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Tornado Help Request!

2013-05-20T20:51:00.000-05:00

Please watch the below video.

Mail all donations to:

James Beltz
660 NW 19th street
Moore, OK. 73160

Make a PayPal donation.
Please leave the comment "For DJ".

Court Ruling In Uk Sets Precedence For Future Image Theft.

2013-05-20T14:46:00.001-05:00

What is being cited as a landmark case concerning copyright infringement has yielded itself in favor of the photographers.

Photographer Jason Sheldon took a few photos of singer Ke$ha as part of an advertising campaign for her concerts. Some of those were posted on various social media outlets like Facebook and Tumbler.

Apparently, Daybrook Promotions believed that because it was on a social media site, it was somehow OK to use.

They were wrong.

The photographer sent them a bill for £1,351. Daybrook laughed and instead offered him £150. He laughed at them and took them to court.

He was just awarded a bit ore than he asked for. Try £5,682., That is over $3700.

But the big deal is, that is sets a precedence for anyone else that thinks because they found it on a social site that it is fair game. They would be wrong.

Yeah us!

Fight Breaks Out Over Taking Pictures At A Mall

2013-05-20T10:36:00.000-05:00

There are just no words, but I will try to explain. The people were standing on private property taking pictures. The property was a mall. There was a truck in a ravine below the mall property and some rubberneckers had decided to take pictures of someone elses's misfortune from mall property.

The mall cop tells them they have to leave and stop taking pictures because they have a policy against that. Totally legal for the mall to do, and by law the people instructed to stop have to do so or they are now breaking the law. They continue to stay after being instructed to leave. That makes them trespassers.

Instead of simply calling the cops and prosecuting, the female mall cop began to yell and lose her mind. She then pushed an individual.

Mistake....

UPDATE:

I am getting feedback that this was not mall property because it looks like they were on the side of a road. I am in no way defending the mall cop because she acted unwisely. But it was indeed mall property. Here is satellite image of the mall and the location happened on the NW corner of the area shown. The road they were standing on is called Mall Ring Rd, and is owned by the mall as an access road that circles the property.

View Larger Map

WTD 1390 - OK Glass

2013-05-20T10:07:00.001-05:00

http://www.whattheduck.net/

Should You Shoot A Friend's Wedding?

2013-05-20T09:21:00.000-05:00

So the question was posed by USA Today in a Op-Ed piece sent to me by listener Jeremy Crawford. I had a look and had both some agreements and some disagreements with the author. So I thought I would write up my own answer to this question.

And there is no simple answer.

Here is the deal, weddings are one heck of a lot of work. Only a photographer with experience can truly understand how much work is entailed. Even if you are a photographer that understands the life of a photographer because you are one, if you do not have experience shooting and editing weddings, then you truly do not know. It is a for certain guarantee that the Bride has no clue. Not even a little bit.

If you are unprepared for the time spent in just preparing for the couple's special day, the intense pressure of the actual day itself, the leadership position that you will have to take on in order to control the event, the counselor position that you sometimes have to take on in order to keep your Bride sane and in control of her mental facilities, the fact that you will have to raise your voice in order to be heard and instruct a group of 30 to 100 or more people about where to stand for group shots, the very physical activity that will be required on the day, The crazy amount of multi-tasking that is required, the enormous thinking exercises that your brain will undergo for an extended period of time (This alone will leave you exhausted), the weeks of sorting and editing that will be required in post production of potentially thousands of images, then the answer is no.

Simply explain to the Bride that while you love them to pieces, you are just simply not qualified, and cannot devote the weeks afterward to post producing their images because you have other plans. That you just do not have the required experience that they need, and should hire a professional for the job.

If, however, you have a desire to pursue this as at least a side source of income, and you are prepared to be introduced to this world that we described to you above, then this is a great opportunity for you and the answer should be yes.

You should, however, have a come to Jesus meeting with the Bride and Groom and make them painfully aware that you are a complete novice to wedding photography, and they should be prepared for a few bumps in the road. I can promise that it will happen. Ask her what her feelings are going to be if you screw something up, and fail to get those critical shots? What is she going to do if you miss the kiss, have the camera settings wrong during the ceremony, or miss the focus on half of the shots because you are not used to shooting in low light? Is she going to be let down and hurt? Because if she is, your friendship with her is too important, and she should consider asking someone else. If she insists that she loves you no matter what the results are, and promises that her commitment to you as a friend will outweigh anything that could happen, then go for it.

