Food...Glorious Food?

I love food. I also enjoy the Food Network's programs, especially Unwrapped, which is high up on my Tivo Season Pass Manager, so it rarely gets preempted, except for, say, 24, The Closer, 60 Minutes, and a few others. What boggles my mind, is a post that keen-eyed PBN reader Paul McEvoy spotted over at the bottom-feeders resource that is Craigs List. Since the post may get flagged for removal or otherwise removed, I shall post it here for this commentary on it, but, while it remains online, you can read it here. It reads:

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Food Network looking for Production Photographer 6/25

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Food Network is filming a show about PIE in Rockland Maine on Monday June 25th and I am looking for a photographer to document our production. The pictures will not be used in broadcast but they will become property of the Food Network archives. You will not need to edit the photographs at the end of the shoot as I will make the final selection of 46 that will go to the network. I am looking for someone with their own camera who is friendly and non-intrusive. Photographer's assistants are welcome to apply as this would look great in your resume. Please reply with a short paragraph about yourself and experience and enclose your resume in the body of your email.

The rate is a non-negotiable $150 and you must submit all the jpegs via CD to me within a week.


Thanks for your interest.
Only serious applicants please.

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Wow, the photos become their property, and won't be used in the broadcast. But, they'll be used in marketing/promotional/advertising materials that will. While it'll supposedly "look great in (sic) your resume." The fact is, you won't have the right to use the photos on your website or promote yourself with the images, since they will no longer be your property, and thus, you will have no rights to do so.

Fact #10 - Just because you took a photograph under a work made for hire agreement or you transfered copyright of your work to your client, and you use it on your website anyway, and they don't stop you or sue you, doesn't make what you're doing any less illegal, it just means that the owner of the work you produced has chosen - at their discretion - to not pursue your infringement of their copyrighted materials. It's still illegal and an infringement. Make absolutely sure that the owner grants back to you the right to use your work for self promotion in your contract.

Scale for a unit photographer is roughly $750 a day, and the average number of images produced on a union production is 500-700 images day. While I recognize that Food Network isn't a union shop, paying someone - anyone - $150 for a day's work as a professional photographer where quality results are expected is just an insult.

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