Uncredited Image/A Letter to Editors

EN/   A letter to Editors

If you grabbed a copy of the Evening Standard on the 30th July 2015, you would find a copy of an uncredited image of mine! The article featured the Wembley to Soweto’s exhibition, at The Hospital Club Gallery in Covent Garden on 20th to 24th August 2015.

“Dear Editors,

Today I got really excited to have my first photograph published in a newspaper with great visibility like Evening Standard. In News, the article written by Miranda Bryant, it has been featured the upcoming exhibition at The Hospital Club, of the photographs taken during the Wembley to Soweto project in Brazil World Cup 2014, in which I participated as a photography mentor together with John Cole and David Westhead. These photographs were also exhibited in Sao Paulo’s British Embassy and at the Community Centre in the Colombo Favela where we were based.

I can not stress how much I felt disappointed with the fact that my photo, on the left side of the text, did not get credited, neither at least I got a mention on the text as Thapelo did for his image on the right hand side.

For an emerging photographer like me, it is difficult to get the chance of having a photograph published like this, and my chance of visibility and prestige for the work I produced with Wembley to Soweto, has been taken from me with the simple fact of ignoring the authorship of the image, which would have been easily mentioned here.

For some, photographs are just illustrations next to an article. For photographers, they are the result of our dedication to our careers, just like I believe articles and publications are for editors and journalists.

I expect a rapid response on this issue, a respectful and satisfying way of compensation towards me.

Regards,

Tariana Pestana “

And as a response I received:

“Dear Tariana,

I’m really sorry you were disappointed that we didn’t mention your name. The images were provided by the people who are doing PR for the exhibition and there was no suggestion that the inclusion of credits was obligatory. I’m afraid it isn’t something we do as a matter of course for every picture we publish.

Our picture editor has said he would be prepared in the circumstances to pay you a fee to mitigate your disappointment.

Kind regards
Will Gore
Deputy Managing Editor
London Evening Standard, The Independent, & Independent on Sunday “

It is quite upsetting really, having to chase for your own rights. Enough is said, but maybe not enough has been done to prevent it.

Photograph from Brazil 2014 project, on Wembley to Soweto Workshop during Brazil 2014 World Cup. See all photos on my Flickr.

PT/   Uma carta aos Editores

Se você pegou uma cópia do Evening Standard no dia 30 de julho de 2015, você teria encontrado uma cópia com uma foto sem créditos a mim! O artigo destacou a exposição Wembley to Soweto, no Hospital Clube Gallery em Londres, Covent Garden em 20-24 agosto de 2015.

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