HELP - ADVICE/OPINION WANTED

[JacaRanda]

Initially I took down her images of the E session and offered to sit down with her after the wedding to discuss it all.

Once again, clear and straight to the point. I guess this was not good enough for some. Sheeeeesh!!!!!
Shame on you Bill for not bending over and taking it like a man. You Jerk.

 

[pixmedic]

166 posts!
congratulations Bill!
this might be your highest rated thread on TPF!
not as nice to look at as your girly shoots....
but maybe just as entertaining!

 

[pixmedic]

This just received

Hi Bill,

Since we're apparently having problems communicating now, and even back when we signed this contact, how about we make this quick & simple and propose our best compromise that we'd be willing to accept.

This would make this less stressful for all of us, and it seems like we all need less stress here.

If you refuse, we will try to find a new photographer at the last minute willing to agree to our privacy terms, or ask a friend to take dedicated pictures for us. You don't come to our wedding - keep what you think is fair from our payment, already made in full - keeping in mind we obviously intended to sign up for our wedding pictures being taken for US, not WSG Wedding Photography Promotion.

Additional terms:

- Photographer (Bill Grayson, WSG) does not share any of client's photos unless approved by client on any medium, including Facebook, webpages, everything.

- Client (Mark & Van) agree to select a minimum 4 pictures from the photoshoot, and 4 pictures from the wedding, which include the Bride & Groom in the picture, to be shared on WSG website and WSG facebook page only - for WSG promotion purposes as basically a small online example album.

- Photographer agrees to not include any keywords/tags with the pictures that may help cause the pictures to be found with search engine type software. Any wording / tagging / search-tricks must be approved by client.

- Client co-owns full rights to hi-resolution version of all pictures, as clearly discussed during the original meeting, but not described correctly on the fine print / back page of the contract.



Please respond with a Yes/No by today 8/13.

You know, I did miss this somehow when responding earlier. Obviously, you're dealing with a client concerned with privacy, who doesn't deal with this sort of thing on daily basis, and was unaware of what the promotion section in the contract meant. Of course, the owning the rights bit is silly, but...

This echos what I've said before "- keeping in mind we obviously intended to sign up for our wedding pictures being taken for US, not WSG Wedding Photography Promotion." . Customers want their photos taken for them, not necessarily to be used to promote your business. I'd say if you need portfolio fodder that badly, hire some models with a real model release, and use those for your promotion. Or make it veeeeeery clear, big and obvious what you would like to do in the contract. Did the OP specifically tell the client that they planned to use their photos for his promotional use, or did that just get skimmed over? When sitting down, discussing the price, "By the way, my contract includes a release from you so that I can use the content in my business promotional works, online and in print. Do you have any issue with that?"

I keep hearing the same old tune, with some people trying to push the "I paid for the photos, I own them" agenda,. and the "big bad photographer taking advantage of some poor little clients that don't know any better with his wicked legalese" crap.
which is fine. get a contract made however YOU like it when YOU get work done.
But for MOST working photographers, part OR full time, it seems that retaining portfolio usage of all photos is extremely common practice.
this is not a new concept, by any means. And I would venture to say that pretty much any studio you walk into has that built into their contracts as well, unless otherwise noted and changed per an agreement between photographer and client. Even portrait studios in wal-mart and Sears (before they went under) retained usage rights for all images they took.
the issue you seem to ignore here, is that all of your points MIGHT ALMOST make some semblance of sense...IF the clients had not waited 11 months to bring up this issue. let me say that again. 11 months. with their photos up on bills blog. with a signed contract in hand that they could have gone over with a lawyer of their own.
but no.... 4 days before the wedding is when they have issues. just a privacy issue? im not buying it. Not 4 days before the wedding.

now, this also totally discounts the fact that not only did they want major terms of a contract changed last minute....they DEMANDED it. on threat of firing Bill no less.
in writing! you meet our terms or you don't show up to the wedding. Period.
"we have a contract, but if you want to shoot our wedding, you better change the terms...by tonight..or else"
then they changed their mind. TWICE!
dont sit there and tell me they did not "understand" the terms of the contract, because the bride clearly states to Bill in the email that he can keep whatever portion of her money that he feels is fair. SHE KNOWS `its all legal. she knew what the deal was, and for whatever reason does not want to tell Bill who put the bug in her ear about "owning her photos". Bill was more than fair with them. whether he "needed" portfolio work or not is totally irrelevant to this situation. THEY hired him, THEY signed a contract (which they were fine with for 11 months) and then THEY wanted to break it, or force Bill to change the terms with zero compensation to him. These were adults he was dealing with. not children.

 

[Big Mike]

Definitely something fishy with the B&G....if she was really just worried about privacy, then why not just choose to purchase the rights to the photos when he offered it to her? It would have been a done deal and she would have got what she wanted, including having her photographer of choice, shooting her wedding.

 

[jwbryson1]

Definitely something fishy with the B&G...

Her cousin, Jake, from Portland, just got a DSLR and offered to shoot the wedding for $250 plus a case of Milwaukee's Best Light. :mrgreen:

 

[JacaRanda]

Definitely something fishy with the B&G...

Her cousin, Jake, from Portland, just got a DSLR and offered to shoot the wedding for $250 plus a case of Milwaukee's Best Light. :mrgreen:

^ made me snort!

 

[kathyt]

Definitely something fishy with the B&G...

Her cousin, Jake, from Portland, just got a DSLR and offered to shoot the wedding for $250 plus a case of Milwaukee's Best Light. :mrgreen:

^ made me snort!

Me too!

 

[JacaRanda]

Her cousin, Jake, from Portland, just got a DSLR and offered to shoot the wedding for $250 plus a case of Milwaukee's Best Light. :mrgreen:

^ made me snort!

Me too!

Haaa, perhaps a KC thing?

 

[kathyt]

^ made me snort!

Me too!

Haaa, perhaps a KC thing?

I think so....I do it all the time especially when I am really tired and can't stop laughing.

 

[jwbryson1]

Here's some home video I shot of Kat over the past weekend....

 

[kathyt]

Me too!

Haaa, perhaps a KC thing?

I think so....I do it all the time especially when I am really tired and can't stop laughing.

Remember when I first found out you were from KC, and I was trying to think of the name of a BBQ place I used to go to all the time with live music? This is what I was trying to think of. Best Kansas City BBQ | B.B.'s Lawnside BBQ It is awesome, and so much fun. Not fancy at all, and the food is sooooo good!

This is on topic right?

 

[kathyt]

Here's some home video I shot of Kat over the past weekend....

That is too funny! Yes, that would be all of us nurses at the end of a shift!

 

[Trever1t]

166 posts!
congratulations Bill!
this might be your highest rated thread on TPF!
not as nice to look at as your girly shoots....
but maybe just as entertaining!

Actually this is my longest running and still current thread here ----> http://www.thephotoforum.com/forum/photo-themes/236373-abstract-minimalist-thread.html

 

[texkam]

Good point, because most of the weddings I shoot have images of the bride and groom on FB before I even get home from the wedding!

Well, that's right. There's likely going to be all kinds of images floating around; many of which could be awkward and unflattering.

 

[JacaRanda]

Haaa, perhaps a KC thing?

I think so....I do it all the time especially when I am really tired and can't stop laughing.

Remember when I first found out you were from KC, and I was trying to think of the name of a BBQ place I used to go to all the time with live music? This is what I was trying to think of. Best Kansas City BBQ | B.B.'s Lawnside BBQ It is awesome, and so much fun. Not fancy at all, and the food is sooooo good!

This is on topic right?

Oh man, right back down memory lane. I need to go home for a few!