Saturday Reads: Photograph Farms and You’ll Get Arrested; Image Theft: There is an APP For That

As if the world is not already weird enough and photographers right to photograph freely in public are continually threatened, there is legislation pending in Florida and Iowa that would make it illegal to photograph farms without permission.

What? As Vinny said: “git outta heer..”

Carolyn Wright of Photo Attorney, in her piece: Are Proposed Bills to Prevent Photos of Farms Legal?, she has a great explanation and some prefessional opinions on this legislation and how far she thinks this will or will not go.

There’s An App for That, But You May Not Want To Use It.

A new iPhone app, Color, is a smart phone photo-sharing app that has buried in its Terms of Service, the right to use any image taken with their app, in any form forever and ever and yada, yada. The problem here is that smart phone images are making the rounds of the publishing world and are becoming a legitimate form of documentary photography. So if you use their service you agree, by simply using the app, that they can use your images any way they wish, period.

That’s scary for the working photographer and it should be for any photographer. You never know what global news story you could encounter in an instant and have this company potentially grab your earnings. Is that likely? I don’t know. Is it possible? Yep! You can read a full story here on the Russian Photo Blog.

There is also an article by Skip Cohen about ‘who you are’ as a photographer and he discusses the About Me aspect of some photographers websites. He really takes a good look at just how much info you want or should be including in the About Me part of your website, and if you are in business this is a worthy read.

Here Is A Perfect Reason Why You Need Solid Model Releases

Rob Haggart, publisher of aPhotoeditor.com, wrote about a model who signed a model release, and is now suing the photographer because they did not like how the image was used.

Carolyn Wright of Photoattorney.com offered her opinion and essentially states that the issue will most likely hinge on how solid the model release is.

Whether the model prevails or not, here is another reason for photographers to check their releases for the proper legal definitions. And should the photographer lose here, does that mean the releases are not worth the paper they are written on? Will photographers then be required to clear all uses with models before the proposed usage? Geez, imagine if that became the case: no more online automated sales since everything would have to be done by hand to get the models permission. Obviously that is a stretch and I guess we’ll have to wait and see.

The sad part though is it will most likely cost the photographer a whole bunch of money in legal fees, something not many can probably afford in this market.

For the story: http://www.aphotoeditor.com/2011/04/04/models-turn-on-photographers-after-stock-sales/http://www.aphotoeditor.com/2011/04/04/models-turn-on-photographers-after-stock-sales/

Have You Been Asked To Show Your Filming Permit In A National Park?

Many years ago I was stopped in Big South Fork of the Cumberland River by a park ranger who had seen my “big camera,” as she described it, and wondered what I was doing.

My “big camera” was my 4×5 field camera and in our subsequent conversation she wondered if I was doing commercial photography. I told her that I was a traveling nature photographer and using a big camera for the quality of imagery it delivered.

I also told her that I was not doing commercial photography but even if I was, the fact I was by myself no permit was required. She begged to differ so I pulled out of my camera backpack a tattered Xerox copy of Title 36, Section 5.5 of the U.S. Commercial Code which relates to filming and photography rules for federal lands.

After a few minutes we parted ways, on friendly terms, and I went about shooting. But I hear from time to time that lone photographers who might have an HD dSLR with a microphone and accessories and shooting videos or stills are being questioned by park service personal as to whether they have a permit.  … Continue Reading

How to Approach Strangers and Ask for That Model Release

Have you ever been in the field photographing some great landscapes when you discover a person in your scene? Maybe your first thought was wishing they would hurry up and move and you contemplate asking them to do just that. But as you watch them you realize that what they are doing makes for a great shot and you begin shooting.

Later as you edit your images you realize that these are marketable images but you also realize that you can’t sell them without model releases. But now that you are back in the office, the chance to ask for and obtain a release may be too late.

You may be asking yourself: If only you had the nerve to ask for the release in the first place you wouldn’t be in this predicament. However, it is not easy to ask a stranger to sign a legal document and especially if you are shy by nature. Here are some ways to handle those situations.
… Continue Reading