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.

Finding the right photographer can sometimes be a long process. There are so many types that it can become confusing.

Confusing not because of what they offer but how they offer it. Before doing your research make a list of what you want and are looking for and use when you start becoming confused. Your list will keep you in focus and will add or eliminate your prospects of photographers.

Research websites first. Is it updated? Is it active and friendly? Do they share their work to view? Some photographers have a website and do nothing with them and I have to ask myself  ‘How do they get things done?’  Will you have to go to a third party website to view photos? This can be very frustrating just getting to it, much less entering a user-name and password to see anything and forwarding to friends and family.

Can the photographer edit and crop images? Take out blemishes and red tones if needed, and is there an additional cost to do that? I don’t think any photographer should charge for this as we want our photos to be beautiful and proud to show off, but some do charge upwards of 10.00 + per correction.

Find the pricing your are happy with and expect to get what you pay for. Some photographers will offer a low fee for the event and shock you with the photo prices that you can’t afford to buy.

When conducting an interview or booking your date meet face to face. Do not book or pay a retainer anytime before unless you are very confident of what you are doing or have been referred by someone. You will know if a connection is made and if you feel comfortable with this person. Remember, you could be spending hours with this person so a connection on both sides is very important. Every event and persons are different so your photographer should share ideas and thoughts to meet yours. Photographers should not have any problems listening to your own ideas, wants or needs, but you have to take the responsibility of sharing these thoughts and ideas and can not know that one shot you wanted will be taken.

Once your book your date you should come away feeling good and confident that you have made the best decision and have confidence in your photographer to produce what you want.

Please add any helpful tips to help those who come after you.

Photojournalists tell stories with their images just like a journalist tells stories with their words. A photojournalist is a visual reporter of facts. The public places trust in its reporters to tell the truth. The same trust is extended to photojournalists as visual reporters.This responsibility is paramount to a photojournalist. At all times, we have many thousands of people seeing through our eyes and expecting to see the truth. Most people immediately understand the image and connect with it.

It is important that creativity is shown in photojournaling any event as the story must be complete from start to finish. There are many different types of photographers out there from traditional portrait style to high fashion. Finding the right one for your ocassion may take a little research.

It is important not only to look at their website but ask yourself how active it is.

Please see ‘Get to know your Photographer’ for more details on this subject.

As a photographer who photographs many subjects, I hear very frequently “I’m not very photogenic”.

This statement is rarly true however. Everyone is photogentic with a camera as far as I’m concerned. I am listing

some helpful tips to help you achieve maximum photogentic images.

1) Wear colors than complement you and your skin tones. Avoid the ‘busy’ look. We want to see you first, not what your are wearing. If you have very light skin tones, wear white or light colors. This makes your face look more warm instead of washed out. The reverse is true for darker skin tones. Often, this really does not make or break the photogenic look. Simply choose what you look good in.

2) Yes, hide all your blemishes with make-up and wear foundation that is as close to your skin color as possible. Wear heavier eye make-up, lighten up on the blush, wear a matte lipstick with a hint of gloss. For men, don’t be afraid to ask another female for a little help, unless of course you just don’t care. If all else fails, simply avoid showing that ‘bad’ side to the camera.

3) Relax…and have some fun! Many people end up looking odd in photos because they freeze into odd facial expressions with a “say cheese” type of smile on their face. If you’re used to having bad pictures taken of yourself, you probably get nervous in front of the camera, and this can make things even worse. If you know a picture is about to be taken, take a deep breath and exhale naturally, relaxing your arms and shoulders. As you exhale, smile or strike whatever pose is appropriate. Don’t hold your breath, either in or out, otherwise you’ll appear as though you’re tense or suffocating. If you see the photo coming too late, don’t panic and try to strike a pose. Keep doing what you’re doing and try to ignore the camera. It may not turn out perfectly, but you’ve got a better chance than if the camera catches you quickly trying to change your facial expression. The more comfortable and relaxed you appear, the better the photo will turn out.

4) Double trouble.. To help hide the appearance of a double chin tilt your head down slightly and try to position yourself so that the camera is a little above your eye level. This will hide a double chin fairly effectively. You can also put one hand under your chin as though you’re resting your head on your hand (keep the thumb side of your hand out of the camera’s view, if possible). Don’t actually rest any weight on the hand, however, or you will push the skin into an unflattering position. Also try resting your tongue against the roof of your mouth.

5) The necks have it! One trick models often use is to present a 3/4 pose to the camera (turn your head so that 3/4 of your face is exposed to the camera, as opposed to a full frontal shot) and then lift your neck and slightly tilt your head down, as though you are a turkey sticking its head out (without actually thrusting your chin out). This improves facial definition and helps ameliorate wrinkles and flabby skin.

6)  Good posture can dramatically improve your appearance in pictures. Sitting or standing up straight will make you look healthier and more alert and, if in a group setting, more attractive than your slouching companions. Just remember to breathe normally and relax your shoulders. Especially if you usually have bad posture, it may be difficult to stand up straight and not look stiff, so practice this in the mirror. Avoid having your arms dangle straight down. Do something with them if possible. Crook one arm while having the other one with your thumb in a pocket or touching the person next to you.

These are simple steps and adjustments can help improve how you look in photos. Professional photographers will guide you in positions and movements. I always take a few minutes before and explain what I will be asking for and even show you. The most important hint is to RELAX and HAVE FUN!

I was recently ask why photographers are so expensive and vary so much from one to the other. Let me explain as best I can the ‘whys’

When you hire a photographer, you are getting a professional!

Someone who takes pride in their work.

Who cares about how your photo’s come out.

Who has invested years of learning. I don’t mean practice with the viewfinder or snapping the right moment either. I mean there is years of learning lighting, learning how to operate a professional camera, learning how to use flash, learning how to work with all subjects in any type of atmosphere under virtually any conditions. Not to mention thousands of dollars in equipment.

When your wedding day is over and you are on your honeymoon the second phase of a photographers work begins. Your photographer has just been at your wedding anywhere between 4 to 12 hours documenting your day from start to finish and must now proof every picture taken.

So what is proofing?

We must now bring all the photos back to our computers, upload them and go through everyone. We will then discard any unusable or duplicates and prepare them for color management, printing and online viewing. A typical full wedding should produce 800 to 1200 photos. 200 to 300 will be discarded because of duplicates or maybe your new mother-in-law was not smiling

Printing your photos is not as simple as walmart or walgreens. Photographers do not take photos to these labs to print on their standard formatting machines. (I did this once, because I was pressured with time and had to proof and print in less than a week. Not a good idea, I will never do that again no matter what the circumstances) Instead, we must take every photo and make each one whatever size you order using RGB color management, take out any blemish request, save it separately from the original in a large format for maximum print quality. Over all, it may take an average of 3-6 minutes per photo.

So now you have an idea of the work and time involved with your photographer.

Most, like myself, so enjoy the final results of our work. To see and hear the Ooohs and Ahas are so worth it. To know we have provided lasting memories through our creative photography for you and your family is priceless.