Copyright....that little notice you see on photos in books, well lets face it is the legal staement of ownership that tells you that you cannot use without the permission of the copyright owner....
However I see tons of improper copyright notices everyday, especially on photography sites.....yes there is a correct way to write a copyright noitice.........over 25 years ago I was at a local photo printer and a person brought in a photo to have a copy negative made of so they could get decent enlargements......the customer service rep told this person to return to the photog for this as the image was copyrighted.....there was a really nice gold stamp of the photogs signature (nope not the copyright) and on the back was an actual copyright notice.....In years past the simple or very elaborate gold stamp signature was enough to twart some processors from copying images...but not all.....some discount stores that would hire any tom, dick or mary to run the photo counter and not educate them on copyrights and such would still take the Olin MIlls and even a photo taken by famous photogs and send to their lab to be copied and printed.....as far as I know there was never a law suit placed agains the big nationwide discount houses for this....
Now to try to educate you on copyrights for photographic purposes......
so here is a sample of the types of copyright notices I have seen athat are almost worthless....I almost because it is known that YOU the photographer does own the copyrihgt to YOUR image from the moment the shutter cliks.........
HOWEVER..........unless you tell the world that you own said image it can and will be copied and used illegally andwhen you finally find out it could cost you more than it is worth to persue in a court of law........
So on to the sample types......Oh and I am using my own name in all of these samples........
1- copyright arthur scott
2-copyright arthur scott 2008
3-copywrite arthur scott
4-copywrite arthur scott 2008
5- arthur scott©
6-arthur scott © 2008
I have seen many more that I willn ot waste OUR time listing....here is the correct way to write your copyright notice.
copyright © 2008 your name .........................this is the format used on Nolo.com also on the bottom of all wesites I have been to...........
A last thought on this issue.....just be cause you, the photographer, creator of a work is the rightful copyright owner, YOU STILL NEED TO DO A FORMAL COPYRIGHT REGISTRATION WITH THE U.S. COPYRIGHT OFFICE FOR ALL YOUR PAST WORK and FUTURE WORKS AS THEY ARE DONE. This way there is no doubt if you have to take someone to court for copyright infringement.
Thursday, July 17, 2008
Tuesday, July 15, 2008
Just a Slight Rant...
I visit several photography forums during the coarse of each week....some I am actually a member of and do sign in, others i just remain in the background LURKING, reading and not posting.
Hre is my rant..............................................there seems to be a rash of photo enthusiast that are too damn LAZY to read their instruction books.....yes them there little paper books that came with their cameras when they purchased them new.
How do I know this to be true....because every where you turn there are people asking things like how do I get my camera into such and such mode....if it a mode on the camera it is in the menus somewhere or you get there by turning a dial or pushing a button.....if it is available on the model they own it is in the instruction booklet......and a lot pf these people are asking these questions just prior to going out on a PAID job, wedding, portrait shoot, motorcycle and auto races.
This is a problem I have noticed in other areas of society also.....no one wants to take the hard road so to speak and actually read and learn to do ANYTHING, no just photography.....literally anything................................................................................no one wants to do their homework any more....it just isn't fun...........................OR IS IT AND THEY JUST KNOW WHAT THEY ARE MISSING :-}}}
Namaste.
Hre is my rant..............................................there seems to be a rash of photo enthusiast that are too damn LAZY to read their instruction books.....yes them there little paper books that came with their cameras when they purchased them new.
How do I know this to be true....because every where you turn there are people asking things like how do I get my camera into such and such mode....if it a mode on the camera it is in the menus somewhere or you get there by turning a dial or pushing a button.....if it is available on the model they own it is in the instruction booklet......and a lot pf these people are asking these questions just prior to going out on a PAID job, wedding, portrait shoot, motorcycle and auto races.
This is a problem I have noticed in other areas of society also.....no one wants to take the hard road so to speak and actually read and learn to do ANYTHING, no just photography.....literally anything................................................................................no one wants to do their homework any more....it just isn't fun...........................OR IS IT AND THEY JUST KNOW WHAT THEY ARE MISSING :-}}}
Namaste.
Monday, July 14, 2008
Portfolios
I have seen several posts relating to what type and size of portfolio do I need....will a 4x6 work for me????
Let me begin by saying that if you trying to present yourself as a professional then NO a 4x6 size is out of the question.......4x6's are for snap shot's not really good for proofs but most of use them cause their cheap.....also a reason not to use a 4x6" port....makes you look very cheap, like you do not wish to truly invest in your future.....and that is what a portfolio is for to make your future as bright and wonderful as it can be....................so that being said.....here goes.
Smallest portfolio you should ever....I repeat ever show is 8x10, after a very long time in this business I still show portraits and weddings in 8 x 10 if the prospective client does not have access to the internet (oh yeah some people still do not have compouters at home or browse the internet with their cell phones).
