Rights to My Wedding Pictures

cheerud

I have received a CD of pictures that have the photographers name written accross every picture and I cannot save them to the disc. I also am able to view some of the pictures online but cannot save them to the computer. I asked the photographer if I could buy the rights to the pictures. She told me that she has worked hard for her reputation that the quality of pictures printed at non-prof. labs is poor. I told her I would still buy the pictures from her but that I wanted the digital pictures to have and she said she doesn't do that. Is this normal? Is this allowed? I paid a lot of money for her and I think I deserve the rights to my pictures!

The Farmers Daughter

Most photographers include the rights to print in their contract or at least sell them. If it's not in your contract you have no recourse. Sorry.

grace_anthony

wow that is so rude. i recieved my cd of pictures and could do anything i wanted with them, make copies of the cd and even print them out. you need to review the contract and speak to her. that is too much money to have to buy them from her. im so sorry hope it works out.

Dawn Hurst

Unless she gives you a written copyright release stating you have full printing rights, you are SOL. This is something we are making very sure is in our contract for this very reason.

woodfrogs

For a price she may be willing to give you a disk of low-resolution images that you could use for email or posting to Facebook, etc. Photographers rarely give a copyright release. If you get anything it's "rights to print" and some photographers won't do that either. It's very important to know what you want and to make sure that your contract has those items in it.

capecod1986

Our package includes the rights to make prints. It is written in the contract. Bottom line, the photographers legally own the rights and it is their call.  I had a hard time finding someone in my area that would do that for me. They can't make any money in selling copies of the prints if they give you the DVD.

mllechelsea

I'm a fellow photographer, and I know from where she's coming. It's called intellectual property... and she's laying claim to her work. Sadly nowadays, photos are misused under copyright and so extra precautions have been made to prevent unlimited printing and sharing. It really had to be in the contract for that service.BUT as a bride, I can totally empathize. Because I know it's a case-by-case, I made sure my photographer had that high-resolution images on a disc clause in my contract. I mostly want it for sharing or putting photos on my website.I'm surprised though that she wouldn't let you buy the pictures. (I've seen digital copies sell for $500 and up.) I'm sure it would be outrageously expensive, but at least she could offer. That's a bummer...

hugsfromtrina

If it wasn't in your contract that you are allowed to print the photos...then yes..it's allowed. Normal? Yes and No....A lot of photographers do give a CD to couples....but some don't. Even people who get a CD usually don't have the "rights" to the photos....usually they just have printing permission.

alliecarrie41

sorry but if it wasnt in your original contract that you'd get un-marked high-res photos on DVD/CD with CY-release, you likely are never going to get them.  there are many photog. still out there that abide by the same guidelines yours did, but she should have certainly told you upfront.  who was your photog.?  what did you contract say? 

alliecarrie41

nevermind found in your bio.  what a strange website; doesn't mention much of anything.

PolarBearFans

It is normal for photographers to put a huge watermark across the pictures if you did not contract to be able to have the right to print. We made sure our photographer included a high-res disk of all the photos and that we had the right to print. In my area, it is about $1000 more expensive to get that high res disk with the rights to print from the top photographers. i just checked the price sheets of a few photographers i looked at. sorry, but you don't "deserce" the rights to your pictures. you did not contract for that. you contracted for a photographer to cover your wedding and the right to buy albums and prints from that photographer.