Minnesota Prairie Roots

Me behind my camera. Minnesota Prairie Roots file photo.

I NEVER IMAGINED upon starting this blog nearly 10 years ago that my photos posted here would be in demand.

But that proved to be true. I’ve sold photo rights to authors, businesses, tourism offices, marketing agencies, art curators, charities, media outlets and much more. That includes to museums.

I sold photo usage rights of this picturesque farm site just north of Lamberton in Redwood County, Minnesota, for inclusion in a museum video. Minnesota Prairie Roots file photo.

I’ve yet to see my photos in any of the three museums which bought rights to specific images. Those include The National WW II Museum in New Orleans, which incorporated a southwestern Minnesota farm site photo into a video clip about a Minnesota soldier.

My Laura Look-A-Like Contest photo close-up. Photo courtesy of Laurel Engquist.

An overview of a section of the Laura Ingalls Wilder exhibit that included my photo, top right. Photo by Laurel Engquist.

At the American Writers Museum in Chicago, my photo of girls participating in a Laura-Look-A-Like Contest was included in a past exhibit on Laura Ingalls Wilder. My friend Laurel visited the museum and photographed my photo there.

Photo by Amber Schmidt.

A close-up of my photo posted at the Minnesota Children’s Museum. Photo by Amber Schmidt.

And in St. Paul, my eldest daughter photographed my photo of the Wabasha Hardware Hank posted next to the hardware store exhibit in the “Our World” portion of the Minnesota Children’s Museum. The Wabasha hardware store inspired the exhibit which invites kids to “don an apron, strap on a toolbelt, stock shelves and help customers.”

Minnesota Prairie Roots file photo 2011.

It’s an honor to have my work included in these museum exhibits. I appreciate when others find value in my photos. I’ve quickly found, though, that while some people want to use my photos, they don’t always value my images enough to pay for them. Too often I get inquiries to use my photos “for credit and a link.” Nearly every time, I decline the opportunity. “For credit and a link” doesn’t pay bills. “For credit and a link” doesn’t respect me as a professional. “For credit and a link” diminishes my value as an artist. If the individual inquiring about photo usage is being paid for work that will include my photo, then I too deserve to be paid. It’s as simple as that. And, yes, all of my photos are copyrighted. From the moment I create them.

THOUGHTS?

© Copyright 2019 Audrey Kletscher Helbling