Palm Coast Photo Blog

Today I was shopping for an additional memory card and over heard a conversation between a customer and a sales person. This customer wanted to print a picture from her wedding 50 years ago for an anniversary party.

The sales rep. was trying to explain the copyright laws and why they could not reproduce this image for her without a copyright release from the company or photographer.

Here is how it works….When someone takes your image they own the copyright to that image. Even though it may be your face, it is not your property. The property right belongs to the author/producer/photographer…ect…

Therefor, when you hire a company or photographer for your wedding or event the photos are not yours. The photos are owned by the photographer, hince…copyright

Copyright means no one can sell, copy, print or reproduce the image without consent from the original photographer or company or you could be sued along with the company who broke the copyright law on your behalf.

Most photographers will release the copyright for a fee if you desire to own your own photos. In most cases it just isn’t neccessary. Your photographer will provide any prints you may want along with a low resolution cd for sharing through your emails and online photo albums.

Low resolution means you can not get good quality prints from the cd. They are for viewing purposes only.

Anyway, I explained this to the customer and helped her find a solution. She was very nice and did not understand at all what the sales rep. was telling her. The photo was 50 years old and the company no longer existed. I simply told her how to get it printed without breaking copyright laws and asking someone to help her break that law. Hope this help you understand copyrighting and your photos.