Allyn Edmonds

Copyright Your Photos - Guide to Copyright Protection, Registration, and Your Rights

Allyn — Tue, 08 Jul 2008 23:37:32 +0000

One common misconception for any startup photographer is: once you’ve captured the photo, it completely belongs to you. However, in order to claim ownership and file a potential copyright infringement suit, you must properly present and copyright your work, register your photos, and know your rights as a professional photographer.

Step One: Properly Copyright Your Print and Digital Photos

Many photographers often include a copyright notice in the footer of their photo; some even overlay their copyrights with a watermark. It may seem like a no-brainer at first, but consider the following three rules:

Include the copyright symbol: ©
2.

Include the year, or more precisely the date of your photo’s publication
3.

Include your professional photography business name

Two more recommendations for copyright inclusion:

Consider adding your geographical location. This could help in court to speed up the process of identifying potentially similar business names.
2.

It’s also a good practice to include “All Rights Reserved”. This phrase is automatically assumed in the U.S., however, it’s not always the case in other parts of the world. Although the U.S. serves as the dominant photography market, consider the option of registering a copyright in other countries. Some countries make clear distinctions between moral rights and economic rights in photography usage and copyright restrictions.

Read on: Copyright Your Photos - Guide to Copyright Protection, Registration, and Your Rights

the appeal of the 50mm camera lens | pro photo life

Allyn — Thu, 03 Jul 2008 16:04:43 +0000

I really enjoyed reading David Ziser’s recent post “It’s In the Bag”, where he details what camera bodies and lenses he uses for his portrait and wedding business. It’s always interesting to read about the choices experienced photographers make when it comes to equipment. And this is not just an equipment list, David writes about why each particular piece has won his favor. You might imagine that, given David’s credentials and notoriety as a wedding photographer, he would automatically be carrying a pair of $5000 camera bodies and nothing but the most expensive lenses his preference is actually the Canon 40D. I think you’ll be surprised to find that his choices are extremely practical in this article that is well worth the read.

Among his listed lenses are the 50mm f1.4 and it’s slightly slower, less expensive cousin, the 50mm f1.8. I’m a huge fan of the 50mm lens and can say that it’s probably the one lens I would recommend to every DSLR photographer, regardless of what you shoot. Maybe not as the first lens to go into your bag but definitely high up on the list.

Read On: the appeal of the 50mm camera lens | pro photo life

getting out of a creative rut, for photographers | pro photo life

Allyn — Tue, 01 Jul 2008 14:09:01 +0000

Have you ever been in a creative rut? The ideas just aren’t coming to you and when they are, the results are disappointing? I’m sure we’ve all been there. This is the story of how I dealt with one particular creative drought.

A couple of years ago my photo studio was doing very well but I was just “going through the motions”. Nothing was particularly exciting and it seemed like every job was repetitive. Thankfully, a photo assistant helped pull me out of the doldrums.

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Nikon announces Speedlight SB-900 flashgun: Digital Photography Review

Allyn — Tue, 01 Jul 2008 14:07:21 +0000

Nikon has today announced its new top-of-the-range flashgun - the Speedlight SB-900. The new model features a Multi-step auto zoom covering a 17-200mm zoom range, three illumination patterns (standard, center-weighted and even) and automatically detects if you are using the Nikon FX or DX format. The SB-900 will be available from the 25th of July.

Read on: Nikon announces Speedlight SB-900 flashgun: Digital Photography Review

Nikon D700 plus hands-on preview: Digital Photography Review

Allyn — Tue, 01 Jul 2008 13:56:49 +0000

Perhaps the worst kept secret of any recent announcement Nikon has now officially revealed the compact, professional, twelve megapixel, full-frame (FX format) Nikon D700. From the outside the D700 is virtually identical to the D300, albeit for its larger ‘full frame’ viewfinder, internally it’s almost identical to the D3, except for a slightly slower shutter (five frames per second up to eight frames per second with the MB-D10 battery grip). By comparison it also includes several function improvements over the D3 including Image Sensor cleaning (’sensor shake’), more flexible ‘hard button’ programming, virtual horizon in Live View and different DX mode indication on the focusing screen. The D700 also becomes the first professional Nikon DSLR to sport a built-in flash. As far as competition is concerned the D700 really only faces the Canon EOS 5D (and any replacement that may be in the works). On sale in July for US$2999 or €2599 body only.

Nikon D700 plus hands-on preview: Digital Photography Review

D3 and D300 get firmware fixes: Digital Photography Review

Allyn — Tue, 01 Jul 2008 13:54:07 +0000

In addition to the announcement of the D700, Nikon has revised the firmware of the D3 and D300. The latest D3 firmware adds new function button customization options though not the ones featured on the D700. In addition to these and a virtual horizon in live view mode, Nikon has also addressed the problem that some users experienced in which the battery indicator would incorrectly register an empty battery.
This problem, which has come to be known as ‘Dead Battery Syndrome,’ has also been addressed in new firmware for the D300.

D3 firmware makes improvements to AF and Auto White Balance mode, as well as correcting for the battery indicator errors. Many of the other changes are subtle tweaks to menus and behavior, such as the decision to only all auto-rotate of images in playback mode, not in the review image that appears after shooting as the camera must already be in the correct orientation to have taken the shot.

Read on: D3 and D300 get firmware fixes: Digital Photography Review

LightroomNews » Blog Archive » Noise Removal in Lightroom

Allyn — Thu, 26 Jun 2008 16:18:07 +0000

A recent ISO accident led to the creation of this little video tutorial on noise reduction in Lightroom. While it doesn’t offer as much control as dedicated software like Neat Image or Noiseware, it’s still quite usable. The one great thing about it, is that once you’re happy with the results on one image, you can batch it to the rest of the shoot, far quicker than with the dedicated packages. Click here to watch the MP4 video.

Read On: LightroomNews » Blog Archive » Noise Removal in Lightroom

Wedding Photography Agreement Contract Tips

Allyn — Thu, 26 Jun 2008 16:14:26 +0000

You’ve seen it before. It’s not the photographer with the biggest camera or the most artistic eye that wins in the world of wedding photography. It’s the best-practiced business photographer.

Smart businessmen or women know how to create their brand and or product, sell it, promote it - and all before 5pm well, sometimes. For a wedding photographer, branding and creating a product is only half the battle.

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Portrait Lighting Cheat Sheet Card | DIYPhotography.net

Allyn — Thu, 19 Jun 2008 03:44:58 +0000

Setting up lighting for a portrait can be quite a complex task. If you, like me, are using small strobes which have mo modeling light it is hard to predict what will be the outcome of each lighting array.

There are however some basic lighting schemes, kind of a starting ground for new portraits. Of course, once you lay out the initial lighting you can change it, move it around and use modifiers to soften or restrict the light.

Read on: Portrait Lighting Cheat Sheet Card | DIYPhotography.net

business of photography : questions to ask the client | pro photo life

Allyn — Thu, 19 Jun 2008 03:43:02 +0000

At the core of the photography business, whether it’s taking photographs or running the business end of things, my job is to be a problem-solver for the client. In order for me to solve their problems I need to ask questions. In this post I’ll mention three questions I find important to ask any new client. These inquiries naturally lead to other conversation. My job is to carefully listen and interpret what the client is really asking for.

Read on: business of photography : questions to ask the client | pro photo life