Children should be roaming free in the wilds of the parks and gardens of London, out of the stuffy confines of a studio.

Photos of Kellly Lovelady and  Ruthless Jabiru during rehearsal

You really do need to print and you need to print on archival papers, that’s why now I only print on the best fine art papers around, I like having photos hanging on my wall, my discs are shoved in the back of a cupboard somewhere.

This is one I just nipped up this morning.

We then contrasted  the delicate lace against the filth and hustle and bustle outside St Pancras Station

Its the passion that gets me up every morning, its the passion that keeps me going through 19 hour days and its the passion that gives me a kick up the rear end when I make mistakes and feel like throwing in the towel and going back to being a WAG (see previous posts)

Its the passion that helps be to ignore the detractors and doubters but its the passion that genuinely makes me excited for every single client wedding even after  200 of them! and it definitely the passion  that drives my vision to create a photographic house renowned for honest wedding photography without the bells and whistles of the wedding industry thrown in.

The National Wedding Show have launched a competition to find the ‘faces’ of their autumn campaign.

I have said goodbye to trudging to the post office and I have said hello to PASS, my new addiction of choice.

What is PASS?
PASS is the best way to share all your high-resolution photos. Its an online gallery with sharing, downloading and printing (coming soon) capacities. All your photos are kept in the cloud and the gallery is yours for 12 months.  Want it longer?  That’s cool,but there is just an extra fee

What does a PASS gallery look like?
Because Hannah is an awesome member of the team, she has taken screenshots of the PASS gallery for you, so that you can get an idea of what to expect. Once your photos are all uploaded into your PASS gallery, you’ll receive an email that will take you straight to your photos. Here you can see how they are shown in a gorgeous gallery form, for you to go through the images and scroll away! You can also click on the images to see them one by one:-)

You can download instantly!
No need to say more really!

What are the other benefits of PASS?
There are many other benefits of having PASS! For example, you can send the link to your friends and family all around the world, giving them the ability to view all your photos anywhere! and if you are partial to social media you can share them on Facebook, Pinterest and Twitter.

Fancy an APP?
Your pass gallery will have its very own “App/Icon” on your tablet and phone!
It is so easy to do, and creates it’s own personal little icon. This way, wherever you are, you can click on the Icon and it’ll take you straight to the gallery.

But is it, REALLY, easy to use?
You betcha sista!

Do I still provide discs?
No darlings! I don’t do drugs anymore, and I don’t do queuing in the post office to send out dics, burning images is so last year but if you want one its an extra its £60

It is a common misconception,  that if you purchase any high resolution images as part of your wedding package then you automatically get the full rights to the image, yes?  ummmmm, actually the answer to this is, no!

I am going to attempt to explain in non legal jargon but if I slip back into my ‘trust us, we’re from justice’ lingo (in my previous life, I worked in criminal justice) just yell out.

Its the only thing about photography that I jump up and down about, its copyright, and the only thing that annoys me more than someone breaching  copyright,  is industry peeps not getting copyright, so grab yourself a copy of the Copyright and Design Act, 1988 and lets get crakin’

So what is copyright?

Copyright enables those who have created a work, such as a photograph, to be paid for their creativity and to be acknowledged as the creator of the work.  Others can only use copyrighted work with the permission of the copyright owner. Copyright owners control how their work is used by way of example how it is copied and shared. It is an automatic legal right which protects artistic works and falls under the Copyright and Design Act 1988

Basically, it allows me to make money from my work, stops other making money from my work and lets me maintain control over my work.

Is copyright still relevant in this digital age?

YES! YES! YES! if anything, the digital age and the big wide web has made breach of copyright more prevalent, its not okay to just right click or grab an image from a photographers website.  Its stealing, would you go into  IKEA, see a photograph you like and just walk out with it without paying, no?

Anyone who uses a copyright work without permission can be guilty of infringement and legal action could be taken against them. But what about if I say the photograph is copyright of blah blah blah and link back to the photographers website? Nope, still not good enough, you need to get the photographers written permission first.

We paid the House of Elly Mac Photos for the photographs, surely that means we own the copyright?

No, I am afraid not.

Under the Copyright and Design Act, 1988 it is the photographer who will own copyright on any photos he/she has taken, with the following exceptions ‘If the photographer is an employee of the company the photos are taken for, or is an employee of a company instructed to take the photos, the photographer will be acting on behalf of his/her employer, and the company the photographer works for will own the copyright’

Do I really need full rights to the photos anyway?

No, not really.  You do not need full rights to the photos, a simple and rather effective Royalty Free License will do the trick.

Ok, so what is a Royalty Free License?

A  Royalty Free License basically means the copyright owner (in this case moi) allows you to use and share the images in certain circumstances without the need for extra payment. As long as these circumstance are for non commercial purposes and does not involve editing of the images.

An House of Elly Mac Photos Royalty Free License allows you to:

* Print your photographs yourself at home or via a high street or online printing company

* Allows you to share your photos via social media and email (and even snail mail) with family and friends, you can put them on your own wedding website.

*Allows you to knock up your own album or have them printed in a storybook via places like Blurb

However, with these can do’s come a number of cannot do’s, so you are not permitted  to:

* Edit the photographs in any way, no manipulation of the images via Photoshop, Lightroom and any other questionable photo editing software available these days.

* Pass them off as you own work

*Sell the photographs, yep sorry folks. Not that anyone does this.

* Submit them to blogs and magazines with out my written permission.

* Allow wedding suppliers to use them on their website, social media and other print material without my permission.

Why do photographers need to keep the copyright?

To make money really, we need to be able to show off our work and be able to sell our work.

Can I have the copyright?

You can, but expect to pay for this, I sometimes sell the copyright especially if the client wishes for their wedding not to be displayed, or if the wedding is high profile or the guest list needs to be confidential, it happens.

The best thing to do is, if you are not sure, just ask.

Launched in June 2012, Ruby UK is a robust women’s network with an Antipodean flair; providing a platform to share knowledge, exchange ideas and become inspired.

This evening we hit Hyde Park for Walk and Talk Wednesday  ~   a 2 mile walk followed by a natter at the pub.