Unusual photo etiquette
I had someone send me email asking for permission to use one of the photos I've put up on TSFR. It was a fairly strange request. They wanted to use one of the Olympic Death March photos for a commercial project, but they weren't willing to either pay me or credit me for my work. Oh, and they wanted me to foot the cost of mailing the release form back to them.
Umm, okay, but what's in it for me? The general rule I follow is that if you want to have some sort of publication right to something I've created (mainly software, but I have sold artwork in the past) is that you pay me, and then you get the rights. This isn't a hard and fast rule, of course; I write free software, and publish it so that anyone who wants it (and who is willing to adhere to the license terms) can use it for free, but I don't recall any case yet where someone wants me to pay them (as in paying the cost of the mailing) so they can use my work anonymously (I'm not particularly keen on the whole anonymous publication scheme anyway; that's why I tend to release the code I write under an attribution, damnit! BSD-style license.)
Perhaps this is a common policy in the photo world (I wouldn't know, because I'm not a professional photographer) but if it is it's not a policy I'm willing to offer. I'm getting old, and if people like my work enough to want to publish it I would like to get visible credit -- either via attribution or via cheque -- for it.
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It’s not common in the photo world. Whomever was trying to work with you is an idiot. Or perhaps they’re smart and were just trolling for idiots.
If it’s a commercial venture, compensation is expected. Every time one of my photos has been used commericially I have been paid either in cash or in services in exchange. The few times I’ve allows my photos to be used without pay have been for non-profit or charity work.