Im famous!

I was browsing the trek website this morning and for some reason they have decided to use a picture of me and a mate of mine at the LFGSS track day to promote their new t1 track bike. A little bizarre to find myself promoting something I had never even heard of til today.
T1 - Overview - Trek

Unless you signed a model release, hit them up for a new bike as payment for using your image.

Can I really do that? Id fricking love a spanking new madone. Whats to stop them just pulling the image?

Let me guess, that’s you with the bald head, jeans and a white t-shirt?

Is this the ‘famous’ herne hill track?

That’s about all that will happen. You’d have to go to the trouble of a Cease & Desist. Not even worth it.

Yeah, I figured thats about all I could get out of them. Still a bit weird though, I have no idea how they found the image, it was taken by a friend of mine who is by no means a professional photographer.
@Dan Yep that is london’s famous london’s famous herne hill velodrome (and yes both of those famouses were necessary)

did your friend give them permission to use his photo???

Not as far as I know and Id be very surprised if he even knew they were using it.

Leave it 12 months and then hit them up. They owe you for the time your image is being used to sell their product.

Years ago, when I worked in stock photos, companies would use images from any source (pro or amateur) if they felt it suited their ad. Sometimes, even without asking… just sayin.

Haha, that would be pretty sweet, still dont see the likelihood of anything coming of it though.

Haha thatd be pretty sweet, still dont see the likelihood of anything happening though

You’re not identifiable in the photo are you? In which case no model release is needed by the photographer.

Trek is at fault for not licensing the image from the creator. The photographer won’t get a madone out of them, but could probably come to an arrangement whereby she/he gets a photo credit and some in-kind compensation, like some kit.

Or they’ll pull the image.

I remember reading about some lady who had a family photo taken from her Facebook (of her and her husband and their kids) being used as a billboard(!) in some foreign country for some advertisement.

I can’t remember what happened though. Sorry.

It is a little strange when a photo of yourself or bike or whatever ends up somewhere without your permission, particulary if it’s a printed magazine. I’m looking at you Fixe magazine.

Im not really looking for any compensation and I wouldnt really have expected more than one of lances used jockstraps if it came to it, still just find it a bit weird that they got hold of the photo in the first place.

Yeah, it’s not a mind-blowing photo. It’s funny they even used it.

But if it was on his Flickr or even on the LFGSS forum, that’s how they would’ve got it.

I think thats what surprises me most! Its a pretty random shot to use, you can barely even tell its a velodrome and neither me or my mate look like particularly hardcore track types just a bunch of hipsters sat trackside haha. I think my mate even used a lomo to take the shot

Oh yeah, I can use Google: Stolen Picture : Extraordinary Mommy

Trek perhaps aren’t involved? It could be that they’ve contracted the advertising / PR stuff out to some web design company, where some numpty has pinched the image. If that’s the case Trek could avow any responsibility

In fact, looking at the image URI you may want to contact Adobe:

http:///www.scene7.com

Hit them up with a DMCA takedown notice, I hear they love that shit in the US.

(http://s7d4.scene7.com/is/image/TrekBicycleProducts/19000?wid=430&hei=220&fit=fit,1&fmt=jpg&qlt=100,1&op_usm=0,0,0,0&iccEmbed=1 carbon cyclocross? huh?)

^ Scene7 would just be the CMS thats hosting the images, Adobe wouldnt have anything to do with.

These are the guys that designed the site and manage alot of Treks media, so id say they’d be the culprits, but would be good to hit up Trek first so they’re aware their ad agency might using content they dont have the right to, unless Trek manage the site themselves.