lot of them.
- Verify that your photos are being used only as agreed to in the contract.
Don't let the publisher or agent cheat you out of money by reselling
your photos. Check the tabloids and other such publications to make sure
your photos aren't being used where they shouldn't be.
Tips
- Be patient. You may need to wait a long time to get a good shot, but like any successful stakeout, the results are worth your patience.
- If you want to get good tips from people who might know where celebrities will be and when, be prepared to spend a little money.
PHOTOGRAPHY TIPS: How to Take and Sell Celebrity Photos
