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View Full Version : any photography experts here.



OUHOMER
9/18/2011, 08:57 AM
I have a friend who took a hell of a shot of a deer. I am thinking it could grace the cover of any hunting magazine maybe even National Geographic.

my question is how does he protect it. does he have to copy right it?
I told him not to post it online, I assume it could be stolen and used...

Lott's Bandana
9/18/2011, 11:47 AM
Important:

What kind of camera did he use? I ask about the camera because most DSLR's stamp Metadata on the .jpg or .raw file and this indicates time/camera used and sometimes even a GPS geographic position. This protects photographers in a copyright dispute.

His image is copyrighted to him and he has to give permission for it to be used in a commercial endeavor. However, if he posts it on the innerwebs, in 72dpi, he is offering it up to be copied and pasted by others. The saving grace there is, 72dpi is so weak (standard innerwebs jpg size) that it cannot be printed and used by a commercial publisher or someone just printing it for their wall. Too pixelated for anything usually over 4x6.

He needs to know that the original photo must be preserved...any adjustments/cropping, etc. should be done on a copy, as digital photo manipulation destroys data and is unrecoverable, unless he is using Photoshop and has his settings correct so the software automatically preserves the original.



What does he want to do with the image, Homer?

OUHOMER
9/18/2011, 12:08 PM
he's thinking about sending it to one of the commercail products companys, IE the feed company he used, or the bait company that lured it in. Or maybe just enter it into a wildlife photo contest.

Lott's Bandana
9/18/2011, 12:12 PM
He should do all three. But do the first two first.

Before he sends it to any commercial enterprise, have him call them to gauge their interest and also find out their policies on payment. He should not give a freebie, even it is only a small amount. However, if he chooses to accept payment, that photo can't be entered in an amateur contest, at least not ethically.

Most companies are VERY interested in this kind of thing, from my experience. I have dealt with fishing lure companies the same way, with a photograph. It has always been a positive experience and rather flattering.

8timechamps
9/18/2011, 09:41 PM
Have him draw a big hairy penis on it, then post it online. That way, he'll always be able to know if it's his image.

You're welcome.

MR2-Sooner86
9/20/2011, 10:50 AM
DO NOT POST IT ON FACEBOOK! Anything you post on Facebook they have rights to use elsewhere unless your name is on it. The same goes for any other websites. If you do, be sure to plaster your name all over it.

Here's an example of what my friend does when he puts photos on Facebook or other sites like Flicker.

http://a4.sphotos.ak.fbcdn.net/hphotos-ak-snc6/196080_1005241148007_1734255432_4242_709126_n.jpg

By law, if you took the photo it's yours. The thing is you have to prove it if it were to ever go to court.

If you're going to send it to a magazine, first send them a very low resolution photo. That way if they want to steal it they can't because it'd be useless. I'd put my name on the photo too just for reassurance and so they'd know who took it, like above. If they really want it they'll have to contact you and negotiate payments.

Lott's Bandana
9/20/2011, 10:52 AM
Unfortunately any reasonable PS wonk can get rid of the watermark...even me and I'm just an amateur.

MR2-Sooner86
9/20/2011, 11:16 AM
Unfortunately any reasonable PS wonk can get rid of the watermark...even me and I'm just an amateur.

Depends on where you put them. You can but some can take some time and it can roadblock a few people who are just too lazy. You put a light one over a face and such and then you really have to work hard at it.

Like I said though, if you do it to a low resolution image it's that much harder to do it as you can't zoom in, do the detail work needed, and it'll look ****ty.

Lott's Bandana
9/20/2011, 11:34 AM
As I said when I recommended 72dpi.

OUHOMER
9/20/2011, 04:18 PM
All good advice, i have passed all this to my friend. hopefully he will do something with it