Hi, I was interested in starting a celeb photo/gossip site and I was wondering if anybody knew where those sites (egotastic.com hollywoodtuna.com) were getting their photos? I'm assuming the top sites are using legal copies..? I checked with a stock photo site and they were asking exhorbitant sums for the red carpet and other celeb photos. Do those sites pay the paparazzi directly? Any tips would be appreciated.
In general celebrity pictures are obtained from freelance photgraphers sites. i.e newspapers, magazines will purchase images they wish to use. New pictures of celebrities in the news are generally sold using a bid system or a system where the freelance photographer will then phone up his favoured newspaper or magazine publisher and offer them the image. Newspaper, Freelancers and Magazines then will often list the photo after they have used it on specific websites for sale. prphotos.com is a great website for celeb photos and they are priced reasonably for website packages. There are loads of sites out there that don't charge silly amounts for images. The newer the image the more you will pay in general. So if you are happy with images a few weeks or a few months old its much cheaper.
Some also release the images for public use, provided you properly credit the copyright owner. They also release watermarked images for public use. The copyright is usually contained in the images metadata. In almost no circumstances can you right-click save and use a photo as your own without violating the owners copyright. Unless your site becomes big, it is doubtful anyone will ever find their picture on your site. If you do get caught using a copyrighted image, the first step is sending you a cease and desist letter. If you take the image down upon receipt of the letter, you should be fine. Damages would be hard to prove against you at that point and usually not worth the expense of pursuing you any further.
Actually, there is no requirement that they first send you a cease and desist. The copyright holders can go right to court if they choose. More typically, you'll receive a bill for the images you are using. See, for example, the threads here about letters requesting $1000s in licensing fees from Getty Images. If you plan for your site to have traffic and earn you money (and why wouldn't you plan that?), it's best to do it legally and pay the licensing fee for images. (Note that you might be able to get publicity shots of celebrities for free from their publicists. If you can't afford licensing images, that would probably be the place to start.)
I found wamm.com site which is selling images, but I can't find prices. It only says that you need writing permission and to contact them about fees. If you know something about that send me p.m.
ZoZi, the easiest thing to do would be to contact wamm.com, and ask about their fees. However, unless they have their own photographers, they are probably purchasing/licensing photos from elsewhere themselves. It would probably be cheaper to go directly to the source. Getty Images (http://www.gettyimages.com/Home.aspx) is one of the big ones, but do NOT use their images without a license, they will go after you. Here is a directory of other stock photo sources in the UK: http://uk.dir.yahoo.com/Business_and_Economy/Shopping_and_Services/Photography/Stock_Photography/Sport/
Thanks Nonny I will check it out. I am planing to start the site this weekend and that is great info from you.
Thanks for all the informative responses! I'm contacting prphotos.com about an account. Their prices are very reasonable. I'd be interested in any other reasonable providers. Thanks again! Swift
Correct. They could. But most will contact you with a C&D, and you remove it in 24-48 hours, and that's the end of it. I know plenty who run celeb sites, and have been hit with C&D's from Suze Randall, Playboy, and the heavy hitters. Almost ALWAYS you will get a request from the celebrity, or offended company asking you remove whatever. You do it, and that is the end of it. No, it's not "typically". It is the exception. Look at sites like Mr Skin, and countless other mega celebrity sites. Tehy haven't been hit with any of those, nor been taken offline. The TYPICAL is you are asked to remove it. If you do not, they can DMCA you on search engines. Also pursue it in court. But that is the EXCEPTION, not the rule or anything remotely regular.
Interesting thread! Are there any alternatives to prphotos.com in the budget end of the stock photo celeb market?
I do not think so, i have been searching for some time for that and not found anything interested. But if someone can prove me wrong i would be more than happy
What is the point of normal people to make celeb websites the legal way. It will cost more to buy pictures then you will earn.
You can also look for photos that are licensed with a Creative Commons attribution license (as many of mine are). Many photogs who license under this arrangement are just looking for credit and a link (in some cases when it's an NC license (noncommercial) this may be negotiable.) One great bet (if you don't want to sign up with an agency) is to get a few freelance photogs in your rolodex and work with them.