One argument that I saw posted on the USA Today article was that you will be taking money away from professional photographers.

Baloney.

Let me tell you something. If the Bride cannot afford to spend a grand or more on a Professional Wedding Photographer, then nothing you could do or not do is taking the money away from another photographer. They weren't going to get it anyway. Period. That is a stupid argument.

Besides, just where do you think those professionals got their experience anyway? There is a very good chance that they did a few for free or for very cheap in order to get that experience. That is the silliest argument I have heard, and usually made by grumpy professionals that forgot where they came from.

Now on the other hand, I think it wise to ask your Bride how much she is paying for the cake. Because if she says a few hundred dollars, then you have no issues. She is under a tight budget. She will be grateful no matter what - probably... But if she said she is spending $900 or more for a cake, then you need to inform her of something. She is spending a crazy amount of cash on a cake that will last 45 minutes, and nothing on a photos designed to last a lifetime. And that is just silly. You should advise her to rethink her choices.

Additionally, and this is a big one, make sure that you have the right equipment for the job. If you are not in possession of a camera that can shoot natural light at ISO 3200 with very little noise, along with a couple of variable focal length lenses that can open to F/2.8 or better, then a whole other discussion should be had with the Bride.

You will need to explain to her that your equipment, while perfect for shooting family pictures in the park, cannot handle the low light requirements of a wedding. That you will need to rent the equipment you need and that may cost upwards of $250 for the weekend. If she does not have that to spend, then she will need the additional wake up call that her images may be grainy from the low light, and she will have to except a lot of flash photography and the amateur results that will come from it. Because you at the very minimum need a decent flash.

If she accepts those realities of everything listed above, and you accept those realities as well, then go for it. The answer is yes.

If you or she is even a little bit shaky on any of what we discussed above, or you get any bad vibes at all, you back slowly away and tell her you will be having a kidney replaced that weekend, and she should find someone else. But please save you a piece of cake.

What The Duck - 1389 - Mentoring

2013-05-18T16:00:00.003-05:00

Aaron Johnson's comic called What The Duck, is humor aimed squarely at photographers. We are going to start pushing it here.

http://www.whattheduck.net/

Found In The News - Message In The Sand

2013-05-18T15:28:00.002-05:00

The below image features a school full of kids and teachers arranged carefully on a beach to form an image. The image is designed to send a geo-political message. They want us to listen. listen specifically to the ocean and protect it from trash and plastic litter. This was shot during the 20th annual kids Ocean Day Adobt-A-Beach. This was shot at Dockweiler State Beach in Playa Del Rey.

(Gary Friedman/Los Angeles Times)

Comedians Keegan-Michael Key and Jordan Peel Photo Shoot

2013-05-18T10:03:00.004-05:00

Nothing serious in this video at all. It is just designed to make you smile. And some of you people need to smile a bit more. I've met you. Just sayin'.

Yosemite Nature Notes - Night Sky

2013-05-18T09:56:00.001-05:00

Not sure how to explain this video. It is a documentary of sorts put out by Yosemite National Park, but it talks about night sky photography and features some great time lapse in HD of the park. It's 8 minutes long. Watch it. You will love it. And put it in HD mode to really enjoy it.

Episode 172 - Super Clamps and Magic Arms

2013-05-17T11:22:00.001-05:00

This is the coolest thing since sliced bread. You are going to want one. Promise.

Click here for the link to these items.

PhotoTips Family Member Needs Prayer

2013-05-16T17:24:00.000-05:00

I know this is an odd request, but when a family member is hurting, you ask for help wherever you can.

Norman Beer is a PhotoTips family member. He has a heart the size of Texas, and is the head forum moderator over on our Facebook group. A position that puts him in the crosshairs of anger when he is forced to make people follow the rules.

I was just notified that his wife is in the ER. This is a woman that has a heart as big as Norman's and she proved it a few months ago when she donated a kidney for someone in need.

