We wanted to discuss some common questions that we receive frequently to help provide a better understanding for everyone who is interested. The first, who owns the photos? To put it simply, as soon as the photographer clicks the button on the camera they own the copyright of the photo. After that, there are a few options that are open to the client. The photographer can keep the copyright and sell you the prints, they can sell the copyright to you so you can legally own the images yourself, or the photographer can provide a limited release where you are given permission to make as many personal physical copies of the images as you want, but the copyright remains with the photographer. Ultimately it depends on the photographer how he/she wants to go about handling their images on a day to day basis.
The second, how exactly does this work? To begin, there is generally two popular ways of selling your photography work now a days. The first and most common is the print model. You would pay a sitting fee to get your pictures taken for a certain time period then the photographer would then take the photos, edit them, and give the clients proofs to choose from. From there the client chooses which images they like and must then purchase them from the photographer in the form of prints or print packages. With this type of business practice, the photographer generally holds all rights to the photos and you must always go to them to purchase your photos. Some will still sell the copyright and a CD of your images, but at a increased price. The second option will be to shoot the images and give the client everything that was shot, unedited, on a CD for a pre-discussed price. More times than not, this method can generate too many choices for the client by having hundreds of photos that can be repetitive and similar to one another without much variety, as well as receiving images that have not been professionally edited.
JD Photographs uses a hybrid of the two business practices to give our clients the best of both worlds by giving them edited choices at a great prices. When you book with us you will for most sessions, get all the usable images which are professionally edited making sure you get exactly what you want with the high quality workmanship involved. Of course we still send all or our images to our clients digitally which is the fastest method, because who wants to wait for something you're excited for? After that, we provide a limited release to our clients so they can make as many prints of the images they love without putting a lot of restrictions on them. With that being said I always say "The best way someone can compliment your work is to hang it on the wall". Personally I always love when someone makes prints of my work and feel it really gives a finality to the project. Which is why we offer great studio prints at a great price, so that everyone can have that opportunity to hang some amazing prints that will last a lifetime. With this business model, we feel that we can give everything our clients would want. Simplified choices with high quality images, the ability to make their own prints, prices that are set with no added fees, and professional quality prints as an option if they want it.