1. What LensBounty is
LensBounty is a marketplace where businesses post photography bounties and photographers ("shooters") compete to win them. We provide the platform - we are not your employer, we are not a party to the shoot, and we do not direct how you work. Each bounty is an open competition: more than one shooter can enter, and only one can win.
This is a working test build. Payments and escrow are simulated: no real money moves yet. Treat the payouts described below as a simulation until we tell you otherwise.
2. Submitting to a bounty
You can submit a photo to any open bounty except your own, up until its deadline.
- You have one active submission per bounty. Resubmitting replaces your previous entry.
- You can withdraw or replace your entry any time while the bounty is open.
- At the deadline, submissions lock. After that you can't change or withdraw your entry.
- Your submission link is private - only you and the posting business can see it.
3. The license you grant if you win
If the business selects your photo as the winner, you grant that business an exclusive, worldwide, perpetual license to the winning photo - including commercial use, modification, and sublicensing to others.
You keep exactly one right in the winning photo: you may display it in your own personal portfolio and self-promotion (your website, social media, demo reel). You may not license, sell, or distribute the winning photo to anyone else. This portfolio right is yours to keep - the business's license does not take it away.
Lawyer review: this license grant (exclusive + perpetual, with your portfolio carve-out) is the core legal term you are agreeing to. The site owner should have an attorney review the exact wording before launch - and you should read it carefully before you submit.
4. If you don't win
If your photo isn't selected, you are not paid - and you grant no license. You keep 100% of the rights to your photo. The business may not use, copy, or distribute a photo it didn't pick. Entering a competition you don't win costs you nothing but your time.
5. Your promises about the photo
By submitting, you promise that:
- You personally took the photo. It is your original work.
- It is not AI-generated, and it is not stock or someone else's photo.
- You haven't already sold or exclusively licensed it to someone else.
- You hold all rights needed to grant the winning-photo license above, including any releases described in section 7.
Lawyer review: the "original, not AI-generated, not stock, not previously sold, all rights held" warranty should be reviewed so it is enforceable and clearly worded.
6. Lawful capture
You are solely responsible for how you get the shot. You must:
- Not trespass or enter anywhere you're not allowed to be.
- Not put yourself or anyone else at risk to get a photo.
- Follow all local laws, including drone, permit, and property rules.
LensBounty does not grant you access to any location and is not responsible for how you obtain a photo.
7. People, privacy, and releases
You're responsible for the people and property in your shot.
- If a recognizable person appears, you're responsible for any model release the use may require.
- If private property or protected work appears, you're responsible for any property release or permission required.
- Respect privacy - don't photograph people where they would reasonably expect privacy.
8. Subjects you may not submit
Don't submit photos that:
- Feature minors as a subject.
- Show a private individual in a private setting without consent.
- Were taken by trespassing or unlawful access.
- Are intended to harass, stalk, surveil, defame, or deceive.
9. Getting paid
If you win, the reward is released to you (simulated in this test build). In the live product, payouts run through a third-party payments partner and may require identity and tax information before money can be sent.
Lawyer review / setup: real payouts need a payments partner, identity verification, and tax handling before going live.
10. The open-competition reality
Entering a bounty is not a guarantee of payment. Other shooters may enter the same bounty, and the business may pick someone else - or no one. Non-winners aren't paid, but always keep every right to their photos.
11. Your account and conduct
Keep your login secure and your information accurate. Don't submit work that isn't yours, don't abuse the platform, and don't try to work around these terms. We may suspend or close accounts that break these rules.
12. Disclaimers and limits
LensBounty is provided "as is." We don't guarantee bounties will be available, that you'll win, or that the platform will be uninterrupted or error-free. To the extent the law allows, LensBounty isn't liable for a business's conduct or decisions, and our liability to you is limited. You agree to indemnify LensBounty for claims arising from your photos and how you captured them.
Lawyer review: disclaimers, limitation of liability, and indemnity must be drafted to your jurisdiction to be enforceable.
13. Changes to these terms
We may update these terms. The version and date are shown at the top of this page. If we make a material change, we'll ask you to review and accept the new version before you keep using LensBounty.
14. Contact
Questions about these terms: add your contact email here before launch.