I actuallyt suggest using a 16 x 20 if your having a pro lab print your port photos or maybe 14 x 17" if your printing yourself at home on your pro injet printer....
I have used various brands of black leatherette portfolio binders, my supplier currently offers Itoya and they are good....using acid free pages is a must (and Itoya does that).....
Now if you really want to make an impression with a gallery, do a coffee table book from Asuka books or Blurb or another online publisher that does very good reputable work. By reputable go on some forums and ask for recommendations from forum members see who they are actually using.
For the lack of better terminalogy, this is the one place that size truly does matter and there is no magick pill to make that portfolio grow.............so in the interest of your future.....Make that portfolio a little bit bigger than you think you can afford and that is where to begin also if you have the Galleries contact info wrtite or email them (for email it looks much better if it is not yahoo, hotmail, gmail or other such services as this cheapens your look also) but go to a doamin registrar, like GO DADDY and buy a commerical email addy for ~$10/yr....something as simple as yourname @yourname.com, looks much better than yourname@hotmail.com.....the first one makes your unique...the 2nd one makes you look just like any ordinary cheap person.
Let me begin by saying that if you trying to present yourself as a professional then NO a 4x6 size is out of the question.......4x6's are for snap shot's not really good for proofs but most of use them cause their cheap.....also a reason not to use a 4x6" port....makes you look very cheap, like you do not wish to truly invest in your future.....and that is what a portfolio is for to make your future as bright and wonderful as it can be....................so that being said.....here goes.
Smallest portfolio you should ever....I repeat ever show is 8x10, after a very long time in this business I still show portraits and weddings in 8 x 10 if the prospective client does not have access to the internet (oh yeah some people still do not have compouters at home or browse the internet with their cell phones).
I actuallyt suggest using a 16 x 20 if your having a pro lab print your port photos or maybe 14 x 17" if your printing yourself at home on your pro injet printer....
I have used various brands of black leatherette portfolio binders, my supplier currently offers Itoya and they are good....using acid free pages is a must (and Itoya does that).....
Now if you really want to make an impression with a gallery, do a coffee table book from Asuka books or Blurb or another online publisher that does very good reputable work. By reputable go on some forums and ask for recommendations from forum members see who they are actually using.
For the lack of better terminalogy, this is the one place that size truly does matter and there is no magick pill to make that portfolio grow.............so in the interest of your future.....Make that portfolio a little bit bigger than you think you can afford and that is where to begin also if you have the Galleries contact info wrtite or email them (for email it looks much better if it is not yahoo, hotmail, gmail or other such services as this cheapens your look also) but go to a doamin registrar, like GO DADDY and buy a commerical email addy for ~$10/yr....something as simple as yourname @yourname.com, looks much better than yourname@hotmail.com.....the first one makes your unique...the 2nd one makes you look just like any ordinary cheap person.
Monday, July 7, 2008
DPI meaningless or not...........
I was visitng a photo forum and a postr asked if he needed to worry about the dpi of his uploads to his gallery for printing purposes and the reply was just to upload all the native pixels and let us worry about the rest...DPI IS MEANINGLESS......
That really depends on if the client understands viewing distance and most do not....I have even had professional interior decorators, with fine art degrees none the less, that did not understand viewing distance.......so dpi or ppi (which is more accurrate for photographs and dpi is for printers) is not meaningless......in my way of thinking due to the many responses I have had over the years of wwhy does an enlargement of this picture not look as good as the 8 x 10 in your portfolio catalog......my answer was always to have the client step back a few feet and then view the enlargement and WOW it looks great....a billboard looks like crap up close, very grainy or pixelated now tht we;re in the digital age.......
So in many ways DPI is very meaningful.......so for my own peace of mind I do a couple of things while still in Photoshop.
I go to Image and then clik on image size in the dialouge box that appears I make usre that constrain proportions is ticked and nothing else....then I change my DPI to 300, this brings me very close to an 8 x 10 aspect ratio and now I can finish my work in photoshop ...... doing everything EXCEPT my final sharpening with unsharp mask......now I take that file into GENUINE FRACTALS and I upsize that photos to whatever size Iwant upt ot 30 x 40 inches (the largest size I currently sell since I am using 6 and 8 mp cameras right now).....then after uprezing the file..it is back to Photoshop for sharpening........
YES this makes for very large files sometimes but, it also gives me a 30 x 40 inch print that is at 8 x 10 quality....so needing to understand viewing distances is of no importance for my clients......there is no pixelation to worry about, is here is noiseware or noise ninja to the rescue........but I know that at 300dpi I am getting the best possible image from the file at the largest enlargement I want to take those files to.
