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[Inchiquin]

Certainly using my dealer stock could produce some unique images, but I don't want to come unstuck re. PRs and I'm not at all sure how all this works.

 

 

You don't need releases for editorial use. Just make sure when preparing the images for sale that you answer

"No" to the question "Do you have property releases?", and set the licence type to Rights Managed.

 

Alan

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[Bryan]

Suspect that you will need a property release in many instances if you are thinking commercial. Presumably the designs are the intellectual property of the companies/designers involved.  Clear enough if the firm is still in business or the person alive, murky waters otherwise. Is it worth the risk?

[Martin P Wilson]

Personally I use RM, state when I don't have a property or model release and leave it to the buyer to decide whether they can use it for the purpose they intend. I cannot predict or approve all possible future uses (and legislative/ practice changes) and nor could a lawyer (which I am not). Only the buyer knows how they intend to use the image and what their legal position will be in each specific case.

 

As long as I am honest about my part in taking the picture that is all I can do, or be expected to do.If I try to do more, or claim anything else, I actually open myself up to more risk. Caveat emptor is a basic legal principle in most jurisdictions so I keep it simple.

[NYCat]

Jan, I notice from the other thread that you don't want to spend the money for Lightroom. I just want to make sure you know that it is nowhere near as expensive as Photoshop. This is a link to their US store so you may have to search from  there for UK prices but here there is a sale going on -- $30 off the usual $149 price.

 

http://www.adobe.com/products/photoshop-lightroom.html?promoid=KAUCD

 

I think there is a lot to be said for using it from the beginning for organizing your images so as not to be playing catch up later. Organizing images is a whole big subject with books written about "Digital Asset Management" otherwise known as DAM. You can make it quite simple in Lightroom.

 

Paulette

[Guest]

On 06/01/2014 at 12:13, Bryan said:

 

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[Inchiquin]

 

Certainly, if I had any doubts at all, I would use RM: Editorial Only. But just RM? That's not enough protection, is it? I get what you mean about the buyer's responsibility in how they use an image but aren't there horror stories about photographers being sued? There again, Alamy is full of images that need MR/PR but don't and are not marked 'EO'.

 

Alamy has a disclaimer on its purchase page for any image without releases. Most of us here believe this is sufficient and it seems to be standard practice for Alamy photographers to simply make sure that the status of releases is correctly marked when preparing the image. After all, a customer can always ask if a release might be made available if they particularly want to use an image commercially, whereas if it is marked as editorial only they may never see it.

 

As far as I'm aware (someone please correct me if I'm wrong) no photographer has ever been sued under these circumstances. The horror stories usually relate to photographers doing their own thing and overstepping the mark.

 

Alan

[Guest]

On 06/01/2014 at 14:24, Jan Brown said:

 

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[spacecadet]

Registered design right in the UK only lasts 25 years.

Copyright doesn't protect a mass-produced item in the same way as a photograph- there was a recent case involving Star Wars stormtrooper helmets which were held not to be protected by copyright because they were produced en masse, so were not products of 'artistic craftsmanship' as required by the Act.

The hundred-year-old piece from the 50-years-shut factory is in the clear.

In any case, annotate correctly and you're in the clear. Just don't publish it yourself if you're in any doubt.

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[BqarbaraL]

 

 

Jan, I notice from the other thread that you don't want to spend the money for Lightroom. I just want to make sure you know that it is nowhere near as expensive as Photoshop. This is a link to their US store so you may have to search from  there for UK prices but here there is a sale going on -- $30 off the usual $149 price.

 

http://www.adobe.com/products/photoshop-lightroom.html?promoid=KAUCD

 

I think there is a lot to be said for using it from the beginning for organizing your images so as not to be playing catch up later. Organizing images is a whole big subject with books written about "Digital Asset Management" otherwise known as DAM. You can make it quite simple in Lightroom.

 

Paulette

Hi Paulette

 

I know it might look like a false economy but I've just spent nearly £500 on camera and tripod and the thought of spending another £100 makes me nervous, especially as I already have Photoshop Elements 9 on the computer.

 

Will muse on it. Thanks for the link.

 

Jan

 

I downloaded the Lightroom free trial but I can't find my way around it at all. I can't find my way around my camera, either, and I'm beginning to wonder if I've made a huge and expensive mistake. The few pictures I took are dreadful at 100% (and not, come to that, I can't seem to set it up properly).

 

Jan.. Now matter how intelligent we are its not easy to learn another trade over night ... photography is a trade and needs to be learned over a period of time.. Take your time, join a club in your home town..master your camera , read the instructions  and practice daily... even hourly.. its like learning to drive one day you just get it and smile... good luck..

