Alfiedog
TPF Noob!
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- Jul 14, 2018
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WARNING ... this thread discusses a person with a terminal illness. If this is going to upset or offend you in any way, please do not read any further. Please delete this thread if it crosses any boundaries: it is not my intention to cause upset, just to look for opinions on a very sensitive matter.
So ..... A photographer friend asked for my opinion on a matter recently and I have mixed views on the matter, so thought I'd ask for a few wider views from other photographers.
Said friend has taken some (exceptionally good!) images of a dog, which belongs to a lady of his acquaintance, at her request. The dog is very elderly and infirm and the lady wanted some good pictures for her family to keep and treasure as she knows she won't have him around for very much longer, as unfortunately is the way with old dogs. However, the lady herself is, sadly, terminally ill and also has limited time left. During the shoot my friend took a number of pictures of the dog, but also a few of the lady and dog together. One of the images in particular is quite poignant and moving as it shows the lady hugging the dog as if to say goodbye.
The issue is that my friend is a member of a local photography club and likes to enter his images in club level competitions. He would like to enter this image in a competition: technically and as a piece of imagery it's quite exceptional. Morally, however, he has doubts whether it would be an appropriate use of such an image and hence he has asked my view. He owns the copyright of the image and has the permission the lady in question to use the picture for this purpose if he wishes. The image would be presented as a print and would not be on-line or in the public domain in any way.
If pushed, I'd say my own opinion is that I don't think he should use it regardless of the fact that it's a stunningly good piece of work. It was a very private moment and should be kept that way and not used for self promotion in a competition. However, I'd really welcome anyone else thoughts.
Apologies for raising a sensitive topic, but this situation raises an interesting point about what is and is not a legitimate use of a copyright image.
So ..... A photographer friend asked for my opinion on a matter recently and I have mixed views on the matter, so thought I'd ask for a few wider views from other photographers.
Said friend has taken some (exceptionally good!) images of a dog, which belongs to a lady of his acquaintance, at her request. The dog is very elderly and infirm and the lady wanted some good pictures for her family to keep and treasure as she knows she won't have him around for very much longer, as unfortunately is the way with old dogs. However, the lady herself is, sadly, terminally ill and also has limited time left. During the shoot my friend took a number of pictures of the dog, but also a few of the lady and dog together. One of the images in particular is quite poignant and moving as it shows the lady hugging the dog as if to say goodbye.
The issue is that my friend is a member of a local photography club and likes to enter his images in club level competitions. He would like to enter this image in a competition: technically and as a piece of imagery it's quite exceptional. Morally, however, he has doubts whether it would be an appropriate use of such an image and hence he has asked my view. He owns the copyright of the image and has the permission the lady in question to use the picture for this purpose if he wishes. The image would be presented as a print and would not be on-line or in the public domain in any way.
If pushed, I'd say my own opinion is that I don't think he should use it regardless of the fact that it's a stunningly good piece of work. It was a very private moment and should be kept that way and not used for self promotion in a competition. However, I'd really welcome anyone else thoughts.
Apologies for raising a sensitive topic, but this situation raises an interesting point about what is and is not a legitimate use of a copyright image.