Wedding photographer has gone AWOL

pixiecheeks

Hi everyone, wanted to get a bit advice with our problem as just don't know where we stand.
I got married in September 2008 and had sourced what I thought was a great photographer for the big day. He was the odd time difficult to get hold of (not returning calls etc) but we were confident that he would do a good job and he had an excellent portfolio of other weddings. The day of the wedding was great and he took all the photos we had discussed at our consultation.
Then the problems started. I was eager to get the photos like any bride and after about two months, he dropped round a CD of hi-res images for us to take a look at. We were lucky enough to have our wedding featured in a magazine so I needed to get the high quality images from him, which we still have.
After that phone calls were not returned and he did not respond to numerous emails that we wanted to get our wedding album sorted out. I did manage to get him once and he explained that he was having family problems back in England (he was originally from Manchester I think) and thats why he hadn't been in contact.
A lot of time has passed now. His mobile just rings out, his phone number has been disconnected and his website has been taken down. We just got fed up in the end and had given up for while and with pregnancy, new jobs, family problems, it's now September 2010 and we still have no photo album.
Can we get another photographer to make our wedding album or are we stuck with a Cd of images that, because of copyright reasons, no other photographer can touch? Any advice would be much appreciated. Sorry for the long post :eek:

caz2703

Can't help with the actual photographer but you are right, there can be issues with copyright.

One way around it is to do what I've just done. Our photographer was based in NY and we couldn't afford the photo album or be able to consult but we were given ALL hi-res images to download from his ftp site. I have used these photos to create my own photobook for £8.99. £3.99 was postage and £5 was to remove the company logo from the back of the book. Too good to be true?? Have a look here and I promise you, it's not a scam. Mine is on its way and should be here this week and no questions asked about copyright.

https://forums.moneysavingexpert.com/discussion/2686317

handbag_handle

I think under the 1988 Copyright,. Designs and Patents Act, if you commissioned the pictures and paid him, the copyright belongs to you.

bonjovi99

Usually he owns copyright until 70yrs after his death!
I wouldnt wait though!

gibbyni

If you have the hi res images I would do as CAZ2703 says and do your own photo book. We have used mypublisher.com a few times and even though there based in USA delivery times are good. Down load a demo of photoshop and have a play with them and get them printed at tesco etc just to make sure they look rite. When we got our photos we paid extra to get the copyright to do with as we please.

Since he has cleared off and left you in the lurch I would think he would be coming back claiming copyright issues. But also as you have found out most photographers wont touch them.

bingo_bango

handbag_handle wrote: »

I think under the 1988 Copyright,. Designs and Patents Act, if you commissioned the pictures and paid him, the copyright belongs to you.

Absolutely not the case. Unless the contract specifies that copyright belongs to the commissioner of the work, the actual right will lie with the person creating the work.

Even if the copyright IS passed to the commissioner, there will still be moral rights retained by the photographer, which allow them to block any derogatory use of the work which they deem to be unacceptable (using photoshop to significantly alter the photo could fall under this heading).

Lirin

handbag_handle wrote: »

I think under the 1988 Copyright,. Designs and Patents Act, if you commissioned the pictures and paid him, the copyright belongs to you.

Incorrect, as the copyright is a separate issue to the photographs.

caz2703

This is a hotly debated topic especially on wedding forums. From what I can remember when we got married and reading the forums, the photographer retains the copyright of the photos unless he/she specifically relinquishes them as part of the contract.

The fact that the photographer has provided a CD of hi-res images "suggests" to me that he has done this. Had he not done this then he would have retained all negatives (or in this day and age the digital files) to prevent the bride & groom from using the photographs as they please. Most of a photographers money will come from the repeat business afterwards of getting photos printed and albums made and reproduced for family and/or friends.

Does the OP have a copy of the wedding photography contract to check?

almillar

I wouldn't be worried about the copyright of the photos of my own wedding if some shyster had done a runner, go find someone reputable to help you get your album printed!

caz2703

Ok OP listen carefully as I shall say this only once .....

My photobook came today and (pardon the French) OMFG it's beautiful. Seriously, use that link I sent (or if anyone else wants to create any kind of photobook) and get uploading and creating. The only extra I paid for was to remove the Boots logo and having seen the photobook in the flesh, I can't imagine why you'd want to pay extra for different paper or finishes.

It's been over 2 years since our wedding but I'm glad I didn't pay hundreds to get a photobook any sooner having seen what I managed myself for the grand sum of £8.99 :rotfl: Go me!

bingo_bango

caz2703 wrote: »

This is a hotly debated topic especially on wedding forums. From what I can remember when we got married and reading the forums, the photographer retains the copyright of the photos unless he/she specifically relinquishes them as part of the contract.

The fact that the photographer has provided a CD of hi-res images "suggests" to me that he has done this. Had he not done this then he would have retained all negatives (or in this day and age the digital files) to prevent the bride & groom from using the photographs as they please. Most of a photographers money will come from the repeat business afterwards of getting photos printed and albums made and reproduced for family and/or friends.

Does the OP have a copy of the wedding photography contract to check?

Just to build on that argument. I would suggest that you may be correct in what you say. The fact that the photos are hi res and not watermarked would seem to provide an implied licence to use as OP desires. There is provision within the Act for implied licences, but ultimately it would take a court decision for a definitive answer in each set of circumstances.