Photography and Copyrights...

With so many people having portraits taken this time of year between seniors and weddings, I wanted to touch base on something that effects everyone involved. That is photos and copyrights. I know many of my customers will scan my photos to put on their myspace and such. This is fine by me and I would love it if they made a little notation about where the portraits were taken. But this doesn't always happen, which is fine too. But one thing that really hurts us photographers is when our images are scanned or pulled from websites and printed without our permission. Not only does this hurt our business, it is illegal. It is called copyright infringement.

A copyright gives the creator of an image full rights to the image they create, including monetary compensation (every image that I use on my studio website is only used with permission by the subject). The cost of infringing on a copyright can be astronomical. Below is a link providing information on what is and is not acceptable concerning images.
http://www.pdimages.com/law/10.html-ssi

You must also be careful of images that have been taken as far back as the early 1900's. Most photo kiosks (Walmart, CVS, Ritz, etc) will not print anything that looks remotely professional. And in most cases will require you to locate the orininal photographer or their descendants before you can make copies of an image! My mother in law had this problem with a picture from her parents' wedding day that was taken in front of the courthouse where they were wed!

David & Dianna's Wedding!!!

Yesterday was David and Dianna's wedding. At a little country church, with the bride and bridesmaids barefoot, they tied the knot in a beautiful ceremony! We got some great formal shots (well if you call the Charlie's Angels pose formal) then took off to the Galax Golf Club for the reception. Flat footing and line dancing the night away, everyone had a ball! Here are some of my favorites!

Dianna's Bridal Portraits...

Since earlier today was her wedding (and wow, what a wedding!) I get to show you some of Dianna's bridal portraits! Yeah! Here are some of my favorites (I love it when bride's aren't afraid to have fun!)!

Scott!!!

Yesterday, I had an oportunity to shoot Scott's senior portraits. He was such a good sport and was very patient with me. We took this avid golfer to Galax Golf Course for some fun shots on the green. Here are a few of my favorites.

Aaron & Doug's Wedding!!!

On July 12th, was the wedding of Aaron and Doug! In a beautiful outdoor wedding at West Wind Farm winery, they were united in marriage with family and friends in attendance. The ceremony was unforgettable, with a tribute to Aaron's father and children running around having fun, followed by a great reception! Here are a few of my favorite images!

Brad and Ashley's Wedding!!!

On July 5, we shot the wedding of Brad and Ashley! The ceremony was held at Saint Paul Methodist Church in Wytheville and was absolutely beautiful! With a packed crowd in attendence, Brad and Ashley shared their love with everyone that day! Here are some of my favorite images from their special day!

The fabulous Miss Kailah!!!

We had Miss Kailah in our studio this evening! As usual, she always delivers on the smiles! Since it was her 2nd birthday, we did some shots of her in her party dress as well as some fun summer portraits!

Aaron's Bridal portraits...

We shot Aaron's bridal session a while back at the Davis Bourne Inn in Independence. She is such a beautiful woman and didn't take a bad portrait! We had such a good time in between the rain showers and I think they turned out very well! What do you think?

Karla's Bridal session...

Well again, another fantastic bridal session! But I just can't show you! Not till after August 8th. Karla was stunning and was willing to do anything I wanted her to do, from climbing onto stuff to laying in stuff... well just check back!

Ashley & Tony's Wedding!!!

I had the honor of shooting the wedding of Ashley and Tony on June 28th. This adorable couple was so fun and you could just see how much they loved each other! In a quiet little church on Iron Mountain, the ceremony was beautiful, witnessed by friends and family. Below are a few of my favorite images from the day!

I love this one of the best man eating the birdseed!

Ashley's Bridal Portraits...

Yesterday, we shot the wedding of Brad and Ashley Kegley! Wow! It was so much fun! So... this gives me the go ahead to show you some of Ashley's bridal portraits! Here are some of my favorites!

Friends and Photography...

