Case Study: A Reminder to Practice Sustainability in the Photography Industry

Seeing my image licensed for the recent OCBC Bank campaign (via Sasandalp, published in The Edge) That campaign became a reminder of why it’s important to practice sustainability in photography — and one of the most effective ways is through licensing.

Too often, licensing is overlooked. Many clients see it as easier to commission a new shoot than license existing work, especially for small-to-mid-size campaigns. This is because here are surplus in average photography supply. But when that happens, photography gets treated as disposable — and the value of our craft erodes.

Licensing matters because it gives images a life beyond the day they’re shot. It keeps photographers motivated to create their best work competing for timelessness, knowing that strong images can live on and continue adding value.

And it creates fairness for clients too:

• A transparent base rate covers the manpower and production cost of making the image.

• Licensing fees then scale depending on usage. A national level campaign naturally pays more than a mom-and-pop café’s website photo.

• This ensures big corporations don’t get our work cheaply, and small businesses aren’t unfairly overcharged.

Yes, charging licensing fees is tricky. Some clients don’t like hearing it, and you may even lose a few along the way. But it’s worth it. The clients who stay are the ones who value your work, and those are the relationships worth building.

I’m grateful to OCBC and Sasandalp for respecting the licensing process in this campaign. When clients value not just the images, but the system that sustains photography, it gives all of us room to keep creating at our best.

At the end of the day, to truly practice sustainability in photography, we need licensing fees to be respected as much as the shoot itself. What do you think — can licensing fees become the standard again in our industry?