Cropped from “Singulières” by Vincent Champoux, CC BY 4.0, via Wikimedia Commons

Strategically Using Production Photos to Increase Your �Online Discoverability

Part 1 – February 22, 2023

This presentation is made available under Creative Commons Attribution 4.0 license. Credits in the notes section.

Strategically using production photos

Part 1: Creative Commons – A new paradigm for managing production photos

Introduction

• Demand for production photos
• Creative Commons licenses
• Wikimedia Commons

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Releasing a photo under a Creative Commons license

• Kinds of photos suitable for Wikimedia Commons
• Seeking and obtaining consent
• Prior consent: the ideal release strategy

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Uploading a photo to Wikimedia Commons

• Import
• Release Rights
• Description
• Add data
• Use

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Note: The recommended practices in these workshops contents were designed to take into account laws and collective agreements (CAEA and ADC) in effect in Canada.

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These practices may not comply with laws and collective agreements in other jurisdictions.

Strategically using production photos

The problem: High demand for production photos but little access

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How can one describe “beauty” with words?

• No text description will ever be as effective as an image to describe a performing arts production.
• It captures an elusive feeling, a subtle interaction between two characters.
• It evokes dramatic tension, movement.
• It recalls a peak moment of intensity or of sheer beauty.

Vanishing Melodies at Place des arts. Photo credit: Sasha Onyshchenko.

Strategically using production photos

Everyone loves and wants performing arts photos

Images are one of the most sought after elements of information/content in the performing arts ecosystem.

• They are used/reused by all stakeholders of the primary value chain: �performers, designers, companies, agents, presenters, events listings, etc.
• Journalists can’t write a story on a production without a photo.
• Archivists are constantly being asked for photos of performing arts productions.
• Funders like to insert them in their annual reports.
• Your performing arts associations also need images for visual storytelling.

Strategically using production photos

Images have a direct impact on sales

Lesson from the book industry:

• The presence of a cover image �has a direct impact on the number of sales.
• Among top selling authors, it’s an increase of �almost 100% in sales.

Source: Banque de titres de langue française, The Effect of Metadata on Book Sales : Analysis of the Relationship Between Enriched Metadata and Book Sales, 2020.

Strategically using production photos

But �performing arts images �are not optimized for reuse

• Photos are copyrighted works: �“all rights reserved”.
• Difficult to know with whom to clear rights for reuse.
• Image “metadata” is usually �not readily available: alt text, caption, date, photographer credit, credits for performers and designers, etc.
• Image files on a company’s website are often cropped - but not necessarily at the users’ desired aspect ratio.

Strategically using production photos

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Reuse of a production photo is time-consuming, �both for the users �and for the company.

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What if…

You made your production photos explicitly and readily available for reuse?

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The Solution: Creative Commons licenses and Wikimedia Commons

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Creative Commons licenses

One of many types of �public copyright licenses.

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Creative Commons licenses

• Protecting the intellectual property of the photographer and of other right holders whose creative work is represented on a photo.
• Ensuring right holders get the credit they deserve for their work.

• Enabling any potential reuser to freely copy, share and adapt the photo.

They strike a balance between

AND

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Different kinds of Creative Commons licenses

Creative Commons licenses �are made up of four conditions �that can be mixed and matched to create six different license combinations.

Source: https://creativecommons.org/about/cclicenses/

BY – Credit must be given to the creator

SA – Adaptations must be shared under the same terms

NC – Only noncommercial uses of the work are permitted

ND – No derivatives or adaptations of the work are permitted

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Selecting a license

Creative Commons Attribution (CC BY) �is among the most open licences.

• If you want your photos to be reusable in newspapers, this licence allows for this kind of use.

ShareAlike licenses are ok if you only want your photo to be reused in a Wikipedia article.

Noncommercial and No derivative licenses are too restrictive to be allowed in Wikimedia projects.

“Creative commons license spectrum” by Shaddim (original CC license symbols by Creative Commons), CC BY 4.0 , via Wikimedia Commons

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A closer look at Attribution requirements

The user must:

1. give appropriate credit,
2. provide a link to the license, and
3. indicate if changes were made.

The user may do so in any reasonable manner, but not in any way that suggests the licensor endorses them or their use.

If supplied, the user must provide the name of the creator and attribution parties, a copyright notice, a license notice, a disclaimer notice, and a link to the material.

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Strategically using production photos

An artist’s image remains protected under a CC license

Personality rights, including right of publicity, are distinct from copyright. They continue to be in effect even under CC licenses.

Therefore, the commercial use of a performing artist’s image continue to require permission from the artist, no matter the CC license.

Consequently, the noncommercial (NC) condition is irrelevant: it does not provide further protection to a performing artist’s image.

Wikimedia Commons provides a personality rights warning on photos of identifiable people.