I know that alot of tips get posted from other photographers, but I'm going to touch base on something that doesn't get mentioned very often. That is friends and photography. This has become a little bit of a touchy issue for me, as I feel that alot of people who I thought were friends always ask me the same question:

"How much will you charge me for pictures?"

This has made me question not only my friendships with these people, but their ethics as well. I mean, how would they like it if a boss at work asked, "How about I only pay you a dollar an hour today, I mean, we're friends, right?" Won't happen right? Same with photography. This is our profession. This is how we pay our bills. To ask us for a discount is no different than an employer asking to pay their employee less.

Another question I get asked by friends:

"What are you doing Sunday? Can you come take our pictures?"

We have certain days off a week so that we can do things with our families, get caught up on work that we couldn't finish during the week, etc. No different than anyone else's family. My Sundays are usually spent with the kids doing things I couldn't do on Wednesday or Saturday because I was in the studio or at a wedding.

And probably the worst question to ask a friend who is a photographer:

"How much will you charge me to photograph my wedding?" Or worse yet,
"Can you shoot my wedding?" Meaning, at no charge?

Depending on how good a friendship we have, has it occurred to this type of person that we may enjoy being a guest at their wedding rather than working it? I had a friend who always said I was her best friend. When it came time for her to plan her wedding, I got a call from her. "I have an important question for you about my wedding." I thought I was going to be asked to be a bridesmaid. Nope. "How much will you charge me to take pictures at my wedding?" Enter the gut punch. So, how do you handle your friend who is a wedding photographer?

1. Don't expect that you will get a huge discount on your wedding pictures just because you are friends. We put the same amount of effort into our friends weddings that we do everyone else's. We spend the same amount of time editing photos and creating albums on for our friends as we do everyone else's. So why not pay us the same amount? Now if we offer, that's another story. But don't ask us about a discount.

2. Had it occurred that we might enjoy taking a wedding off and being a guest having fun along with all our other friends at your wedding?

3. If you're not sure, ask us. Ask if your wedding day is available and if we would rather be a guest or if we would rather be a photographer. Honestly, from my perspective, I would rather be a guest at the wedding of a good friend. After shooting 2 friends weddings, there is an odd strain that normally isn't there for me at other weddings for both me and the bride.

4. Keep in mind that if we are a friend at your wedding that we will more than likely still have our camera with us. So make sure that the photographer you do hire knows this and ask if there are any restrictions on our using our camera! This will cause unwanted tension for not only you, but for us as professionals also! I allow people to take pictures as long as they are not in my way. I do not allow professional cameras at weddings I shoot unless the bride is purchasing the rights to the images. This stipulation is in my contracts.

I'm sure the feedback I get from this posting won't be pretty and I don't want to step on anyone's toes.

Quote of the week!!!

A photograph is usually looked at - seldom looked into. ~Ansel Adams

Have you ever just flipped through an album just looking at the pictures? Have you ever been to a show or someone's home and just looked at the photographs on the walls? Next time take a moment and look into the image. Pause and see what is in it. You may notice something that even the photographer didn't see.

Dianna's Bridal Session...

I just got back from Dianna's bridal session! We went to the church where her ceremony will take place and down to the river for some fun shots on the water! I can't wait for you to see them! Gotta wait another 2 months though... you can hold out, right?

Aaron's Bridal session...

Yesterday we shot Aaron's bridal portraits at the Davis Bourne Inn in Independence. If you have never been there, stop by! Naturally I can't show you just yet, but they were great! She was willing to do anything I wanted her to do and we had such a fun time, even though we were dodging the rain! Check back after July 12 to see some of them!

Seaworld - Shamu Rocks Texas!!!

The "Shamu Rocks Texas" was a fun, lighthearted show that starts with a dance contest by showing the contestants on the large screen at the front of the theater. Set to hot country hits, Shamu and fellow orcas perform for the audience, assisted by their trainers. The show ends in a tribute to Texas and our service men and women. The patriotic theme was a must due to the 3 Air Force bases located in or near San Antonio and the large amount of military that is ever present at Seaworld. Below are some of our favorite images! This high five is my personal favorite!