A Copyright Lesson

I lost a friend to cancer a couple of weeks ago. His wife, also a good friend, asked if I could work on a photo of the two of them together, her hand on his shoulder, clearly an image taken by a studio photographer at a church function.

She wanted me to scan in the photo, remove her hand from his shoulder (a relatively easy task in Photoshop), print out an 8x10" copy for the funeral. I turned the print over and saw the photographer's name. Thinking it would be easy to contact the photographer and get permission to work with the photo, I told my friend I'd be happy to help out.

Then I went online. I searched for the photographer's business and found a LinkedIn page that included the website. When I clicked on that link, the website had been taken down. I searched online for the photographer's name and found an address and telephone number. I dialed that number and learned it had been disconnected.

***LESSON: If you want to earn an income from your photographs, be accessible!

Back to the story. I kept searching online and found a listing that told me the photographer was currently working in a government township position. I searched for the office phone number and called the next day. I was told the photographer had quit that position two years ago and was now working at a different town in a different job. I called that office and was told he was on vacation for the remainder of the week. I told the lady my situation and that I needed the photographer's permission to use the photo. She told me it would be fine to do so.

***BEWARE: People who don't have authority to give you copyright permission will still gladly do so, despite their lack of authority. You need to know this isn't sufficient for legal purposes.

The lady was kind enough to give me the photographer's e-mail address. I wrote to him and he responded respectfully fast. He told me his fee to allow me to use the photo, and I paid it within 24 hours. I scanned the photo, remove my friend's hand from his shoulder, send the file to my professional printer in another state, and get 24-hour shipping of the new print back in time for the funeral. The print arrived one day before the funeral.

This story had a happy ending because I was willing to dig for information. I didn't give up. That was my responsibility as a person wanting to use a copyrighted photograph. In Photo 1: An Introduction to the Art of Photography you will find chapters on copyright law and best business practices. They will help you understand the significance of this story.