Well there have now been complications. I don't honestly fully understand what is going on, but it has to do with a "duct" that is leaking into her abdomen. It has caused her belly to swell. Today, the inserted a syringe into her belly, and extracted 6 pints of white milky fluid....

If you know Norman, drop him a message on Facebook. If you believe like I do, and believe that prayer works, then say one and mean it. She needs it. If you don't believe like I do, then think good thoughts anyway and let him know you are thinking about him. His Facebook page is here. Friend him and let him know you are thinking about them. Her name is Karen.

Test Drive A Think Tank Bag

2013-05-16T15:28:00.001-05:00

TEST DRIVE ANY OF THINK TANK'S POPULAR RETROSPECTIVE™ SHOULDER BAGS FREE FOR 30 DAYS!

Think Tank is a proud partner with PhotoTips, and they have a cool offer for fans.

Order any of our Retrospective shoulder bags between now and June 15th and you will be able to test drive the bag for free. If you keep it, your credit card will be charged automatically 30 days from the date of purchase. If not, return it to us within the eligibility period and you will not be charged.

Created as an homage to legendary photographers such as Henri Cartier-Bresson and Robert Frank, these soft-sided shoulder bags are designed for the professional photographer that wants to remain inconspicuous in any situation. They come in nine sizes and three colors: Black, Blue Slate and Pinestone.

This offer is offer is good only for U.S. shipping addresses.

Check out the PhotoTips Think Tank Store where every order of $50 or more gets you a free gift.

Tell Your Brides To Unplug....

2013-05-16T11:27:00.000-05:00

I spotted a fantastic article posted by another photographer talking about "unplugged weddings" and why more and more Brides are considering them. I am going to go a step beyond that and tell you to instruct your Brides to make it mandatory for at least the Ceremony phase.

In the content below, you will find what one officiant instructed the family and guests at one recent wedding prior to the start of the Ceremony. I strongly suggest that you copy and paste it and hand to any future Brides. Seriously consider making it a part of your contract agreement with the Bride. I would bet that you will get no pushback from the bride at all, especially if you provide a link to this article (which I will place a link to on the Tutorials page here), and ask that they read it.

The photographer, Corey, consented to letting me repost her great blog post here. Afterwards, you should head to her site and tell her what a great one it is.

Corey Talks • Why You Should Have an Unplugged Wedding

In the past I’ve blogged about being a photo friendly guest and also about guest photographers but I felt that this needed to be expanded upon a bit more… and of course I have some images to show to support why I think it’s best when the guests put their cameras down.

Last year one of my friends got married and I was so thrilled to be her photographer that day. What was even more amazing was that she had an “Unplugged Wedding” after seeing pictures and reading my rants over the years about well-meaning guests whom have inadvertently (or heck, even completely on purpose) ruined images. Prior to the ceremony, the officiant read this, “Welcome, friends and family! Good evening everyone. Please be seated. Dan and Jennifer invite you to be truly present at this special time. Please, turn off your cell phones and put down your cameras. The photographer will capture how this moment looks — I encourage you all to capture how it feels with your hearts, without the distraction of technology. If Dan can do it, then so can you.” I can’t tell you how many happy leaps of joy my heart did when reading this!!! The guests all obeyed and even after the ceremony many decided to keep their arms down and their hearts open and enjoyed the day instead of being an observer from behind their cameras.

Recently “Guest Photographers” came up in one of the photography groups I am apart of online and someone asked what the big deal is, why wouldn’t we want more people capturing images for our clients? I thought this was a great question! I don’t have a single problem with guests taking images and sharing them later on with the couple. It makes me happy to know there will be other pictures and photos of moments I may have missed or alternate angles that I couldn’t cover. I also completely understand that some have a love for capturing images and enjoy taking pictures at weddings they are guests at. However, my heart literally breaks when a guest ruins an otherwise lovely image or jumps in front of me when I’m capturing a key moment from the day. It completely slays me when this happens because while I am not remotely egotistical at all, I am fairly confident that my image would have been better than the one they captured. In the past 6 years of being a professional wedding photographer, it’s also been sad to watch the progression from seeing smiling, encouraging and happy faces as the bride is escorted up the aisle to faces hidden behind the backs of cameras and cell phones that line the aisle. These are all reasons why I am elated when I hear of couples opting for an Unplugged Wedding – or at the very least an Unplugged Ceremony.

