NEWS: Daily Mail Steals Photographer’s Images Without Permission, Pay, or Apology

In a move breaking copyright law in the UK, The Daily Mail used Alexandra Cameron’s image of Emily Clarkson without permission online and in print alongside a headline that repulsed both photographer and portrait sitter.

Cameron is a professional portrait photographer who has worked with brands such as Adobe, Sony, Boden, Atlantic Records, etc. She has also been published in a number of magazines like British Vogue Online, Marie Claire, The Guardian, Elle Online, and many more.

In the UK, as stated within government guidelines here, original works cannot be used without permission, and specifically, “a photograph cannot be reproduced for the purpose of reporting current events”. (Source: UK Copyright guide)

Upon discovering one of the images from a maternity shoot for Clarkson was used without permission online, Cameron emailed multiple contacts for the paper about the situation with an invoice attached for the misuse fee.

However, no response was given and Cameron took to Twitter to speak out about it.

Hi @DailyMailUK – this is my image which needs a licence. Kindly refer me to the right person so I can send an invoice. pic.twitter.com/aH5NDvSMpQ

— Alexandra Cameron (@Alex_Cameron) January 8, 2023

Clarkson also spoke out on Instagram about the misuse of the photo.

Emily and her wonderful response pic.twitter.com/y9JYzeGrwe

— Alexandra Cameron (@Alex_Cameron) January 10, 2023

On Twitter, Cameron shares that she received a phone call from the Daily Mail that also let her know the image had been used not only online but in print as well.

They offered a settlement for the misuse but it was too low for Cameron who fired back with a higher fee for both the online and print usage.

John wanted to lowball me… https://t.co/97qN6DuehA pic.twitter.com/vIRj7Tg1Ch

— Alexandra Cameron (@Alex_Cameron) January 11, 2023

The Daily Mail agreed, however, no payment has been made at the time of this writing.

I finally have an update. The Daily Mail has been in touch and they’re going to pay the updated fee requested of £1500 for print misuse and £500 for online misuse, though I didn’t get to hear it from John, such a shame. HOWEVER….

— Alexandra Cameron (@Alex_Cameron) January 11, 2023

To add insult to injury, Cameron then found out they had also used another image of hers online, of Helen Carr in October 2022. She has since sent another invoice for this, which the Daily Mail again offered a lower amount than appropriate.

https://twitter.com/Alex_Cameron/status/1613235331922288648?s=20&t=PzKqfqbay_UE2nCqaq6LXw

Cameron has refused to accept the low offers from the Daily Mail and says she will pursue legal action if they do not pay the appropriate fees.

She also shares on Twitter that the Daily Mail has approached her for photos in the past and she has never granted them permission.

Photographers are no strangers to having their photos used without permission by media outlets and companies. While there are protections, it can be a hard slog to recover the fees as evidenced by the Daily Mail’s action and response or lack thereof above.

Follow Cameron’s Twitter here.

Tweets were used with permission from Cameron.

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