SEND… Now login to the Member Area and upload your photos to Scoopt. There is no charge to submit material to Scoopt, and there never will be.

SELL!  This is our job. We'll do our utmost to sell your photos to newspapers, magazines, news organisations and other publishers. Each time we make a sale, we pay you a 40% royalty. If we don’t think we can market your photos, we’ll tell you quickly.

And that's all there is to it.

Snap... Send... Sell!

In a Little More Detail...

When you send Scoopt a photo, you automatically grant us an exclusive worldwide licence to market that photo for a period of twelve months. During this twelve-month period, you agree not to publish the photo anywhere else.

However, if we do not believe that we can market your photo(s), we will tell you quickly and you will not be subject to an exclusive licence.

When the twelve months are up, the licence becomes non-exclusive. We will still try to sell your photo but now you can also publish it yourself on a blog or a picture-sharing site -- or anywhere else at all.

Each and every time we license a photo on your behalf, you will receive 40% of the gross sales price after taxes. The gross sales price is the actual price billed to the magazine, newspaper or broadcaster. So unlike other agencies, we will not deduct sub-agents’ commission fees before working out what your cut is going to be; and more importantly, we pay you on the invoiced amounts whether or not payment is received.

Click terms and conditions for our full terms and conditions and FAQ page for our Frequently Asked Questions page.

How to submit pictures

Once you have joined Scoopt, log in to the members’ area. You can now upload, caption and submit pictures directly to Scoopt. Full instructions are provided.

If your photos are on a cameraphone, you can send them using MMS (or mobile email). You’ll find our email address and MMS number in the FAQ. However, uploading your images is far better for you and for us because you can caption your images. A properly captioned image stands a MUCH better chance of selling.

What do we want?
 
It pays to be in the right place at the right time, especially if you take the kind of photo that a picture editor wants to publish. There's no magic formula as such but the beauty of carrying a camera phone or a digital camera with you everywhere is that you're in a position to photograph just about anything that happens just about anywhere. Here are a few tips to help you on your way.

Your photo must be:
* Topical, current, newsworthy and of interest to the wider public. Family and holiday photos are out!
* Unique or otherwise special. This is what gives it its value.
* In focus!
* Legal. Read our guide below.
* Taken at no risk to yourself. Read our Code of Practice below.

Photos we want
The best, most valuable photos are those that capture a completely unexpected but sensational event, especially if the professional media are either not present or looking the other way. From a global disaster to a happening in your local town or a chance encounter with a celebrity… so long as a picture has interest, it has value.

Photographs of famous people in unusual situations will always be in demand. We are not interested in pictures that are solely intended to cause embarrassment, but we are interested in pictures that have important news value.

Photos taken at public events which are being covered by the media will likely have no value.
 
Photos we do not want
It should go without saying but we will say it anyway. We don't want, and can't sell, photos of your family, loved ones, pets, neighbours, the new car, a best friend's 21st, that stunning sunset, and your family holiday in Tenerife.

Photos of children (anybody aged under 16) in any and all situations are a complete no-no and should not be submitted.

Please don't go to the trouble of setting up a staged or fake photo or sending in a digitally altered photo thinking we and the media will be fooled and you will earn a heap of money. We won't be fooled, and you won't make any money.

If you are in any doubt about whether to submit your photo, send it in. We consider every photo that is submitted.


How to keep your pictures legal


All photos submitted are subject to our terms and conditions. However, you must also take the following into account when submitting works:

Copyright
* Before Scoopt can work with a member to commercially promote a photo, Scoopt must be sure that you own the copyright in the image in question.
* Copyright arises automatically upon creation and usually lasts for 70 years from the death of the creator. If you didn't take the photo that you are submitting yourself, we must be sure that you have the permission of the person that did for you to submit it.
* When you submit a photo to Scoopt, you automatically license us to re-license it on an exclusive basis for an initial period defined in our terms and conditions and thereafter on a non-exclusive basis. Any image that is substantially similar to the original image could constitute an infringement of any exclusive licensing arrangement agreed between Scoopt and a publisher. It is therefore imperative that you send us all photos (and/or video clips, where relevant) that you took of the same event. If we can safely market them separately, we will do so.

Privacy
Most countries have strict privacy laws, trespass laws and decency laws that you need to be aware of . Do not break the law to get your scoop. We will not license any photos taken in violation of another person's privacy. Please also see our Code of Practice.

Model release
You may have heard the term Model Release Form – this is the legal document photographers ask their models to sign giving them permission to use their image. This is standard practice and is indeed required by law in most countries that consent to take someone's photograph must be obtained if the photograph is intended to be used for commercial purposes – such as for an advertising poster or to promote a product.

However, there are exemptions for journalistic purpose i.e. where a photo is taken in a public place and its publication is in the public interest. So an image that captures a news event, and that will only be used to illustrate that news event, can be taken without seeking consent. This means that you do not need a Model Release Form if your photograph is for a news story.

Defamation
For defamation to occur an image must:
1. Be likely to lower the subject in the estimation of right thinking people, or
2. Expose the subject to hatred, contempt or ridicule, or
3. Cause the subject to be shunned or avoided.
It is especially worth noting that a statement does not have to be untrue for it to be found defamatory.

We will not be able to sub-license any images that are defamatory. If you have any doubts that an image might be defamatory you should let us know when you submit an image, including by clearly mentioning this in the Disclosure Form.

Criminal activity
We cannot accept photographs that show you or any accomplices committing a crime. If you photograph someone unknown to you committing a crime we may accept the image but only the basis that we reserve the right to approach the police and cooperate with their enquiries where we deem necessary.

Contracts and obligations
Are you subject to any sort of contract that would prohibit you from taking the photo? Your employment contract might state that photos are not to be taken at work, or even that anything created whilst at work belongs to your employer. Sometimes when you enter a nightclub or concert venue etc. a notice states that photos cannot be taken. This notice may also or alternatively be stated in the terms governing the purchase of a ticket. Please bear this in mind.


Code of Practice


People come first
We're people first and citizen journalists second – so if someone needs help, forget about the camera and help them. People are more important than pictures.

Stay safe
Never, ever put yourself or anybody else in a position of danger for the sake of a shot or story, and never impede the work of the police or the emergency services.

Know the limits
We can only promote work to which you own the copyright, and we won't handle anything that's the result of criminal activity on the part of you or your associates.

Do the right thing
Gross invasion of privacy, intrusion on the grief of others, shots of questionable taste, stalking celebrities, generally making a nuisance of yourself by thrusting camera in people's faces... leave all that to the paparazzi.

Respect the rules
Some places prohibit photography, while some contracts of employment state that work created on company time remain property of your employer. Please bear this in mind.

Tell the truth
Please be honest with us at all times. Scoopt will always endeavour to protect you but we can only do this if you tell us the whole truth about everything you submit. If you took a photograph on private land or at a private party, tell us. If you didn't take it yourself, tell us. If you took it when at work and think it may get you into trouble, tell us. And if you need us to protect your identity for whatever reason, tell us.

You've got the power
Citizen journalism is a powerful phenomenon, and can be a powerful force for good. Recognise that power and use it sensibly and decently.