General Licensing Policy

This page describes my image-licensing policy in general. I have separate pages covering personal and school use, if your intended use falls into one of those categories.

General Information

Most of the original film images are on transparency film, if they are in color. Black and white images usually are on black-and-white negative film—typically true B&W film (Tri-X, etc.), but sometimes chromogenic (Portra 400BW). Occasionally I desaturate color images to black and white for display on my site, so if you need an image in color and you see only B&W on my site, ask me about it, as the original might be in color.

I scan all images myself. Scans of 35mm shots are typically 3600x2400 pixels or 5600x3700 pixels, depending on the date of the scan and the type of film I used; all medium-format scans are approximately 8900x8900 pixels in size. Note that this latter size is sufficient even for wall-sized enlargements.

Available Rights

In any case, you'll need to contact me with your requirements and we can work something out. I generally reply to e-mail queries within 24 hours, and often within 1-2 hours, if I'm near my PC when they arrive.

Delivery Methods

• Identification of the images you wish to use.
• Identifying information for yourself and your organization.
• A description of your intended use, including medium (print, Web, TV, etc.), circulation or viewer statistics, reproduction size and type (half-page, full-screen, or whatever), expected publication date, and duration of publication (for media that require this, such as the Web).
• Whether or not your organization is non-profit.
• Whether or not your organization is a tax-recognized charity (and in this case, describe the nature of the charity).
• The type of rights you wish to purchase.

Online Use

• The final size of the image you plan to use.
• The number of unique visitors you expect will see the image over the period during which you'll be using it.
• The period of time during which you'll need the image.
• The context in which it will be used (that is, what else will be on the page).

Derivative Works

For what it's worth, I have a really liberal attitude towards derivative works. Unless you are preparing a work that looks like a direct copy of my photo, I normally will not have any objection. This means that if you wish to paint an impressionistic canvas based on one of my photos, or any type of hand-made artwork that doesn't loook like an actual photograph, I'm not likely to give you a hard time; but it doesn't hurt to ask me about it by contacting me, and in any case, you agree to indemnify me against any actions taken by third parties opposing your work (in other words, if you paint something based on one of my photos, and somebody sues you over it, that's your problem, not mine).

Commissioned and Assignment Work

Sometimes I'll take photos on request and license them according to my usual fee schedule if the photos are of a kind that I think might have substantial resale value (and if you do not insist on exclusive rights, of course).

For very simple documentary photos that do not have high quality requirements and can be taken digitally, I may charge only my hourly rate with a token fee for the rights you require. This can be economical if you only require, say, a picture of a Parisian mailbox or a photograph of the Seine from a certain spot on a certain bridge, and digital quality (1600x1200 pixels) is good enough for your purposes.

Contact me if you have a project in mind.

Image Licensing