So I know some of you have been here before. You're at a photo kiosk or ordering prints online. The pics look great just the way they are and you don't want to touch a thing. But when you go to collect your photos Uncle Bob's head is cut off at the top of the picture. What is going on?
Is it something you did? Is it the printer? The program? The photo center staff?
The truth is there is a little known secret. And that is that the 4"x6" size is the standard size for 35mm film. A digital camera takes a picture at another size - about 4"x5.3". This means when the picture is "enlarged" to fit the standard 4"x6" size some trimming does occur.
But the picture didn't look cropped on the screen.
No it didn't. The programs often show you the picture exactly as you took it - and not how they are cropping it for printing until you take it in to the Edit screen.
I don't think the program was designed to be intentionally misleading - I just don't think the designers of the programs realized how angry people will get over their photos. Whether printing just 1 or 300, no-one wants anyone missing heads or limbs in their pictures.
The safest thing to do is to make sure there is some room between the top of your picture and the top of the subject in your picture. The other alternative is that you will have to take EVERY picture you are printing in to the Edit screen and adjust it so that everyone and everything fits into the box and looks the way that you want it to.
If you have any questions please feel free to leave them in the comments and I will answer them to the best of my ability.
Showing posts with label Photos. Show all posts
Showing posts with label Photos. Show all posts
Saturday, December 25, 2010
Wednesday, November 3, 2010
Photos, the Internet and YOU
Today in the photo lab one of my associates found herself in a disagreeable conversation with a customer.
The customer had downloaded pictures from a website of a well known politician and had printed them.
Upon being informed that this was illegal and the pictures fell under copyright law the customer immediately replied "No they don't, I downloaded them from the internet."
There seems to be some confusion with people about exactly what is the law when it comes to downloading pictures from the internet. Most seem to assume that the pictures are "in the public domain" or that there is no copyright as they were posted on the internet.
This couldn't be farther from the truth.
The truth is that by law you don't have the right to reproduce anyone's photos without their permission - professional or otherwise.
The person who took the photo owns the copyright.
The only time you have the right to reproduce the photo is if you have the copyright owner's written permission to reproduce said works.
Violating the copyright law is an offense with heavy penalties and fines.
That said I am referring to modern and recent photos. Antiquated photos and their copyright is much more complicated.
So please do not print photos from the internet at your local photo lab and get angry at the employee when they tell you you can not reproduce them. You may see nothing wrong with reproducing your favorite photo of *insert famous person's name* but to the associate violating the copyright law is not an option and in fact could mean penalties, fines and their job.
Useful links:
The 7 deadly myths about Internet Copyright
by Attorney David L. Amkraut
http://webnet77.com/webstuff/copyright.html
Copyright in the Digital World - by photo industry attorney Philip Moilanen
http://www.allbusiness.com/legal/litigation/206140-1.html
Copyright page from the PMAI (Photo Marketing Association International) website of the Worldwide Community of Imaging Associates
http://www.pmai.org/content.aspx?id=6572
If you have any questions please feel free to leave them in the comments and I will answer them to the best of my ability.
The customer had downloaded pictures from a website of a well known politician and had printed them.
Upon being informed that this was illegal and the pictures fell under copyright law the customer immediately replied "No they don't, I downloaded them from the internet."
There seems to be some confusion with people about exactly what is the law when it comes to downloading pictures from the internet. Most seem to assume that the pictures are "in the public domain" or that there is no copyright as they were posted on the internet.
This couldn't be farther from the truth.
The truth is that by law you don't have the right to reproduce anyone's photos without their permission - professional or otherwise.
The person who took the photo owns the copyright.
The only time you have the right to reproduce the photo is if you have the copyright owner's written permission to reproduce said works.
Violating the copyright law is an offense with heavy penalties and fines.
That said I am referring to modern and recent photos. Antiquated photos and their copyright is much more complicated.
So please do not print photos from the internet at your local photo lab and get angry at the employee when they tell you you can not reproduce them. You may see nothing wrong with reproducing your favorite photo of *insert famous person's name* but to the associate violating the copyright law is not an option and in fact could mean penalties, fines and their job.
Useful links:
The 7 deadly myths about Internet Copyright
by Attorney David L. Amkraut
http://webnet77.com/webstuff/copyright.html
Copyright in the Digital World - by photo industry attorney Philip Moilanen
http://www.allbusiness.com/legal/litigation/206140-1.html
Copyright page from the PMAI (Photo Marketing Association International) website of the Worldwide Community of Imaging Associates
http://www.pmai.org/content.aspx?id=6572
If you have any questions please feel free to leave them in the comments and I will answer them to the best of my ability.
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