Who Owns You Photos?

Why I believe that you should own your own wedding photos.

As a bride looking for a photographer, you might be appalled and distressed when you find that many wedding photographers retain the copyright over your wedding images. You may not understand that despite paying the photographer to take your photos, the photographer ends up owning the photos. You must then pay every time you want copies.

I have always had the feeling that I am being paid for my time and my skills. I believe that this changes the way the event is documented. If I was going to be paid more for prints after the wedding. I would shoot images that would look great as large wall prints, and a lot of group photos. A photographer should document your wedding as it is, not as a formula of photos that have high sales potential and fancy albums.

I have been photographing weddings for the past 30-years. It has always been the same. I am paid for being there, and the bridal couple pay for the film, and processing, so it belongs to them. Therefore no more work for me after I saw that the lab did a good job at the proofing. This has never made me a lot of friends in the wedding photo business. I was once told by a photographer that I was.....”One of them!”....that was ruining the wedding business.

When I would hand over the ownership of the film/digital images from a wedding. I have always told them that they are now responsible for their own photos. I advise them that they need to safeguard their photos in a bank box, or in the home of a relatives home. If there is loss of their proofs, their homeowners/renters insurance may pay for replacement of their photos.

In the age of digital things have changed in the photo world. It is so easy to scan and make prints at home. There are so many uses of photos that were never thought before such as posting online, digital slide show, and photo books.

Be aware that many photographer will give you a disc with a digital files. Many times these are low resolution files. These would be suitable for posting online, but not for making prints.

Be sure you read and understand everything before you sign. Some photographers don’t want any other people taking photos of their poses of groups.

If a photographer gives you the copyright to your wedding photos. Make you get, and keep a signed copyright release that allows you to make prints.

I believe that you should own your photos, and your memories of your wedding. It is your right to be able to look back at your images, and remember that day. Don’t feel like your photos were held at ransom.

Hiring A Photographer (and attitude)

When looking for a photographer. You look at the photos to see what their photographic skills are like. Perhaps you are missing the biggest thing from the photos. What is the personality of the photographer like.

As a former newspaper photographer, I can tell a lot about the photographer from their photos. An enviromental portrait can sometimes tell me about a subject. It will also sometimes tell me a lot more about the photographer. The portrait often tells me what kind of relationship was going on between the subject and the photographer. It was have been a warm relationship, or was there a tension going on.

When you look at a photo do you feel close to that person, or do you feel distant and disconnected. Do you feel the closeness to the moment of the actions, without being intrusive to the moment. A photographer needs to be able to invade that personal space that each of us have, without being intrusive.

When I worked at a newspaper, I had to look at a lot of portfolios of potential photographers. I looked to see what images I liked, and also what images I felt good about. Something that I learned over time it that some of the best photographers have the worst personalities.

At the paper I have hired photographers who not the greatest photographers when they were hired. But they had good attitudes, and they learned to be good photographers. But you can’t teach someone to have a good personality. One time there was the choice to hire a really talented photographer, or a guy who was good at shooting T-Ball games. I suggested that we hire the photographer that was good at photographing little kids playing baseball. He has become an excellent Major League Baseball photographer. This summer he has been contracted to photograph every major league baseball stadium.

The same thing goes for choosing a wedding photographer. Remember that you have to deal with them all day. You will remember your experience with your photographer for a long time.