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Strategically using production photos

Wikimedia Commons

Wikimedia Commons �is part of the non-profit, multilingual, free-content �Wikimedia family.

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Wikimedia Commons

Wikimedia Commons works hand-in-hand with Wikipedia and Wikidata.

All content and data on these “sister projects” are licensed using Creative Commons.

Structured data �and sitelinks

Media files (photo, sound, video)

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Encyclopedic knowledge�in text form

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What kinds of photos are suited for Wikimedia Commons?

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Suited production photos

• Photos that represent the production as rehearsed/performed on stage and that would seem appropriate for reuse for journalistic, educational, research and/or archival purposes.
• Photos that faithfully represent their subject.
• Photos that have a “wow factor”.
• Files with good image resolution (>2 Megapixels recommended).

“Dido and Aeneas - 49598370952” by bwgtheatre, CC BY 2.0, via Wikimedia Commons.

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Not suited

• Photos staged specifically for promotional purposes and that are not representative of any scene of the production.
• Photos with advertisements, copyright and credit notice, logos or other watermarks.
• Highly manipulated/retouched photos.
• Downsampled or too tightly cropped photos.

Source: https://commons.wikimedia.org/wiki/Commons:Image_guidelines

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Seeking and obtaining consent

Rights are rights.

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Photographer consent, first

The person who took a photo owns exclusive copyright over this photo.

If the photographer does not consent to releasing their photo under a Creative Commons licence, that’s that. You photo release process stops there. Performers and designers consent becomes irrelevant.

Start with the photographer, and then move on to seeking authorization from other parties.

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Relative importance of elements of a photo

How important is a given depicted element/motif (person, physical object, work) in a photo relative to other elements and to the whole?

The higher the importance, the more you should exercise care in seeking consent and providing credit.

On the opposite end, if something is insignificant, consent may not be necessary.

• Is it the main subject?
• Is it prominent?
• Is it one of few or of many foreground elements?
• Is it secondary compared to other foreground elements?
• Is it a background element?
• Is it insignificant or trivial �(i.e. considered de minimis)?

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“Best effort” to seek consent

• If one of the designers or performers does not respond within a reasonable time AND if their work does not represent a key element in the photo, THEN it would be reasonable to proceed with the upload.
• After the upload, you should:
• Provide them with a link to the photo
• Highlight how you’ve credited their contribution
• Let them know it is possible to remove the photo if they disagree

“Rhythm Rewritten Kabir Culture Centre May 2019” by Kabir Cultural Centre, CC BY 4.0, via Wikimedia Commons

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Be care-ful

Try not to be overly careful.

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Instead, be care-ful.

careful adjective

1 a : marked by wary caution or prudence

| be very careful with knives

b : marked by attentive concern and solicitude

| careful farm management

Source: Merriam-Webster Dictionary.

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Retroactive consent

All you have to do is “ask”.

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Email templates to seek consent retroactively

Template for photographers

Unless the contract between the production company and the photographer already provides consent for releasing photos under a Creative Commons license, it is necessary to obtain the authorization of the photographer before uploading a photo to Wikimedia Commons. Here is an email template to obtain the photographer’s release of copyright:

• Email template

Templates for performers and designers

Unless contracts between the production company and the artists (performers or designers) already grants permission for releasing photos under a Creative Commons license, it is necessary to retroactively obtain the written permission of the artists before uploading a photo to Wikimedia Commons. Here is an email to obtain permission from artists:

• Email templates

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Emailing the declaration of consent

Even if the photographer has given you verbal or written consent to release the photo under a Creative Commons license, you must provide a written declaration of consent to the Wikimedia Commons Volunteer Response Team at: permissions-commons@wikimedia.org

1. Ask the photographer to email a declaration of consent (and ask to be copied on the email);
2. If the photographer refuses to send the declaration of consent OR if they take more than two weeks to send it, email this declaration of consent on behalf of the photographer;
3. Place the tag {{subst:PP}} ("Permission Pending") on the file page, in the summary section, under the |permission= field.

If you fail to add the “permission pending” tag and to provide the declaration in a timely manner, the image will be removed.

More information

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Retroactive consent

Step by step

Seek photographer consent

(email template)

Ask photographer to email Declaration of consent

Don’t upload the photo to Commons

YES

NO

Seek permission from artists (email template)

Upload the photo to �Wikimedia Commons!

Email declaration of consent on behalf of photographer

YES

OF COURSE!

NAH…

Achievement unlocked! �Kudos!

Don’t forget to insert the “permission pending” template during or after your upload.

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Prior consent

(the ideal release strategy)

Obtain prior consent and release images under CC license �before you upload them to Wikimedia Commons.

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1. Clear rights before a performance/rehearsal

• Obtain consent from the photographer before the photos are taken.
• Include these exact consent clause in the photographer’s contract.
• Obtain permission from the actors and designers.
• Include consent clauses in your contracts; and/or,
• Notify them in the Notice of Call.