     O yes Lightroom.. well all I can say I couldn't live without it... but you don't need to know everything right away  .. try out one or two tasks and stick to them the rest will follow...

  All the best... 

[Bryan]

Re Lightroom - I use this software, along with Photoshop, but I found it to be one of the least intuitive and most difficult to learn packages around  (and I have written software and used several different 2 and 3D CAD programs in a previous existence).

 

You need to understand that it is a database combined with a raw converter. I hated it for a few months, and still get riled at some of its features, but it is very powerful and provides excellent facilities for cataloging your work. You need to go with the flow, it wants to take over your filing system; it's probably best to allow it.  Once you get to it, the actual development module - the raw converter - is very easy to use and links directly to Photoshop and probably (but I don't know for sure) Elements. Like most complex programs you can use it at different levels, gradually increasing the scope of your activity.

 

If you are comfortable with Elements just use that, it's fit for purpose.

[Inchiquin]

If you are comfortable with Elements just use that, it's fit for purpose.

 

There are things Lightroom can do that Elements can't (as far as I know) which I find invaluable at the RAW stage, such as adjusting exposure or colour temperature, applying lens profiles or removing chromatic aberration.

 

Alan

 

Edit: ah, scrub the above - it appears that later versions of Elements can work on RAW files.

[Jill Morgan]

 

 

Jan, I notice from the other thread that you don't want to spend the money for Lightroom. I just want to make sure you know that it is nowhere near as expensive as Photoshop. This is a link to their US store so you may have to search from  there for UK prices but here there is a sale going on -- $30 off the usual $149 price.

 

http://www.adobe.com/products/photoshop-lightroom.html?promoid=KAUCD

 

I think there is a lot to be said for using it from the beginning for organizing your images so as not to be playing catch up later. Organizing images is a whole big subject with books written about "Digital Asset Management" otherwise known as DAM. You can make it quite simple in Lightroom.

 

Paulette

Hi Paulette

 

I know it might look like a false economy but I've just spent nearly £500 on camera and tripod and the thought of spending another £100 makes me nervous, especially as I already have Photoshop Elements 9 on the computer.

 

Will muse on it. Thanks for the link.

 

Jan

 

I downloaded the Lightroom free trial but I can't find my way around it at all. I can't find my way around my camera, either, and I'm beginning to wonder if I've made a huge and expensive mistake. The few pictures I took are dreadful at 100% (and not, come to that, I can't seem to set it up properly).

 

 

Don't get discouraged. Digital takes a bit to master. Just before I left for Africa in June, my son gave me his t4i as he had just upgraded to a 7D. I had no manual with me so had to learn as i went. My shots from Amboselli, Ngorongoro and Serengeti were not very good, but by the time I got to Tarangere I had at least figured out most of the camera functions. It was tough being in such a rich photographic environment and not coming out with any really super shots. Now I am totally at home with the camera.

 

Just google your camera and you will find riches online on how to best use it, Youtube is full of videos on using PP software as Adobe as a full range of videos on using its products as well. I use PS cs6 mostly, but am trying to understand Lightroom myself. I have found it tougher to grasp than Photoshop.

 

Jill

 

Patience is the name of the game.

[spacecadet]

OP, you can probably use PSE pro tem. LR is a lot quicker when you have a lot of images but, as they say, you have to walk before you can run, and if you can't get good images without having to think about it (as opposed to just getting the hang of the menu) you're still at the toddler stage and may need someone to pick you up when you fall over.

You will find much help on this forum, but probably not till later on. Everyone here has mastered their craft skills, more or less, or they wouldn't get through QC. We're not camera instructors.

Digital cameras will give you something useable out of the box but that's not enough for Alamy.

[Joseph Clemson]

Jan,

 

As both Corporal Jones and the Hitchhikers Guide to the Galaxy might say  -  'Don't Panic'.

 

If you are worried about the quality of the photos you've taken so far you might want to ask for a critique in the 'Lets talk about pictures' forum. You will receive good advice, I'm sure. As you don't have any pictures on Alamy yet you will need to upload some to a picture hosting site somewhere on the Web. I don't have detailed info on how to do this to hand but I'll look  for some later and post again - that is, if someone else doesn't beat me to it.

 

As for Lightroom, you could do worse than study Adobe's own tutorials at  http://tv.adobe.com/show/learn-lightroom-5/ . There are a lot of them and to avoid being overwhelmed you might want to start with the ones on General Lightroom interface, Lightroom workflow, Importing Existing Images, Understanding the Develop module and Develop Basics. Finally look at Exporting images as that's the one which gives you your finished picture. Once you feel you have a grip on these basics you can then look at some of the other tutorials, especially those in the Develop series.

