Legal Issues

I took this photo of a street musician in Washington, DC last July. I politely asked if I could take his picture and he said sure. I told him to keep playing, shot a few photos, thanked him, put money in his flute case, and went on my way. Since then I have included this image in my web gallery, but I have been reluctant to use any of the photos as a printed, fine art prints since I did not get a model release.

My question has been, do you really need a model release to use a photographer of a stranger in a fine art print that may be displayed in an art show, or even sold? Another legal question of mine relates to copyright. Is putting a copyright notice on a photograph really legal protection?

A final question that has gotten a lot of play on photography websites concerns taking photos in and around public buildings. It seems that many photographers, especially when using a tripod, have been approached by security guards and told to stop photographing in public places. In some instances photographers have told of being asked to turn over their memory card (the image comes to mind, no doubt from an old movie, of a photographer having his or her camera opened and the film torn out — a much more dramatic than surrendering a memory card).

Low and behold, answers to these question came in the form of a two part YouTube video on Scott Kelby's (yes, Scott Kelby again - he publishes good stuff) Photoshop Insider July 4th post. The video is an interview with Intellectual Property Attorney Ed Greenberg.

It seems that a fine art photographer can use a photo of a person without a model release for limited edition prints (you have to wait until the end part II for that information), just writing a copyright notice will not hold up in a court of law (but there are recourses), and in most instances photography in public spaces is legal.

Here is a link to the post — the two-part video is really worth viewing.

Later in the week I will start sharing some other blogs of interest to digital photographers.

Addendum: On Monday morning I came across another blog post with links to information about the legality of taking photographs in public places. The blog is The Online Photographer and the post was dated July 3 — click here to link to the post.

Sour Grapes?

Something interesting, and upsetting, happened yesterday that I thought I would share with you all — and hopefully get some comments & opinions.

As I have written in earlier posts, I have been printing my photographs on canvas. The printed photos are gallery wrapped on stretchers so that frames are not necessary.


Canvas printing is becoming popular with both photographers and the public, and I love the way the images look. They are clearly displayed as photographs — there is no attempt to make people think they are paintings.

I had submitted an application to the South Folk Artist Guild for their juried, July 12 show in Westhampton. I only submitted the application three weeks ago, and since it was sent in so late, I knew there was a good chance that the quota for photographers was filled. Yesterday I received a rejection, with two reasons cited. First was what I had anticipated — the category was full. However, the hand written note went on to say that they had waited to contact me to see if there were any cancellations. Finally,the note said that the jury also decided not to allow photographs on canvas, because the painters were complaining!

Thinking back a few years ago, traditional photographers were wary of digital photography, and many art shows and exhibits prohibited digital media. Today it is rare to find someone shooting with film and/or printing in a darkroom. I see the printing on canvas issue as similar. What do you think?

Shooting Fireworks…

I like to feature what I consider quality photographs in my blog, but for today's topic I needed a shot of fireworks, and to be honest I could not find a good photo in my personal archives — it is obvious I need some pointers!


With July 4th just a few days away Scott Kelby (the publisher of Photoshop User Magazine and the President of NAPP - the National Association of Photoshop Professionals) published How to Shoot Fireworks in his Photoshop Insider blog today. I recommend checking it out — and if you won't be using the techniques this week, you can save the link for future reference. I know I will! If you still want more technique information, there is an article on photographing fireworks in the July 2008 issue of Popular Photography magazine.

Happy 4th of July everyone!

Photoshopping…

Yesterday our niece gave birth to the newest member of the family, Chloe Melissa Jemison. As a gift, I am printing a series of animal photographs for the babies room — and now that the baby is here I have to get them ready. The series of four photos will be printed on canvas and gallery wrapped on 10" x 10" stretchers. I spent today working on a photo of a mother and baby elephant.


Expand the post for before and after images of the photo, and a link to an interesting web video on retouching celebrity publicity images.



I took this photo at Disney's Animal Kingdom last January. I used Adobe Lightroom and Adobe Photoshop to "develop" the photo as I usually do, but it had two problems that needed to be corrected before it could be part of the series. The ferns on the mother's hind quarter were distracting, and the image needed to be larger to show all of the elephants' bodies in a square aspect ratio. Using Photoshop's CLONE STAMP TOOL I was able to address both problems.

First, I used the tool to clone out the ferns on the hind quarter. I enlarged the canvas area and again used the clone tool — very carefully — to create ground, trees and sky in the new blank spaces.

Personally, I don't think that reality should be drastically altered, but I am not above using subtle retouching to make a photo work better. I don't see anything wrong with removing the ferns on the elephant's back, but I would not add a third elephant to the photograph.

Discussions abound on the web about the ethics of retouching photographs. Today's Imaging Insider Blog (imaginginsider.com) featured a link to a video on the prevalence of retouching celebrity portraits. We all know it is done, but I think you will find the video very interesting! Check it out at here!

Snake in the grass…

Literally! I was working outside today when I came across this albino snake sleeping in the shade of our motor home. Initially, I took the photo so I could check the internet to find out what type of snake it was (appears to be an albino Eastern Garter Snake). I liked this shot, so I did a little post processing. Technical specifics of the shot in the expanded post.

The photograph was taken with my Nikon D70 and a Nikkor 70-300mm 1:4.5-5.6 G VR lens. The VR stands for vibration reduction, which make it possible to take pretty sharp photos without having to use a tripod. It is my favorite lens and I find myself using it all the time.

The photo was minimally post-processed in Adobe Lightroom v1.3 and Photoshop CS3.

Art-in-the-Park Photos…

The photos in this post are a little different than usual. Art-in-the-Park was last Sunday in Northport, and I thought I would post some photos from the show. It was a brutally hot day and I was very thankful Eddie insisted that we buy a tent. I was lucky enough to have a spot near the water, which made it bearable. A few times the wind picked up, but not enough to damage the display.

I was showing (and selling) photographs printed on canvas, and gallery stretched so they can be hung without frames. I was happy with the results, and with the reception the work received. It would have been nice if more people attended the show, but for my first outdoor art show, it was a good venue.

More photos of the display in the expanded post.

My display would not have been possible without all the work Eddie did to put the display together. He did an excellent job—it looked good and held up in the wind.




My good friend Marie Baldwin was a big help before and during the show. She came down down to the park to help with the setup, and I put her to work figuring out what should hang where. She done good!
Most of the images were printed in a 10"x10" format, and several were hung as triptych groupings. This is one of my favorites.




I don't usually put snapshots in my photo blog, but I thought a shot of Eddie and Marie was definitely fitting. I don't know what I would have done without them!

Art in the Park Sunday…

Next Sunday I will be showing my photography at the Northport Art Coalition's Art in the Park at Northport Harbor. This is the first time I am taking part in an outdoor art show, and I am really excited. I have been working hard to get my work, and display, ready. Eddie had some really good ideas for the display, and his vision and technical skill is really putting it together. I have been printing my photographs on canvas, and I am really happy with the results. My display will be setup on the path near the playground. Hope you can stop by and say hello!