I also want to add this: if you are a guest at the wedding, please make sure to withhold posting pictures of the Bride & Groom online until AFTER the ceremony. I can’t tell you how many “first looks” have inadvertently happened online before the wedding because a bridesmaid or groomsman have uploaded pictures to social media before the wedding and a Bride and/or Groom who were killing time by browsing Facebook saw their future intended before the ceremony. Don’t do it!!!!! Also make sure with the couple that it is OK to share the images on social media, sometimes people prefer to keep things quiet due to varying factors and you don’t want to cause undue stress.

One thing there is absolutely NOTHING I can do to combat is a flash from a guest photographer’s camera. There is rarely anything that will save the image and no repositioning will change the outcome.

These are just two of the hundreds of images of the wedding processional that I’ve had ruined from a camera flash.

I also rarely, if ever, use flash for the ceremony so the light you see here is ALL from the one camera’s flash.

This girl’s father literally shoved me aside and gave me grief because I was blocking his daughter from standing in the aisle to get an image. This sanctuary only had one aisle and very little room to move due to a small space being full with guests. I took this image to protect myself later in case the clients were upset that I had to stand slightly off center for a portion of their day. Also? The Nintendo DS made the LOUDEST noises when it took pictures. It was crazy.

Since this image was taken 4 years ago the DS’s have been replaced with iPad, which are a million times worse when it comes to eyesores.

This kid’s Dad yelled at my second shooter during a wedding and shoved his kid up in front to make sure he got an image with his iPhone during a destination wedding in Cozumel. Note, he wasn’t a guest of the wedding, just a guest of the resort.

This whole situation literally broke my heart. In many churches, photographers are HEAVILY restricted as to where they can go for images and the Heinz Chapel is perhaps one of the strictest I’ve ever worked at. We are only allowed to be outside of the sanctuary in the door opening where the center aisle is and in the balcony. We are not permitted to move during the service. My second shooter thankfully was in the balcony but it didn’t make these guests go away but luckily he was able to get images of the service where you could SEE the bride and groom. I argued, begged and pleaded for the church lady guarding me to at least allow me to go into the side aisle so I could get a clear shot of my clients when these guests jumped into the aisle but I was not allowed. Instead I just had to take what I could get and cry a bit on the inside.

Another image of a guest who jumped in front of me during a ceremony where I could not move to get around him.

The flashes don’t quit for the service either and with the white dress there isn’t a lot I can do to save these images.

This almost made me cry. Not kidding.

I had my eye on this gentleman since he was standing up on the altar with the bride and groom during the service but I was able to zoom and crop around the couple so that he wasn’t in too many of the images. Then after the pronouncement of the couple and he swiftly moved and stood RIGHT IN FRONT OF ME during the first kiss. I jumped quickly to the side but I missed the quick kiss and luckily still was able to capture the hug after but I still am SO SAD that I missed their first kiss. I sure hope he got it…

I also felt doubly awful because I had to jump in front of guests view of the couple and during a ceremony my goal is to never block a guests view. I apologized profusely after the wedding and thankfully they all were very sweet and understanding.

While this image wasn’t completely blown out, the shadows are bothersome from a guest’s flash.

Back to the Heinz Chapel and as you can see, the guest did not move for the majority of the ceremony. I’m still sad when I look at this image.

It doesn’t matter what kind of camera – how big or how small – the flash is almost always too bright to work with once it is fired.

Standing in the aisle always makes me sad because your attention immediately will go to that person and not on the subject of the image.

I really cringe when guests try to take pictures during formals because not only am I generally under a time crunch but the flashes ruin at least one or two shots for each batch I take. Eyes also tend to wander and rarely do I get everyone looking at me at the same time when there are multiple cameras present. This is the only time that I will sometimes tell guests that they have to stop taking pictures and I have been told off more times than not when I’ve had to do this. However my priority the day of the wedding is on my clients. I don’t care about the sale of the portraits but I do care about the quality of the portraits and if there is a circus going on behind me it rarely ends well for everyone involved. So, trust me when I beg and plead for you to tell people to put their cameras down and go enjoy the cocktail hour while we take some portraits with the special people in your life.

