Monday Monday......

Wild weekend....Rain...more rain....and more rain......
I loaded some new software on my Mac and PC this weekend. Two different programs that will facilitate my getting images out, time IS money. My client that I spoke of the in last Post is coming in this afternoon to select the images. Which brings up an interesting question.....who owns the "image". Depending on how the sale was made, I own the images exclusively. I very seldom ever release the rights to images I create unless there is a valid reason. My reasoning in this stance is that each image I produce must be a reflection on the type of work I do - Top Drawer. By giving up a digital file or negative I am giving up control of the final look of that image. All processors are NOT the same and all printing substrates are not the same....both of which effect the "look" of the image as well as the longevity. When I deliver a product to a client it has MY approval. Nothing else will do....

Session fees, hourly rates, both pay for my experience which spans 38 years of learning. The print costs pay for the cost of doing business and help me earn a living. If I would relinquish a digital file or negative I have ended all sales of that image and any profits therein. If an author publishes one book....are people then entitled to copy that book for themselves, cutting him out of payment for his efforts ? Absolutely not. Intellectual property is intellectual property, be it a book, movie, painting, photograph, anything that is someones creation. Just for grins check out your ability to use a photograph of the Statue of Liberty, Mount Rushmore, or the Golden Gate Bridge, in a publication or ad. They are copyrighted, just as all of my images are. How about that......