Ready to shoot

THE EDITOR: Having listened to concerns, read some commentary and had my letter published about the accreditation fees being “imposed” on photographers by the TT Copyright Collection Organisation (TTCO), the time had come for me as a professional photographer to seek accreditation for the fourth time since my company began photographing Carnival in 2016.

On February 22 I went to the NCC offices with my accreditation form filled out for myself and my partner. I was directed to begin the process with the TTCO and TT Carnival Bands Association (TTCBA).

I had a very informative chat first with Weeks of the TTCBA regarding the reasons for licensing image creators from which funding will be then passed on to association members, the creators of “works of mas.” He pointed out that the fees for those who are monetising their images are simply the cost of production.

Throughout our 20-minute conversation we shared points that we both agreed with. Weeks stated that the process had to start at some time and that time was now. The approach might seem a little rough but it was something they were willing to deal with and work on.

Having had the conversation, I personally felt a lot more comfortable about what was happening.

I then met with a very pleasant woman from the TTCO. Our conversation took the form of an interview, where I shared the scope of our operations and how we use the images we create from Carnival and that this helped to launch and promote our brand.

I shared frankly about the limited scope of our usage in magazines, our craft products, and participation in art exhibitions promoting aspects of our culture; that our financial compensation over the years did not provide us with any significant return on the investment we made in accreditation fees, much less on our time, experience and equipment. We are after all only really photographing Carnival as our way of promoting this aspect of our culture on our platform. The benefit to us is the recognition of our brand, and Carnival benefits from the goodwill our images engender.

All in all the TTCO experience was one where both sides listened, after which we were assessed at $500 to photograph works of mas and well as neighboring rights for the events we wish to cover, namely the Junior Parade of Bands, Individuals, Dimanche Gras and the Parade of Bands.

I found myself reversing my combative position about the process and felt much better after being informed what the TTCO and TTCBA were attempting to do.

After getting my form signed and stamped, I then proceeded back to the NCC accreditation office to finalise the process. I was then pleasantly surprised to find out that we were now paying $300 for each for two badges, bringing our cost of accreditation and licensing to a total of $1,100, which is $800 less than our 2016 fee when we signed up for fewer events.

The lesson from this experience is that the photographer who is covering Carnival mainly for their own internal usage, who is unsure as to how they will monetise their images, will find the fees to be a lot more “user friendly” than, say, someone who has been contracted to photograph Carnival secure in the knowledge that they will be either well compensated for their images or because of their appeal and connections attract higher fees for their images.

I will point out that a $500 fee might be a tough call for some as they may not realise even a 100 per cent return on the investment. For others, a couple thousand might represent one per cent of their expected income. It is with that in mind that I have had to review my position on the role of the TTCO and the TTCBA and their licensing fees.

I advise all who earn income from photography in some form or other to seek accreditation, whether they intend to sell any images or not. Becoming an accredited Carnival photographer is not as daunting nor unfair as I thought it would be and it is in the best interest of photographers to do so.

JAMES B SOLOMON, Diego Martin