When I upgrade to a Full Frame camera then I probably will be offering prints in the 60 X 80 or 120 by 160 inches aspect ratio (actually that is still 8x10 aspect ratio :-}} ).......
If you have noiced my advertisment for SMUGMUG in the side bar take a peek it just might be what your looking for.
Have a great day
That really depends on if the client understands viewing distance and most do not....I have even had professional interior decorators, with fine art degrees none the less, that did not understand viewing distance.......so dpi or ppi (which is more accurrate for photographs and dpi is for printers) is not meaningless......in my way of thinking due to the many responses I have had over the years of wwhy does an enlargement of this picture not look as good as the 8 x 10 in your portfolio catalog......my answer was always to have the client step back a few feet and then view the enlargement and WOW it looks great....a billboard looks like crap up close, very grainy or pixelated now tht we;re in the digital age.......
So in many ways DPI is very meaningful.......so for my own peace of mind I do a couple of things while still in Photoshop.
I go to Image and then clik on image size in the dialouge box that appears I make usre that constrain proportions is ticked and nothing else....then I change my DPI to 300, this brings me very close to an 8 x 10 aspect ratio and now I can finish my work in photoshop ...... doing everything EXCEPT my final sharpening with unsharp mask......now I take that file into GENUINE FRACTALS and I upsize that photos to whatever size Iwant upt ot 30 x 40 inches (the largest size I currently sell since I am using 6 and 8 mp cameras right now).....then after uprezing the file..it is back to Photoshop for sharpening........
YES this makes for very large files sometimes but, it also gives me a 30 x 40 inch print that is at 8 x 10 quality....so needing to understand viewing distances is of no importance for my clients......there is no pixelation to worry about, is here is noiseware or noise ninja to the rescue........but I know that at 300dpi I am getting the best possible image from the file at the largest enlargement I want to take those files to.
When I upgrade to a Full Frame camera then I probably will be offering prints in the 60 X 80 or 120 by 160 inches aspect ratio (actually that is still 8x10 aspect ratio :-}} ).......
If you have noiced my advertisment for SMUGMUG in the side bar take a peek it just might be what your looking for.
Have a great day
Wednesday, July 2, 2008
Decided to Re-Start
I have decided to re-start my photography business. First I got a website: ArtScottFotografie.com (link in side bar) .......it needs to be personalized.....trying to decide on the look I want......simple or more fancy with slide-shows or animation on front page......it is starting off with 4 galleries:
PORTFOLIO, showcases the different types of photography I do.
ART for YOUR WALLS, showcases various Fine Art Photographs for sale
GALLERY for CLIENTS, this is a gallery that is password protected for my clients privacy.....this is where they look over the work i have done for them and purchase prints and digital downloads that they need.
COUNTERFEIT - FAKE CF CARDS, this gallery was constructed so the general public could see what counterfeit San Disk CF cards looked like and how they are marked.....the gold ink was my way to ensure these cards would never be sold to anyone again.
My website is hosted by, what I think to be the best company on this planet for Hosting a Photography website..........SMUGMUG.........I have looked at a lot of photo hosting comapnies out there and none can hold a candle to them especially at their prices...............
Currently I am working on my Wedding Contract, Portrait Contract, advertising over on a new soon to live search engine called PlanetBuzz , when I have a question about photography or customizing my website I go to DGRIN , a fantastic forum about photography and also living healthy with the thread on dieting, including discussions on the China Study and Eat to Live, quite a diverse group over there.
I would like to now thank a Dgrinner, MARKJAY, for pointing me and lot of otehr people to the new search engine Planet Buzz with a link to his site: 360 PHOTO STOCK .......
PORTFOLIO, showcases the different types of photography I do.
ART for YOUR WALLS, showcases various Fine Art Photographs for sale
GALLERY for CLIENTS, this is a gallery that is password protected for my clients privacy.....this is where they look over the work i have done for them and purchase prints and digital downloads that they need.
COUNTERFEIT - FAKE CF CARDS, this gallery was constructed so the general public could see what counterfeit San Disk CF cards looked like and how they are marked.....the gold ink was my way to ensure these cards would never be sold to anyone again.
My website is hosted by, what I think to be the best company on this planet for Hosting a Photography website..........SMUGMUG.........I have looked at a lot of photo hosting comapnies out there and none can hold a candle to them especially at their prices...............
Currently I am working on my Wedding Contract, Portrait Contract, advertising over on a new soon to live search engine called PlanetBuzz , when I have a question about photography or customizing my website I go to DGRIN , a fantastic forum about photography and also living healthy with the thread on dieting, including discussions on the China Study and Eat to Live, quite a diverse group over there.
I would like to now thank a Dgrinner, MARKJAY, for pointing me and lot of otehr people to the new search engine Planet Buzz with a link to his site: 360 PHOTO STOCK .......
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