If you are not reading this sitting down, it is better to look for a place because there is history. This week we comment on the new contest of the company #ShotoniPhone to choose the ten best photos taken with the gadget from Apple to serve as promotional material for the company around the world.
Despite the beautiful initiative, the contest ended up generating more controversy than creative photos in the early days, negatively impacting the decision outrage not to pay for the use of the winning images. Now, if everyone involved in the campaign (marketing and media people, vehicles, etc.) will be paid for it, why not the photographers who even had to pay to buy an iPhone and participate in the contest?
Many may think: “But it has the credit of the image and the recognition for having won the contest.” Although there must be someone who is happy with such recognition, professional photographer Trevor Mahlmann stated, in an open letter published in Reddit, that Apple should "rethink its strategy for this challenge", because "photographer's credit" has never paid any of its bills.
Mahlmann suggested that Apple pay a $ 10,000 fee for a winning photo that, for him, is insignificant for the company given the impact these images can have on demand for iPhones. On the other hand, in response to the photographer's suggestions, other Reddit users argued that by paying for the images, Apple would attract professional photographers and "reduce the chances of photography amateurs to win the contest."
Furthermore, Apple should not have originally announced any rewards for the contest winners due to legal issues, as John Gruber pointed out in the Daring Fireball. In that sense, there must be a set of rules (different in each country) that Apple needs to follow if it offers any awards; thus, by offering nothing, she "would not have to worry about it".
Change of course
Regardless of the reason for initially not rewarding the contest winners, the fact that Apple felt the impact of the negative repercussion and, yesterday, updated the campaign guidelines with a brief footer line, in which it explains that what to pay for the fee licensing of the winning photos, as noted by the The Verge.
Apple strongly believes that artists should be compensated for their work. Photographers who capture the 10 winning photos will receive a license fee for the use of such photos in billboards and other Apple marketing channels.
Despite this, it is still unclear how much or how Apple will pay the winners, especially taking into account the aforementioned legal issues. The change was also published in the official contest rules (PDF).
While on the one hand it is nice to see that Apple is more open to criticism, on the other hand it really opens up an opportunity for professionals to take an interest in something that initially seemed aimed at an audience that never considered profit from photos. Himself it has already received numerous inquiries from readers, in the last few years, about how they could send photos to those who may be exposed by Apple in its campaign, obviously, without seeking any return beyond due credit.
iPhone XS and XS Max
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Price view: from R $ 6,569.10Installed price: in at 12x R $ 608.25Colors: space gray, silver and goldCapabilities: 64GB, 256GB or 512GBRelease: September 2018
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