The reception generally is a time when I can quickly move if a guest decides to take pictures but when I can’t move around it? The special dances. Although I have to say, this little old guy does warm my heart a bit. He was pretty cute with his disposable camera even if it was a bit distracting with the winding.

Another guest deciding the first dance is a great time for that portrait of the bride and groom.

This is another one that makes me a sad panda when I look at it. This guest came up at the last bit of the Father/Daughter dance and there was no where I could go to get her out of the picture. Luckily I have numerous beautiful images from the dance but the last hug is always my favorite.

Another pet peeve of guest cameras during the wedding? THE RED (OR GREEN) DOT OF DOOM! These focusing beams are quite irritating because again, there’s not a lot that I can do to get rid of it outside of turning the image black and white (which still will leave a light circle). There’s quite a few images that I’ve had to toss due to these beams, this is just one of the many.

Bottom line: my priority the day of the wedding is on my clients. They have paid me their hard-earned money to make sure I document their wedding and when an overzealous guest gets in the way, it makes me sad. I think often people don’t realize what they are doing and my writing this post was in hoping to educate even a few people that will take this advice and either have an unplugged wedding or think of the professional before jumping in the aisle for that shot.

Sigma Praises PhotoTips Family Member

2013-05-16T08:01:00.000-05:00

Ladies and Gentlemen, we have someone who is quickly becoming famous within the PhotoTips family. His name is Brian Drourr. He is a moderator over on the Facebook group, so you have likely seen him there if you hang out at that location.

Brian has some Sigma glass and has been using some of it to capture night shots in his home state of Vermont. He posted the above shot, lovingly titled "Zen Barn" on their Facebook page, and they went all loopy with adoration.

They have made a sort of "Star" out of him. They featured him at their website, see this link here, have asked him to do a few pieces on Astro-scape photography and Star Trails, and has been invited to test out some new lenses in advance of a roll out to the public.

How freaking cool is that?!?

Brian learned how to do star trail photography from yet another PhotoTips family member. His name is Steve. And you can see more of their work and a complete tutorial written by Steve at this website. Click here for more information.

Make Your Own Satellite Time Lapse

2013-05-15T10:18:00.003-05:00

Mike Tavener sent me this link. It's pretty cool, it creates a time-lapse of any place on earth using past satellite imagery of that location. They have some demos on the front page, and then you can make one yourself by using your own town, or browsing the globe. It then compiles imagery dating back from 1984 to 2012 and runs them together. Pretty cool.

Check it out here.

Found In The News - Colored Lanterns

2013-05-15T09:21:00.002-05:00

A Buddhist from South Korea hangs colored lanters in preparation for the celebration of the birthday of Buddha. The exact date of his birthday is unknown. After all, he would be somewhere around 2,560 years old. It gets hard to remember your birthday when you are that old, right? So it is celebrated during the first full moon of May in South Korea. In this case, May 17th.

(Image courtesy - Chung Sung-Jun/ Getty Images)

Welcome Back, Commander Hadfield!

2013-05-15T09:15:00.001-05:00

Canadian Astronaut Chris Hadfield just landed on earth after delighting us with hundreds of pictures from the International Space Station. He also showed us what it is like to take pictures in space, how to take pictures in space, showed us amazing time lapse videos from space, and most recently entertained us with his rendition of David Bowie's "Space Oddity". He did not do a bad job either, and I will show you that video below, along with the one where he talks about how to shoot pictures from space.

Welcome back!

(Image Courtesy Reuters/Mikhail Metzel)

Next Cruise Sneak Peak

2013-05-14T15:32:00.002-05:00

People are starting to ask about the next cruise for next year, and have asked to be notified when I make my official announcement. Problem is, I can no way remember everyone that has asked. So I have made the below contact form for you. Simply fill it out, and when I make the official announcement, I will let you know ASAP.

Now here is what we know so far...