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2. Publish photos under CC license on your website

Upload the photos on your website and license them under a Creative Commons license right on the webpage.

How?

Include the license in the photo caption’s credit line as in this example: “Photo credit: Jane Doe, Creative Commons Attribution International 4.0 license.”

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3. Upload photos to Wiki Commons to enhance discoverability and enable reuse

• Upload the photo to Wikimedia Commons.
• In the “Source” field, copy and paste the URL of the webpage where the photo and the licence information are available.
• No declaration of consent email needs to be sent to Wikimedia Commons, because the photo is already licensed for free use.

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4. Add a link back to Wiki Commons on your website

On your website, add a link to the Wikimedia Commons file page within the photo caption, immediately after the credit line. Here are sample redirect sentences:

• “Different photo resolutions available via Wikimedia Commons.”
• “Different versions of this photo are available via Wikimedia Commons.”
• “Multi-language descriptions available via Wikimedia Commons.”
• “Detailed performer and designer credits available via Wikimedia Commons.”
• Make sure to this edit generic link so that you link directly to your Wikimedia Commons file page, where credits are available.

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Key principles in collective agreements

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• No payment for use of photos or payment to artists is required for Non-Commercial Use – defined as the use of any Recording or Photograph to demonstrate the nature of or to promote the work of the Theatre and the Artist to potential audience members, performance presenters, booking agents, students, donors, funders and sponsors.
• Use of “best efforts” to obtain permissions from the artists and to credit the artists.
• Photography or recordings of or by Minors is prohibited without parental consent.
• No Artist may be required to appear nude or semi-nude in any recording or image without their prior written consent.
• Spirit of enhancing and promoting theatre in Canada to the benefit of the art form and all artists involved and in respect of the importance of documenting Canadian theatre.

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Wiki Commons Demo

Uploading an image file to Wikimedia Commons

Workshop example: https://commons.wikimedia.org/wiki/File:Toka_Production_2022.jpg

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Uploading a file

5-step process:

1. Upload
2. Release rights
3. Description
4. Add data
5. Use

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If you have to upload several photos and they all have the same credits, you may upload all files at once.

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You took the photo yourself

You didn’t take the photo yourself

When you upload an image, �CC BY-SA is the default licence.

�If you want to optimize your image for reuse, click “Use a different license” and then select Creative Commons Attribution 4.0.

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If the photo is already published under a CC license on a website, provide the full URL of the page where the photo and the license information can be found.

If the photographer will be emailing the declaration of consent, populate the template {{own}} in the “Source” field.

Then, under “Another reason not mentioned here”, populate the “permission pending” template to indicate that a declaration of consent will be emailed soon: {{subst:PP}}

When you upload an image, the CC BY-SA licence is selected by default. �Change the licence to CC BY to optimize your image for reuse.

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The image title should be descriptive, chosen according to what the image displays or what is contents portray. It should also be meaningful and helpful in the chosen language.

https://commons.wikimedia.org/wiki/Commons:File_naming

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A carefully chosen title can make the image much easier to find via search engines.

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The title field is mandatory to proceed with the upload. Other fields are optional and they can easily be edited after the upload.

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Structured data is a means of adding descriptive metadata linked to the Wikidata knowledge base.

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The most important property for images is “depicts (P180)”. Its purpose is to identify what is the main focus of the image.

https://commons.wikimedia.org/wiki/Commons:Depicts

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You may skip this step during your upload and add/edit structured data later.

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https://commons.wikimedia.org/wiki/File:A_group_of_ballerinas_in_black_tutus.jpg

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Model Wikimedia Commons file page

This file page exhibits many best practice for a good production photo upload: multi-language description, lots of structured data and a link to a Wikidata item describing the production.

https://commons.wikimedia.org/wiki/File:Singuli%C3%A8res.jpg

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Do you need help?

That was a lot of information, wasn’t it?

If you need help to lay out your own strategy or to implement it, please do not hesitate to reach out. We’ll be thrilled to help you!

Email us at ldf.anl@capacoa.ca or call us at 613-562-3515 if you need immediate assistance during your photo upload.

Frédéric, Bridget and Dessa

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Links and references

1. The collection of video tutorials and educational materials about Wikidata, developed by CAPACOA and LaCogency since 2020: �Wikidata tutorials 2020-2021
1. 2022 Wikimedia Commons video tutorial and presentation.
2. Part 2 of this workshop.
3. To learn about and follow the evolution of Wikidata best practices for artists and the entire performing arts community: WikiProject Performing arts.
4. The Wikimedia Commons Help center : Help:Contents.

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Sincere thanks to our funders

The Linked Digital Future Initiative is funded by the Government of Canada, the Canada Council for the Arts and the Wikimedia Foundation.

Strategically using production photos