other photographer copying my work

andy700 said:
Very simplistic answer. I was talking about a bride/groom, hiring someone as a wedding photographer, and entering into a contract which gives the said photographer sole "commercial" rights to the photography on their big day.
This has absolutely nothing to do with "uncle Bob" and all the rest of the guests snapping away with whatever equipment they possess.
What it does prevent however, is someone else taking photographs at that wedding, and afterwards using them in a commercial sense, and claiming that they were the official photographer on the day.
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Fair point and agree with 70% of what you have said, the 30% I don't, is best kept to myself TBH.
 
andy700 said:
Very simplistic answer. I was talking about a bride/groom, hiring someone as a wedding photographer, and entering into a contract which gives the said photographer sole "commercial" rights to the photography on their big day.
This has absolutely nothing to do with "uncle Bob" and all the rest of the guests snapping away with whatever equipment they possess.
What it does prevent however, is someone else taking photographs at that wedding, and afterwards using them in a commercial sense, and claiming that they were the official photographer on the day.
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And if you were writing such a contract which was pretty specific as to who can take photos on the day and for what purposes then surely you'd want to put a bit in there about whose job it was to enforce that and the repercussions if this clause was broken?

From what the OP has said he has no such details in his contract and has left himself open to what has happened. though as I said earlier, if he was a half decent photographer in the first place then poses, arrangements and placements would be a fraction of what he brings to the game and he'd have no issue with these things being copied.
 
Andy's argument is spot on, and doesn't just apply to weddings as any event or sports photographer will testify.

The Greek - nobody is disputing the other photographer's rights to take pictures, of poses or setups or otherwise, along with the other guests. But this person is claiming commercial rights to the pictures which would be in breach of a contract that states the official photographer will be the sole professional. Such a clause is there for a reason, and as I said, is not in any way confined to weddings. It is there to protect the rights and income of the chosen professional, who has been hired for a specific purpose by the client. The acquisition costs of each wedding is something else to consider - wedding photographers spend a small fortune on marketing, not to mention the time and sheer effort involved in bringing in new business and coordinating the shooting schedule and the varied personnel on the day. And you appear to feel it's OK for somebody to take a free ride off that? I suspect you're not a business owner! I would argue the wedding florist would feel the same way, if something they had put together on their overhead were presented as being somebody else's project, etc etc, ditto the caterers if somebody who had laid the tables claimed they had also cooked the food. I hope you can see my point.
 
Lindsay D said:
Andy's argument is spot on, and doesn't just apply to weddings as any event or sports photographer will testify.

The Greek - nobody is disputing the other photographer's rights to take pictures, of poses or setups or otherwise, along with the other guests. But this person is claiming commercial rights to the pictures which would be in breach of a contract that states the official photographer will be the sole professional. Such a clause is there for a reason, and as I said, is not in any way confined to weddings. It is there to protect the rights and income of the chosen professional, who has been hired for a specific purpose by the client. The acquisition costs of each wedding is something else to consider - wedding photographers spend a small fortune on marketing, not to mention the time and sheer effort involved in bringing in new business and coordinating the shooting schedule and the varied personnel on the day. And you appear to feel it's OK for somebody to take a free ride off that? I suspect you're not a business owner! I would argue the wedding florist would feel the same way, if something they had put together on their overhead were presented as being somebody else's project, etc etc, ditto the caterers if somebody who had laid the tables claimed they had also cooked the food. I hope you can see my point.
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Yes I do, and respect everyone's opinion on here.

But we have gone from taking a few shots and posting them on facebook with probably "I photographed my cousins wedding, what do you guys think", to copy rights and lawyers. At the end of the day, the pro tog done his job and got paid... What's the problem?

Just for the record, I am a "Business Owner" and have been trading successfully for 26 years. not that its relevant.
 
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because its the internet thats why lol

you only have to read through this forum (and others) to see its effects.

chill pill shares might be a good thing to invest in at the mo :lol:

The Greek said:
At the end of the day, the pro tog done his job and got paid... What's the problem? .
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The Greek said:
But we have gone from taking a few shots and posting them on facebook with probably "I photographed my cousins wedding, what do you guys think", to copy rights and lawyers. At the end of the day, the pro tog done his job and got paid... What's the problem?
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I'd say the problem was stated pretty clearly by the OP in a response on page 1.

pirateship said:
She's on her facebook business page saying "here are some recent weddings where I was the photographer..." and others are replying saying wow thats a great idea, great shot etc. We set up those shots. It was our idea. We are used to guests putting up pictures on facebook, the issue isn't her taking photographs, its the implication she came up with the ideas and was the sole photographer. People are now posting on the bride's pages saying how wonderful her photographer seems to be, her photographs are wonderful. People think she was the main photographer and she wasn't. I'm going to get some of OUR images up asap (still editing)
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Apologies for so much bold in that quote but it seems that half the people who have replied to this thread haven't read it properly.