The next cruise will take place at the end of June next year and will likely sail out of Miami Florida. We are going to be experimenting with a new cruise line next year. Carnival has been great for us so far, but they are a budget or entry level cruise line. We thought we would experiment with something a little more upscale.

Not that I don't think that an affordable price is not important. I know that it is. I am indeed carefully choosing a cruise with an affordable price.

The cruise will be a 4 day cruise that sales on Monday and gets back on Friday. Making weekend travel to and from Miami an easy thing to do. This also makes it easy for you to schedule time off at work, and arrange for someone to watch your kids if required. It also keeps the price down.

Normally a 4 day cruise means 2 stops. But in this case, we have a 3 stop trip. Meaning every day will be spent in port at an exotic tropical location. Except, of course, for our departure and arrival days of Monday and Friday.

Both Grand Bahama Island and Nassau, offer everything from great shopping, kayaking, scuba diving and snorkeling, and even jeep, ATV, and Segway excursions. Or just spend a day at the beach soaking up the sun. Great Stirrup Cay is a private island that offers parasailing, jet ski rental, or relaxing all day in a private cabana on your own section of beach.

But what is the price for something like this? Try $429 a person. At that price all you need is $100 to book your cruise and then pay the rest off a little at a time. It includes meals and has complimentary room service. Not too shabby, right?

So now just fill out the below form, and I will notify you once we have finalized all of the details.

Fill out form.

Sloppy Borders

2013-05-14T11:33:00.001-05:00

Back by popular demand...

Sloppy Borders by PhotoTips
Check out the video below for more information

$15

Over 30 easy to use borders that enhance any image to add impact.
Works in any editing program that uses layers.
That includes every version of Photoshop, Photoshop Elements, Gimp, PhotoPlus, Pixelmator, etc.

~Examples~

Free Lens Hoods...

2013-05-13T08:20:00.001-05:00

So you need a lens hood, but you're too cheap to actually buy one. Was the word "cheap" a bit too harsh? How about this... You are under budgetary constraints and cannot afford one at this time. Did that sound better? Well then this site is for you. I got this handed to me from listener Peter James that thought you might appreciate it. I think he is correct.

It's real simple, you follow the link below, browse to your brand and lens model, and then simply print out the PDF file on black heavy card stock paper. Trim it up, wrap it around, and secure it with a bit of tape.

Presto. Cheap freaking lens hood.

Click here to access them.

Episode 171 - Adobe's Epic Fail?

2013-05-11T17:14:00.000-05:00

We address the bomb that Adobe dropped on us with Photoshop. I have been hammered with upset photographers, and sheer confusion about what it all means, so we will address them all.

If you have already made up your mind, tune in anyway and let's here your opinion. I have it on good authority Adobe tuned in in the background to listen to what you have to say. I will also weigh in on my opinion.

Joining the discussion was Eric Reagan, owner of the site PhotographyBay.com. He gave us some good wisdom and some perspective on a few things.

Home Made Bullet Time Effect

2013-05-09T11:55:00.002-05:00

OK this is sick, yo'. Yes that was my attempt at speaking street. I will keep working on it....

Mark Rober - a rocket scientest (works as an engineer at JPL) - came up with his own rig to shoot bullet time type spins like you saw in the matrix. Maybe not quite is awesome because they had thousands of dollars to spend and a real production studio, but cool none the less. Watch this...

Price Alert - 4TB Thunderbolt External Drive

2013-05-09T11:45:00.001-05:00

OK this is a good deal. I am currently on a money saving binge right now and cannot take advantage of it myself, but our affiliate has this LaCie 4TB external thunderbolt connected drive for macs at a great price of $369. Regular price is over $500 no matter where you check.

Thunderbolt connected drives are a MAC exclusive and allow for incredible fast transfers. Way faster than USB3 or Firewire. It's as fast as any internal hard drive.

The one catch is, it's a refurbished item. Some are scared of that word, but I'm not and I know others feel the same. It does come with a warranty from the manufacturer.

For more info on this product and a complete spec sheet, click the link below.

LaCie 4TB 2big Thunderbolt with Cable - Refurbished - Order now! Ships from our warehouse by Friday, May 17th (9000359-R) only $369.99.

