Tips to remember before you sell pet photos
The third time one dog photograph made me money
I’ve lost count of the number of times someone has asked me to put my dog in their pet clothes or pet bandanas, and take a photograph. While it did entitle me to freebies — and I’m not opposed to complimenting a business I already like, with or without freebies — I couldn’t help but think, “You’re basically using my dog as a model for your clothes, but I’m not getting anything in return that I really want.”
I still have a love-hate relationship with dog clothes, dog socks and think dog bandanas are useless for anything outside of free advertising. If it’s a company like Wag! or a local sports team I already support, great, happy to let my dog be a model. Otherwise? Meh. And if the company wants me to pay for shipping, then I’m losing money for something I didn’t ask for anyway. No thanks.
Still, about 15 years ago, I entered a photography contest with me and my German Shepherd to win a gift card. I didn’t think much of it and never expected to win. To my surprise, I did. After checking with my prior employer to make sure there was no conflict of interest before I accepted this gift card, I was happy to buy a bunch of stuff I really wanted.
Recommended Read: “Never sell your likeness in photos without a signed, officially written contract ~ That time an artist got upset because I wanted to read a legal contract before she could draw my picture”
Fast forward to last year. What really threw me off was a marketing agent contacting me, offering me a four-digit amount to use this same photograph of the German Shepherd pic in an online ad. The ad campaign wasn’t about pets, but the background that me and my second dog were sitting in was perfect for their ad campaign. I looked at the amount and wondered what was the catch.
Would they want exclusive rights?
Would I have to take down any Substack posts or social media posts already using this image?
Would I never be able to use it on social media again?
Would it be tied to a political campaign I didn’t agree with?
Was it affiliated with a company I had strong opinions against?
How much taxes were being taken out?
ADVERTISEMENT ~ Amazon
As an Amazon affiliate, I earn a percentage from purchases with my referral links. I know some consumers are choosing to boycott Amazon for its DEI removal. However, after thinking about this thoroughly, I want to continue promoting cool products from small businesses, women-owned businesses and (specifically) Black-owned businesses who still feature their items on Amazon. As of the first date of Black History Month 2025, each new post will ALWAYS include a MINIMUM of one product sold by a Black-owned business. (I have visited the seller’s official site to verify that Amazon Black-owned logo.) I am (slowly) doing this with older, popular posts too. If you still choose to boycott, I 100% respect that decision.
So many questions, and I still thought there was some kind of trickery going on. With so many stock photos available for free or bulk images in a membership package, why would somebody pay me this much for one photo? A gift card was one thing, but a legitimate contractual agreement and a considerable amount of money was another.
But after going through the contract, reading it line by line and then reviewing past legal posts I’d co-written about photo rights, I realized that this was a pretty good deal. And it was the first time I really valued pet photos that I’d been posting as throwaways.