How I Credit a Photographer!
Want to fight about it? I left the comments on :)
Tagging photographers (or filmmakers) is a game, sometimes you lose and sometimes you’re prepared, which makes winning the only likely option. Want to discuss what photography scenarios require what type of tagging? Let’s go! But first, if you landed here - feel free to subscribe cause I will be closing the doors soon and making this a paid option. I know what I’m offering so it’ll be many insider type of content.
TAG VS MENTION
If given one choice, pick a mention vs a tag. A photographic tag on Instagram requires multiple steps such as tapping the screen to see everyone tagged. Then tapping each name to find the photographer, which could be their first choice or their 7th? Then they have to leave that original profile to visit yours. BTW, that’s even if they see people tagged on the photo.
A mention is easy and a no-brainer. You put the little camera emoji and put the name. It’s straight forward, requires less steps and it’s always there. Mentions may come with praise in the form of a sentence saying how great you were. Tags come with a puzzle to solve. We’re making money, not playing games so ask for a direct mention in the comments or even on the actual project if you have that type of pull.
In the image below you see double covers for Men’s Fashion Post with actor, Taylor Zakhar Perez. In part of my negotiations with the magazine, I asked for secondary credit on the same line as the talent. You will see his name and then my name ON THE COVER.
The only GOOD of the tag would be changing Instagram names. If you happened to change your Insta handle then the tag will adjust to the new name. Don’t change your name, problem solved!
I will name a variety of situations that you will find yourself in through the years. Here’s the type of credit you should expect and how to ask for it.
THEY PAID YOUR FULL PHOTOGRAPHY RATE: Let’s start at a point where we may disagree, but like I said, I left the comments open for rebuttals. The point of getting tagged is to gain new business. If the said client didn’t question your rate and paid your full rate, then they don’t necessarily OWE you a tag. It’d be nice but they don’t owe you one and frankly, you shouldn’t ask for one as a requirement.
THE REDUCED RATE CLIENT: They owe you a tag. It’s an exchange where they benefit from a reduced rate, and you benefit from their social network. There are caveats to this: never, ever mention the discount in your caption. Praise the photographer and tag them in the captions.
You can ask for this in your contract. As part of the payment, the client must tag the photographer in the first two lines of the caption upon posting - NOT after. It must be at the same time of the posting process.
By the way, my S.T.E.P. Pricing Course handles everything you need to know about pricing the right way. That way you won’t have to offer any discounts. Imagine one course changing the path of every client you work with moving forward? How would that change your budgets, how you live and how much you enjoy your craft?
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Yes, you can get international superstars like Ricky Martin to tag you in the comments of their instagram posts. For this I did not ask for top line because he had a show to promote and was in a contract.
THE “LET’S COLLAB” PHOTOSHOOT: Look, you were bamboozled. There are two distinct type of free shoots and you picked the wrong one. Now the Instagram “model” is posting your stuff, has you blocked and you can’t get them to take it down. I’m holding your hand when I say this, “good. suffer and learn” - because that’s how you’ll make sure to never do a collab shoot again. The whole foundation of a collab shoot is built on lies, so asking them to tag you isn’t sitting on solid ground.
If you do the other type of free shoot, the “Test Shoot” then it’s a different story and I’ll discuss that later on in this blog post.THE PROPER TEST SHOOT: Right above this number I spoke of the other free shoot, the “collab” which is a dishonest way of saying FREE SHOOT. If you chose to do a TEST SHOOT then I would set the rules of tagging ahead of time with the team. You should expect clear tagging from the team members who build with you. That would include mentions in the captions, stories and tagging the photograph.
THE TEST SHOOT RULE!: How you set such rules? As the creative lead on the project it’s up to you to set the rules. On the call sheet make sure to add everyone’s Instagram handles with their proper titles. Ask that every contributor on the project get the same respect and tag.
Remember (and maybe it was only my school) but when the teacher would say, “if you bring one valentine for a classmate then you must bring one for everyone”. Same rules here! We should expect respect across the board to and from all artists. Set the rules ahead of time on the call sheet and thank everyone for being fair.INSTAGRAM CAPTION RULES: When you ask for credit, specify the first two lines to keep your name visible without hitting the three dots to expand the caption. In the case of the Ricky Martin photograph I took, he was in contract with his Las Vegas residency and I wasn’t able to claim top 2 lines. However, with someone like Ricky Martin - it’ll be seen everywhere.
THE DIABOLICAL PHOTO TAG: The client who tags you after the hashtags or quote that Marilyn Monroe or Gandhi never said is the worst type. They intentionally hid you in the trenches for one reason or another. To avoid this, always ask for top 2 lines placement. You can even specify if they say “Photo by ….” or “Photographed by …..” etc…
Set your rules, set your boundaries.
THE BONUS PHOTOGRAPHY TAG: Ever get a client that wants to shout your name from the rooftops? The goal is have them all like that, which btw is another reason why I have my STEP PRICING Course. The reason why that’s important is because I’m pushing you to higher paying clients. When you do this, they are likely to appreciate your talent more and share you to their network. With that said, it’s the client who will tag you on their post, mention you in the captions AND they’ll post about you in the stories.
How do you ask for this? You really can’t ask for it, you can try but it’s unfavorable. You just have post about them on your feed and praise working with them. Here’s an example:
”I just photographed the best couple on the shores of Laguna Beach during one of the best sunsets ever! Here is _________ & _________. They got the beautiful sunset they deserve, can’t wait to share more from this perfect couple!”
See what happened there? You praised them, and now they will verrrrry likely repost that on their stories. And they will also very likely tag you on that screen saying how wonderful you were to work with. It’s too easy and both sides win.THE SUPER DEVIL: This is the one that hides you at all cost. They won’t tag you, share you and they won’t answer comments asking for photographer name. It’s your job to gatekeep them from your talent. Got it? Future work with this type of client who very intentionally hides you should be avoided. Because they will do you dirty again and you will deserve it.
HOW TO TIP A PHOTOGRAPHER/FILMMAKER: It’s perfectly fine to include a blurb in your contract that says this:
”FAQ: Many people ask if tipping a photographer/filmmaker is standard. To me, the best tip would be a post about my business. Small businesses don’t have the budgets of larger corporations to purchase marketing ads. And while that option is on the table at much smaller budgets, no amount of money can replace the positive words of happy clients who post about my photography services to their social network. Which ever social platform is your preferred method, a positive review posted to your social circle is better than any tip and won’t cost you anything!”
I hope this helped you understand proper tagging and photography credit. And more than anything, I hope you win.
- Sincerely,
Walid Azami