[spacecadet]

If it's any incentive, I've rarely used PS since I got LR.

[David Kilpatrick]

Jan, you have plenty of answers. One easy answer is that any Victorian product whether hand-painted or mass produced is not going to be in copyright, so the property rights are vested solely in its owner. If that isn't you, a property release would be needed. But if you own the item briefly, as a dealer, you can sign that release yourself at the date you own it and photograph it. You might sell it on to a new owner, but they could do nothing about your right to licence a photograph made of it beforehand. They might be pretty upset but that's for your own conscience!

 

I have done some shots at fairs and don't really do enough visiting now. Jeff suggests that items are on public show, but that does not mean the proprietor will not stop photography - I've had that happen in France, Italy, Germany, Spain, at home... so generally, I wouldn't photograph an item without permission, and would probably prefer to buy, take home, resell. Example -

 

 

Resold on eBay, fake scrimshaw. I show this because it dates back to a time when I did not use my studio much, but used window light and room backgrounds.

 

Technically this is probably in copyright because it is a modern fake/repro. So I have it on Alamy stating no model release (yes, they actually can expect a model release if a representation of a person is in the image...) and no property release. Generally, I photograph what I buy or own, rather than buy to photograph but if I was a dealer I'd photograph far more.

 

Your technical problems really will limit you. I make A2+ map, painting and engraving reprints for galleries and this requires high resolution, perfect colour, no aberrations, perfectly even neutral lighting, exact camera alignment. I also offer some engravings on Alamy - here's one which may sell right now, with Burns night coming up.

 

 

Most buyers go to specialist art picture libraries for this kind of image. They may be making a mistake as the contents of the archives of these libraries can be far, far inferior to my repros - of those of anyone working with high end scanners, scanning backs, medium format backs (and now, some very good 35mm-format digital choices as well). I have often bought expensive books partly to collect, but also with a view to photography of the illustrations in future when I have time to do this methodically.

 

David

[NYCat]

 

 

Jan, I notice from the other thread that you don't want to spend the money for Lightroom. I just want to make sure you know that it is nowhere near as expensive as Photoshop. This is a link to their US store so you may have to search from  there for UK prices but here there is a sale going on -- $30 off the usual $149 price.

 

http://www.adobe.com/products/photoshop-lightroom.html?promoid=KAUCD

 

I think there is a lot to be said for using it from the beginning for organizing your images so as not to be playing catch up later. Organizing images is a whole big subject with books written about "Digital Asset Management" otherwise known as DAM. You can make it quite simple in Lightroom.

 

Paulette

Hi Paulette

 

I know it might look like a false economy but I've just spent nearly £500 on camera and tripod and the thought of spending another £100 makes me nervous, especially as I already have Photoshop Elements 9 on the computer.

 

Will muse on it. Thanks for the link.

 

Jan

 

I downloaded the Lightroom free trial but I can't find my way around it at all. I can't find my way around my camera, either, and I'm beginning to wonder if I've made a huge and expensive mistake. The few pictures I took are dreadful at 100% (and not, come to that, I can't seem to set it up properly).

 

 

I think you are running up against that steep learning curve for digital!!! The best thing for you would be to have a friend who will sit with you and help you upload your first batch into Lightroom. There are settings that need to be done and then you can leave them alone for the most part. So ask around. Maybe someone you know knows someone who will help for the cost of a dinner or a batch of cookies. A camera club would be great. Joseph gave you a VERY useful link to lessons. Watch them again and again and things will stop seeming to be strange. I came to computers late in life and it wasn't until I had some one to one lessons on my Mac that I began to feel like I could take it in. There is a LOT to learn but you really only need to know the bits that you will actually use.

 

Paulette

[Lynn Palmer]

Photoshop Elements is a fine program that includes many of the commonly used features found in Photoshop.  I know a lot of photographers that prefer it because it's simpler to learn and does everything they need.  Jan has already invested a lot in new equipment so I don't see a strong need for her to buy more editing software at this time. 

 

Jan, you mentioned you aren't getting great results from the camera, are you shooting jpg's in Auto mode?  For well lit daytime photography your camera should be able to produce very usable jpg images that require minimal processing for stock in auto mode.  Later, as you gain more experience with both your camera and the software, you can start using Aperture Priority mode and maybe even shoot in camera raw to better control the final image in post processing. 

 

I offer these recommendations as a way to get you going quickly.

[Guest]

On 06/01/2014 at 16:12, BqarbaraL said:

 

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