Copyright

You're so amped about getting your pictures in the mail, you immediately want to share them with the world.  You grab your cell phone, snap, and upload the photo to your favorite social media site.

I hate to be the bearer of bad news, but you just violated the copyright on that image.

What is Copyright anyway?
Copyright is granted the instant an original work is created in a fixed medium. (In plain english please.)  Copyright is granted to the photographer (or musician, artist or author) the moment the camera clicks and the image is recorded on their memory card.  It doesn't have to be registered through the US Copyright Office.

What's the purpose of Copyright?
It protects the creator and her original work, and gives the creator exclusive rights to reproduce, edit, publish or whatever she pleases.  When copyright is violated, or infringed upon, the author/creator can pursue legal action and the offender can be held liable and fined.  What you purchased was a limited right to view, print, and enjoy the photographs.

What are the rules with Kerri Percy Photography?
First off, feel free to tag yourself in photos on Facebook, and send the URL to friends and family of the blog post that contains your photos! But please refrain from:
- Scanning the prints
- Copying the prints
- Cropping the watermark out of the images
- Editing the images in any way
- Taking photos of prints with your cell phone and posting on the web
- Distributing the photos
- Publishing the photos in print or online  

These are MY photos! Why can't I scan them?
While you may be in the photos,  they aren't yours.  They belong to your photographer, who owns the copyright. What you purchased from the photographer was a limited right, defined in your contract.  Scanning them is actually against the law.

Also, most professional photographers must be able to maintain a quality over their work. The hours of lighting, posing, color correcting, removing blemishes, sharpening and softening while zoomed in at 3000% will all be for nothing, once someone uses their cell phone or a scanned print to publish online and the quality is gone.

And what if your Cousin Renee is getting married next year, and is looking for a photographer.  She ends up looking at your photos on Facebook, seeing a copy of a copy that looks blurry or dark, possibly warped?  How does that reflect on me as a photographer?  Not very good. 
  
But Aunt Gina and Uncle Roy want a print - Now what?
I'd be happy to help you get Gina and Roy their prints!

I bought the digital negatives with the printing rights. What can't I do with these images?
 Let's start off with what you CAN do:
- Make prints for personal use and display
- Make greeting cards, announcements, photo gifts, photo books, and any printed material for your own personal use.
- Upload the images in the WEB Images folder to your favorite social media site or personal blog

What you CAN'T do:
- Enter the photos into contests, photo or other type.
- Post full size, full resolution, non-watermarked images on the web
- crop the watermark off the web images
- Edit the images in any way   

Oh dear, I think I violated the copyright law without knowing it.  Am I in trouble?
You're not in trouble - I mean we all make mistakes, right?  All I ask is that you attempt to reverse the actions that violated the copyright.  If you cropped out the watermark, crop it again with the watermark showing.  If you've uploaded the full-res, non-watermarked photos, replace them with the watermarked ones.  Your family and friends will still be able to enjoy your photos online.