There's still an on-going question about whether the other photographer was there at the request of the B&G and whether pirateship's contract with them incorporated a clause excluding other professionals.
 
If she took the shots then she was the photographer....... :shrug:
 
Splog said:
If she took the shots then she was the photographer....... :shrug:
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Ah, didn't realise the thread had deteriorated into picking semantic holes rather than discussing what had happened.

Thanks for clarifying. :)
 
Strappy said:
Ah, didn't realise the thread had deteriorated into picking semantic holes rather than discussing what had happened.

Thanks for clarifying. :)
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Don't know what you mean? ... All the rest is either making assumptions, guesswork or simply trying to make out a case that probably doesn't exist. If you can show evidence of her claims to be the 'official' photographer then that would be a different matter :shrug: Every wedding I've been to has had someone taking photos of the staged shots, I really can't see the problem :shrug:
 
Splog said:
Don't know what you mean? ... All the rest is either making assumptions, guesswork or simply trying to make out a case that probably doesn't exist. If you can show evidence of her claims to be the 'official' photographer then that would be a different matter :shrug: Every wedding I've been to has had someone taking photos of the staged shots, I really can't see the problem :shrug:
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There's no question whether the girl took the photos that are on Facebook. No-one cares, the issue is that she's claiming to be the official photographer, which according to the OP is a lie.

Now you either believe the OP to be a liar, in which case you have nothing to add, or you advise him how to deal with the situation.

Why there's so much other noise on this thread from the usual 'wedding tog bashers' is down to the general nastiness that occurs here whenever weddings are mentioned.
 
Phil V said:
There's no question whether the girl took the photos that are on Facebook. No-one cares, the issue is that she's claiming to be the official photographer, which according to the OP is a lie.

Now you either believe the OP to be a liar, in which case you have nothing to add, or you advise him how to deal with the situation.

Why there's so much other noise on this thread from the usual 'wedding tog bashers' is down to the general nastiness that occurs here whenever weddings are mentioned.
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Okay, perhaps I've missed the bit where she claimed to be the 'official' photographer? ..... Please quote it as I certainly can't find it :shrug:
 
pirateship said:
?..

The images aren't mine, but they are identical in that she was clearly standing behind me photographing shots that I had set up.

I was the main photographer and was not aware of other photographers being there.

This photographer is implying they were the main photographer and that they came up with these 'fantastic' ideas/shots.

I'm very angry, but what can I do? :bang::bang:
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Its in strappys quote in post 128 he highlighted it from the origional post that started this all off. oh and the post above

spike
 
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Phil V said:
There's no question whether the girl took the photos that are on Facebook. No-one cares, the issue is that she's claiming to be the official photographer, which according to the OP is a lie.

Now you either believe the OP to be a liar, in which case you have nothing to add, or you advise him how to deal with the situation.

Why there's so much other noise on this thread from the usual 'wedding tog bashers' is down to the general nastiness that occurs here whenever weddings are mentioned.
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I've been trying to but my advice seems to have gone unnoticed, perhaps because it aludes to the fact that the OP needs to try harder but he would rather whinge and moan and blame his shortcomings on some else instead because it's easier.
 
Implying something (in the op's) opinion and stating something as fact are two entirely different things. Perhaps the OP should get a screen grab of the facebook page if he wants to pursue it further as it's certainly not clear cut. The other thing I find strange with this, is that if this woman was a guest at the wedding? then I would have thought that plenty of those who read her stuff would know the truth and perhaps some were actually at the wedding? .... I suspect the OP is perhaps reading more into it then there actually is.
 
If this woman was at the wedding and the one after/before this one then who is to say she was a guest.
I remenber my first wedding and walking out the church to see all these people who I knew and a few I did not (mainly older people) and wondered why they where there as they where not invited.
Only to be told later that you do not have to be invited to attend a wedding at a church, you can just be there to watch the wedding(many older people do this apperently it gets a saturday out of the way) so whos to say that this woman just does not turn up and take pics?????
Ok forget the facebook page, she might just be a friend of all these people on facebook and goes along to their wedding taking pics??

spike
 
fixedimage said:
I've been trying to but my advice seems to have gone unnoticed, perhaps because it aludes to the fact that the OP needs to try harder but he would rather whinge and moan and blame his shortcomings on some else instead because it's easier.
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What shortcomings? He has said that someone is misleading people into thinking that they were the official photographer at the wedding. Do you think that's a good thing?
 
