Without
naming names, I had a vendor contact me regarding posting a photo of
their product and listing their business info on my website. This was
years ago and apparently the product was so nicely captured and nicely
done, that people were calling them at all hours, even after the vendor
had ended their business. The person was understandably not happy. Yes,
good publicity can sometimes be a bad thing.
This brought up other questions about how I use the photos I take for
advertisement and display. I feel I owe it to all my past and current
customers to explain this because every photographer is different. There
is some legal issues that express how to handle certain situations but
ultimately most is common courtesy. So I will begin...
I, myself, often
fill in or help other photographers that are just starting out or have
health issues that make it so they cannot cover a scheduled event. I do
this because I hate to see couples on their wedding day without quality
coverage that they thought they would have. Plus I also enjoy taking
photos. When I do photos under another persons business/name, I do not
use them or display them as mine. Now this is not an easy thing because I
enjoy displaying nice photos but it is not only the legal way to handle
it but a professional way to do business. I also will on occasion allow
job shadowing through Out of the Ordinary. They do not get paid and
don't have any legal right to display the photos for profit including
advertisement unless agreed by me or the customers that hired me. I do
try to tag the person job shadowing as the taker of the photo when
possible out of common courtesy. I have plenty of my own photos to
display so if you see one taken by another person displayed, it is not
only because it's a nice photo, it is because I try to give them the
ability to have some sort of public recognition and portfolio. I have to
do this without losing control of the privacy needs of my customers. A
second photographer works in the same as a job shadower except they are
paid depending on the agreement. With the photos I own, meaning all the
photos taken under my business/name, or those working/job shadowing with
me, I have a written contract with all wedding parties to use their
photos. I have a verbal contract with all other events. The photos
displayed throughout the Out of the Ordinary website, facebook and any
advertising is selected personally by me. If you ever see a photo/s you
don't want displayed please let me know and I will take it down. Your
happiness and comfort is more important than my right to use them.
Sometimes other companies and people have been given the right to use my
photos. These photos should display in some way a credit to me/Out of
the Ordinary. This is also needed so I don't lose control of the privacy
needs of my customers. If you see a photo credited to me that you don't
want displayed please let me know and I will do my best to correct this
ASAP. With the age we live in, people have the ability to take photos
from other web pages, facebook pages and other means. If you see one of
your photos displayed without crediting me then this is without my
permission and should be addressed with the person using them. To my
surprise, I have seen my photos used in magazines, ads, newspapers, at
wedding shows, business websites, business facebook pages and even on
other photographers' pages identified as their own without permission or
tagging me in anyway. Although I am flattered and enjoy the display of
my work, it goes against the privacy policy that my customers deserve
and will do my best to correct it. Hope this was informative and sorry
about the length.
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