You must be a CitizenSide member. Subscription is free and takes only 5 minutes (subscribe here). As soon as you join, you'll be able to access full details in the members' section of this website.

We strongly recommend you send your scoops through your computer, as your authentication will be faster, and it will be easier for you to send all the scoop details. You just have to use the Upload Photos button to send us your photo. It's just as easy as attaching a file to an email. You can also provide full information about a photo right as you’re sending it to us, which saves you time and hassle later and maximizes the chances of a quick sale.

However, you can also send us your pictures directly from your cameraphone using MMS with your photo in attachment or with your telephone network provider's mobile email service (send to mms@citizenside.com). (Needless to say, we advise you to test your mobile MMS and email service before you try to send photos to CitizenSide).

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Can I send pictures taken on my digital camera?

Of course! Just transfer them to your computer and use the Upload Photos button on the members' page.

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Do I have any say over where you sell my photo?

Sellers and buyers remain anonymous. You will be advised of all the proposals made on the auction system and you can choose the one you want.

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How can I take better pictures?

Just join CitizenSide and read our tips.

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I am a picture editor. How can I find out more?

Right here. Please get in touch and we'll be delighted to tailor our service to suit you.

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What is copyright and licensing?

Copyright = ownership of a photo or a video
License = the right to publish a photo or a video according to agreed terms

However, you can license somebody to publish your photo. For instance, you might license a particular newspaper to print your photo once (and only once) in exchange for an agreed fee. That's the business we're in.

It's common to think of licensing in terms of selling, as in 'citizenside.com sells photos to newspapers and magazines'. But in fact, the photo remains your property.

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What's the difference between an 'exclusive license' and a 'non-exclusive license'?

This is an important distinction. When you send a photo to citizenside.com, you give us a license to market that photo on your behalf. You also agree that for the first three months only, nobody else -- including you -- will publish that photo in any shape or form. That's what we mean by an exclusive license.

After three months, the license automatically becomes non-exclusive and perpetual. We will still sell your photo and continue to split the money from each sale with you, but you can now publish the photo yourself and/or agree to somebody else publishing it.

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How does citizenside.com work?

When you send CitizenSide a scoop, you automatically grant us an exclusive worldwide license to market that photo for a period of three months. During this three-month period, you agree not to publish the document anywhere else. When the three months are up, the license becomes non-exclusive. We will still try to sell your scoop but now you can also publish it yourself on a photoblog or a picture sharing site -- or anywhere else at all.

We appreciate that you should have the right to share your work; we only ask that you understand that we MUST have an exclusive license for really newsworthy photos in order to achieve the best possible deal for you.

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How can I join citizenside.com ?

We welcome everybody, but you must be aged 18 or older. You can join citizenside.com no matter where you live, as we are interested in selling photos and videos all around the world. In fact, we currently have members from dozens of different countries.

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What kind of scoop can I send to citizenside.com?

All sorts, so long as they are legal and newsworthy! Join citizenside.com now for ideas and inspiration. You always have to think that your scoop must be of some kind of interest for the media. Most wanted pictures and videos are mainly about famous people, major events such as natural disasters, bombings, plane crashes, festivals, Olympic Games or World Cups… You can also sell interviews if you have witnessed unexpected events.

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When will I get paid?

Within 60 days of CitizenSide being paid by the buyer. We will pay you at the earliest opportunity after this "safety period", which is made to avoid any abuse.

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What can I do with my scoop once I've sent it to CitizenSide?

During the first three months, unless we confirm that we only require a non-exclusive license, you agree not to do anything with it. You agree not to sell it to anybody else or to appoint another company to sell it for you. You agree not to publish it on your own website, if you have one, or to upload it to a blog or photo-sharing website. You agree not to print it on a mouse mat or a t-shirt or to send it to a friend. In short, you agree not to publish the photo in any way, shape or form, either directly or indirectly, for three months. After three months, however, you can do whatever you like with the photo. We will still try to sell it on your behalf on a non-exclusive basis. So long as you remain a member of citizenside.com, you will get paid every time we make a sale.

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How will I know when my document is published?

We will send you an email every time we have a deal, to confirm the price, and will do our best to send you the intended publication date.

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Will you sell or rent or otherwise abuse my personal details if I join?

Never.

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Why do you need my mobile phone number?

Three reasons. First, if you want to send us photos using MMS or mobile email directly from your mobile phone, we must have your mobile number on record. This means we can identify you as the sender when a photo comes in. We can do this easily with MMS by cross-referencing your mobile phone's number with your membership details. (However, if you send an email from your mobile phone, we can't tell which phone it was sent from. This is why we ask you to include your mobile phone number in the subject line or message).

Secondly, we may have to contact you quickly if we need further details about a photo and if you don’t answer emails fast enough, thanks to automatic SMS or phone call. This is almost always easier if we have your mobile number rather than trying to track you down at home or at work.

Finally, we might send a text message to your mobile phone when you join citizenside.com. This contains details of how to send us photos.
Please be assured that we will NEVER send spam SMS, MMS or email to your mobile phone, or allow anybody else to do so. We keep your number confidential and will not reveal it to anybody.

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Why do you need an exclusive license for three months?

To understand this, imagine that all we had was a non-exclusive license. Let's say you take a 'hot' photo and send it to CitizenSide. We do our thing and license a newspaper we’ll call "X" to publish the photo on the front page of tomorrow's edition.

Naturally enough, the newspaper "X" wants to keep this scoop all to itself. Indeed, that's precisely what it's paying for. But unless we have an exclusive license, we simply can't guarantee this. If you or somebody acting on your behalf were to go to the newspaper "Y" and sells the same photo (or a similar photo, if you took several of the same event), or even if you were to upload it to a photo-sharing site, the newspaper "X" would lose its scoop.

We need an exclusive license in order to guarantee that a scoop stays a scoop. This is where the money is to be made. Your money!

Anyhow, if we consider that your scoop is not so hot, we will tell you within the next 48 hours and your picture will be treated with a non-exclusive license and sold at fixed price on our image bank.

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Can I change my mind after sending a photo to CitizenSide ?

When you join citizenside.com and send us a photo, you automatically grant us an exclusive worldwide license for three months. This is a legal agreement that cannot be revoked even if you leave citizenside.com. After this three-month period, the license becomes non-exclusive but perpetual.

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Why can’t I buy picture on citizenside.com?

CitizenSide is a market place working on a consumer to business (c to b) principle. It means that anyone over 18 is allowed to sell his scoops, but only professionals can buy it.

If everybody could see the scoops you send us, they will lose their value because they wouldn’t be scoops anymore!

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I am a professional, Can I sell my scoops on citizenside.com?

Of course, you just have to give us your contact details when you subscribe. You might enjoy a better commission rate, depending on the volume of the transactions you have made on citizenside.com.

CitizenSide works with different kinds of professionals:

Photographers
Photo Agencies (who want to sell their scoops at the best rate)
Star agents (to sell exclusive interviews)
Celebrities themselves for special pictures or events (wedding, holidays…)

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How many scoops can I send you?

Once you are a member, you can send us as many scoops as you like, as far as they can be interesting for journalists.

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Can I send prints, slides, negatives, CDs or DVDs?

Yes, please do. You'll find our postal address in the member's section.

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Will you change my photo?

We may resize, crop, tweak, sharpen, recolour and otherwise enhance a photo for publication, and indeed any publisher may do the same. However, we always keep an original unaltered copy of every photo you send us.

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