fabs said:
What shortcomings? He has said that someone is misleading people into thinking that they were the official photographer at the wedding. Do you think that's a good thing?
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No but as stated before, why should it matter who was the 'official' photographer?
Noone is going to hire a wedding photographer solely based on them having been the 'official' photographer at Billy and Brenda's wedding last month, you get hired on the quality of your portfolio and all this other photographer has copied is the OPs posing arranging and positioning. If the OP is building a wedding photography career based on his posing and positioning skills then yeah, I can see why he is worried.
 
fixedimage said:
No but as stated before, why should it matter who was the 'official' photographer?
Noone is going to hire a wedding photographer solely based on them having been the 'official' photographer at Billy and Brenda's wedding last month, you get hired on the quality of your portfolio and all this other photographer has copied is the OPs posing arranging and positioning. If the OP is building a wedding photography career based on his posing and positioning skills then yeah, I can see why he is worried.
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I think his point was that the other photographer is misleading people. Not sure he's worried about his own livelihood, it seems that it's entirely possible that the other photographer could mislead people into thinking that the set-ups were hers and then, when she has to do her own, she may be unable to produce.
 
fabs said:
I think his point was that the other photographer is misleading people. Not sure he's worried about his own livelihood, it seems that it's entirely possible that the other photographer could mislead people into thinking that the set-ups were hers and then, when she has to do her own, she may be unable to produce.
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Not what I took from the OPs posts.

If that is the case then why does he give a crap?
 
fixedimage said:
Not what I took from the OPs posts.

If that is the case then why does he give a crap?
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Maybe some people care about their industry more than you do.

Maybe some people care about other people being let down on a day that's very important to them more than you do. :shrug:

As for your earlier antagonistic posts about the OP's photography, really? Off camera flash and 'something special' in post production - yeah, that'll set you apart. ;) And did you miss the bit about the OP's unique (to the local area) poses and ideas?

This has to be the most ridiculous thread in a while.
 
Hello

I do not know if the two brides were related. I have emailed both brides now to express my concerns. I had to word this carefully as I do not want to damage my relationship with them, but I don't want to ignore it either. It's a difficult one.

The other tog has been friending all the fans on my page and suppliers and venues I am associated with. It seems I am being stalked. She has not responded to me however.
 
pirateship said:
Hello

I do not know if the two brides were related. I have emailed both brides now to express my concerns. I had to word this carefully as I do not want to damage my relationship with them, but I don't want to ignore it either. It's a difficult one.

The other tog has been friending all the fans on my page and suppliers and venues I am associated with. It seems I am being stalked. She has not responded to me however.
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This gets better by the day. First it was one wedding, then the same person was at your next wedding, now she's nicked all your fans and suppliers.

Never mind emailing the Bride, get yourself to the nearest Police Station as you've got serious problems!
 
The Greek said:
This gets better by the day. First it was one wedding, then the same person was at your next wedding, now she's nicked all your fans and suppliers.

Never mind emailing the Bride, get yourself to the nearest Police Station as you've got serious problems!
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He said from post 1 that she had the same photos from 2 weddings!
 
The Greek said:
This gets better by the day. First it was one wedding, then the same person was at your next wedding, now she's nicked all your fans and suppliers.

Never mind emailing the Bride, get yourself to the nearest Police Station as you've got serious problems!
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I agree
they could make soap opera out of this lot
in fact really looking forward to the next installment of 'woe'
 
The police won't be interested in the slightest. As far as stalkers go, something pretty major has to happen before you'll get a response. They are more likely to advise that you tell the other part to cease what they are doing and if ignored to issue a formal letter from a solicitor.
 
Why doesn't the OP book a wedding appointment with the 'Lady photographer' then he can meet her, greet her and give her a big cuddle.

Only 17 posts from the OP even with all of this going on, not one piece of evidence to back his argument up....something is a bit Grimsby with this thread.

Keep an eye out on this link for any updates via the ASA on this matter.......look out peeps....your competition can make a case against you....

http://www.asa.org.uk/ASA-action/Adjudications.aspx#results
 
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youch, she will be found out though. when she tries to do it on her own one of these days. I bet the rest of her photos are not as great.
 
I can understand why you're irritated by this situation, I'd just politely let everyone know that her works not what she's advertised.

EDIT ➝ I didn't look at the dates of the original thread before posting, oops!
 
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holy thread revival batman - you guys did notice that this a thread from last june and the Op hasnt post since, right ?
 
tiler65 said:
Why doesn't the OP book a wedding appointment with the 'Lady photographer' then he can meet her, greet her and give her a big cuddle.

Only 17 posts from the OP even with all of this going on, not one piece of evidence to back his argument up....something is a bit Grimsby with this thread.

Keep an eye out on this link for any updates via the ASA on this matter.......look out peeps....your competition can make a case against you....

http://www.asa.org.uk/ASA-action/Adjudications.aspx#results
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