----- Original Message -----
From: "Markus Maurer"
Subject: RE: Are your photos too good?
Hi William
how do you prove ownership of a digital image?
Thats your problem as a photographer, not mine as a photofinisher.
I would really like an ironclad way of being able to tell at the counter
level.
We don't have the time or resources to check the exif data of every file
that comes through.
My best guess method is the filename itself.
If it's something like "DSC_0130", then I presume that at the least, the
photographer sold them the files they have.
If the filename is on the order of "Marty and Tammys favourite wedding
picture" (it's one I've seen), then I am suspicious.
Or, if the photographer self identifies himself (happened yesterday, in
fact) then I will give him the benefit of doubt. That means he shows me a
business card and a driver's license at the least, and preferably a business
license as well.
One of the problems is that professional photography is completely
unregulated. Any goon with a camera can call himself a pro, with all the
protections of rights that the law allows.
I think if that end of the business was somewhat more closely regulated, we
would have fewer problems.
Because most pro work now is done on digital, and because digital photo labs
are so expensive, it's the Wal-Marts and their ilk that will be the pro labs
of the future. We have to learn to deal with that, but the photographers
also have to take on some responsibility themselves. They can't not practice
due diligence themselves and then whine every time a lab makes a mistake and
prints something they shouldn't have printed.
Until that happens, every picture that looks too high end is going to be
treated with suspicion.
The photographers can either suck it up when they try to submit a file that
we treat suspiciously, or forget about protecting their copyrights
completely. For myself, I will only look after someone else's best interests
until I feel I am being abused for doing it.
William Robb