Found In The News - Giant Motorcycle

2013-05-09T08:37:00.004-05:00

Located in Ulhur, China, this man hand built this custom giant motorcycle that is too big to even drive on the street. But it is cool to take pictures of. It stands almost 8 feet tall and cruises at 25mph. It begs the question : Why?

Found at the China Daily news service.

(Reuters/China Daily)

The UK Responds With Myth Busting Paper

2013-05-09T08:25:00.002-05:00

We recently told you about a game changing and industry impacting photography rule passed by the UK that will have far reaching ramifications concerning copyright law. The law basically states that if you perform a "diligent search" on an image and cannot find the author, then it is considered orphaned and you can use it.

This has had people in a tizzy - including yours truly - worried about allowing for, and licensing, image theft.

Well the IPO office has responded with this Myth Buster paper that addresses some of those concerns with what it calls facts. I will leave you to determine if they are indeed facts.

____________

The Enterprise and Regulatory Reform Act 2013 –Your photos and you

Myth - the provisions remove the automatic right to copyright for owners of
photos posted online

Fact - The powers do not remove copyright for photographs or any other works
subject to copyright.

Myth – anyone can use a photo they have found on the internet as an “orphan”
if they cannot find the copyright owner after a search

Fact – A licence must be obtained to use a work as an “orphan”. This will require the
applicant to undertake a diligent search, which will then need to be verified by the
independent authorising body which the Government will appoint before a work can
be used.

Myth – works will have their metadata stripped and be licensed en masse as
orphans under the Extended Collective Licensing provisions

Fact – the Orphan Works scheme and Extended Collective Licensing (ECL) are
separate and the orphan works scheme is about licensing of individual works.

The Government will have no power to impose ECL on a sector, and the safeguards
included in the scheme mean that ECL is only likely to be an option where there is
strong existing support for collective licensing. Any rights holder who is worried
about how their work could be used under an ECL scheme will always retain the
ability to opt out.

It is unlikely that ECL will be an option for photography where there is a strong
tradition of direct licensing: there is no collecting society for photographers in the UK,
so no application for an ECL is feasible at present.

Myth – anyone will be able to use my photos for free if they cannot find who
owns them?

Fact – If a work is licensed following the verification of the diligent search, there will
be a licence fee payable up-front for its use. The fee will be set at the going rate.Myth – anyone can use my photos without my permission

Fact – Anyone wishing to use a work as an orphan must first undertake a diligent
search for the rights-holder which is then verified with permission to use the work
granted by the Government appointed independent authorising body. If the work is
not genuinely orphan then the rights-holder should be found, if the search is not
properly diligent, no licence will be issued.

Myth – the Act is the Instagram Act

Fact – Given the steps that must be taken before an orphan work can be copied,
such as the diligent search, verification of the search and payment of a going rate
fee, it is unlikely that the scheme will be attractive in circumstances where a
substitute photograph is available. The rate payable for an orphan work will not
undercut non-orphans.

Myth – a company can take my work and then sub-license it without my
knowledge, approval or any payment

Fact – The licences to use an orphan work will not allow sub-licensing.

Myth - the stripping of metadata creates an orphan work

Fact – the absence or removal of metadata does not in itself make a work “orphan”
or allow its use under the orphan works scheme.

Myth – I will have to register my photos to claim copyright.

Fact – Copyright will continue to be automatic and there is no need to register a
work in order for it to enjoy copyright protection.

Myth – the UK is doing something radical and unprecedented with the Orphan
Works powers

Fact - Other jurisdictions already allow the use of orphan works. The UK powers are
largely based on what happens in Canada – which has been licensing orphan works
since 1990.So how will the Orphan Works scheme work?

Any person wishing to use an orphan work will need to apply for a
licence to do so and payment for the licence payable up-front at the
going rate.

As part of that process they must undertake a diligent search for the
rights-holder which will then be verified by the Government appointed independent
authorizing body.

Only then will a licence to use the orphan work be issued.

Licences will be for specified purposes and subject to a licence fee which is payable up-front
at a rate appropriate to the type of work and type of use.

The licence fee will then be held for the missing rights-holder to claim.