i am so furious right now! my cousin who is an amateur photographer, took some amazing photos of my four year old, out at my mom's farm, for free, as a family favor. i am attempting to print them off. i spent an hour last night on walgreens.com, choosing wallets and 8x10's, even doing a couple collages (AWESOME!) i was SOOO excited to get them today. NOPE! i got a phone call today saying they won't print them because "they look professional". and "the lighting looks professional" *they are ALL outside pictures. i am sooo angry. now i am having my cousin (who does NOT have a business or studio or anything) write a "copyright release" and have to take it to them. GRRR!!! i am going to speak to a manager and speak my piece. i cannot believe in this technological age we are in, where any average joe can buy a decent camera and photo shop, where any professional photographer or studio makes darn sure you can NOT print their photos, that this is an issue!!! has anyone else had this problem, and how did it end??
thanks for helping, guys. i have calmed down now and my course is clear - i will calmly call and ask to speak to a manager, and get this cleared up. yes i understand they are trying to protect themselves, however, with zero indication that these are professional other than "they look professional", i'm not taking that for an answer. i do have a "release" from my cousin, and will get this straightened out. i don't believe the burden of proof should be on me, however, i AM getting my prints. the collage their website offers is really cool, and i don't want to have to go through all of that again. and no, i won't use them again. i have a feeling this was a young woman who was just "trying to do her job" but also perhaps was on a bit of a power trip and didn't really have a clue what she was doing. it's all good. thanks as always ladies!
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ps, i finally found the "right" employee - apparently what they SHOULD have done, when i said they were amateur photos, was just let me know i would have to sign a paper saying that, when i came in. that's IT. can you believe that? well now i have the paper on file and he said if it happens again to just tell them again that they are not professional, and that i have already signed the release. and for double measure i also gave them the letter from my cousin to put in my "file". so supposedly i won't have to go through this again. we'll see! it left such a bad taste in my mouth (oh the clerk cancelled the order after i spoke to her so it was a day and a half of trying to get THAT fixed, while at work trying to be sneaky on the phone lol) it will be a LONG time before i do this again, i'm afraid. oh well. GOT MY PHOTOS tho!!
That is super annoying. I don't know which part of town you are in, but you might want to look into Process One Photos next time. They cost tbd same as walgreens but have MUCH better quality and they are very professional. Good luck! www.processonephoto.com
I had this issue at Walmart with my wedding photos taken by my bil. I just had to show them the originals so they could see there was no copyright mark on the back.
I have used Walgreens for the last five years and love them, I haven't found any other place that can beat their prices or Quality. And the quickness that you can order at home and pick up in store in an hour is great.
Just to clarify, they didn't ruin your pictures or lose them or anythign, they just asked for proof that you weren't stealing from a prof photographer? That seems reasonable enough to me. Maybe a little bit of a pain, but not worth getting so upset about. When/If your cousin decides to charge people for her work, wouldn't you want her to be protected?
Sounds like she has some real Talent and sounds like you got an awesome deal having her take them for free.
In defense of Walgreens, they really have to do this. Coming from a family of professional photographers...it is actually quite easy for someone to steal or use our images. (In fact, it has happened to all of us before.) They have to protect themselves, just like a hospital makes you sign all those consent forms making sure, that you are you. You are right, lots of people can take a photo and edit it to look professional. Because of that, they have to make sure, that they aren't. It is a bigger liability, then you might be aware of. Copyright infringement, is very costly. If the clerk developing pictures did make you sign a form and they were professional photos, the photographer sues or made a big issue about it, he would likely loose his job because of it. A photographers rights were probably not the only thing the employee was protecting.
I'd like to add, that even outside lighting CAN (and should, for a professional) "look professional." I know it's annoying for you, but maybe think about it from other prospective and you can understand better.
I agree with the fact that they are trying to avoid copyright infringement...however, a clerk at Walgreen's is hardly the best judge of what is professional or not. I'm a little surprised anyway, there is usually some statement of "right to use images" associated with that service which would make you liable, not Walgreens.
Anything that has a watermark should have a release associated with it.
Many professional photographers do a poor job of protecting their work product. It isn't right for people to "steal", but they have a responsibility to "put a lock on the door".
I would call the manager and then I would take my business elsewhere..."the lighting looks professional" is not a valid reason to deny services. I've taken many photos where I got lucky and they look much better than anything any "professional" has done.
I have never heard such a thing. And at first I was totally feeling your frustration. But then I thought...Wow, they are trying to prevent crime. This kind of appropriation of someone's creative/intellectual property has just become to easy with all the technology out there these days. I guess I would swallow the frustration knowing that Walgreen's was trying to prevent theft. Stinks that you have to pay the price for bad people out there who WOULD steal though.
I had the same problem. They must have gotten in trouble :-) I brought my pics in and used their scanner and asked them to make copies. There wasnt a copyright on the pics. When I went to pick up the copies, they said I couldnt have them without a release, which was out of state. They had printed them and everything. It was like hanging candy on front of a toddlers face and not giving it to them. I ended up taking my business elsewhere. They happily did my pictures for me.
Yes, it happened to me as well at Wal Mart. I have a professional grade camera I take my boys' pictures with . It's so much cheaper than the professionals doing it, and my kids are more comfortable in their own place! So, I too was super upset when Wal Mart gave me the same line. I just go online now to either Snapfish, or mpix. Either way, I get great quality prints and no questions asked! And the prices are really reasonable as well!
I would call the manager then I would go to another store to get them printed.My sis has a buisness now , my sis in law does amazing photos for senior pics family pics she may have a charge but I really doubt it she has yet to bill me for any some look professional she has an amazing eye for capturing those precious photos she has never had an issue with printing pictures off she goes to Sams club Walmart & Wolfes she doesn't like to go to Walgreens neither do I becasue they only offer glossy prints.. the cameras & technology today we really don't need to have a professional anymore,did you explain this to them & they still want a copyright release
Go to walmart.com instead. I printed professional photos there and yes I did hae the copyright release, but no one asked me for it. Also, they are very reasonably priced, they offer one-hour service, site-to-store (no shipping cost, you just pick it up at the store of your choice) or they'll mail the to you.
I have had this issue for the past two years. I do my daughters school pictures and last year, not too big of a deal, when I went in to pick the pictures up they told me they could not release them without a form from the photographer. I told the I AM the photographer, ok, I got the pictures. This time, a few days ago, I get a call from Walgreens saying I need to bring in my camera to prove that they were taken by me. So I do. I get my pictures, look at them before I leave, part of my daughters head was cropped off. So they fix the issue, start to re-print them, the machine quits so they tell me they will call me when they fix the problem. I asked if they could note that they already verified Im the photographer so I wouldnt have to go through that again, they said yes. Today I get a call, there ready however they cannot release them to be because of copyright infringment. I ask "what about the manager that was present when I already went through all of this?" Nope, sorry, I dont know what to tell you, unless you have a release, we cannot give them to you. SERIOUSLY? I AM THE PHOTOGRAPHER! What do you not understand about that? All you have to do is click on properties on the photo, it will tell you what camera was used on a digital print. I have the camera! Does anyone know how I can prove I am the photographer when this happens? This is frustrating!
yeah they all do it, even walmart. I know a girl that had her sister take her senior pictures and they came up with some really cool ideas and went all over to differen't places taking cool shots which turned out really well. The sister had to write a letter too. They just want to protect the professional photographers but really don't know how that letter helps as anyone could come up with one even on professional pictures. Most professionals will have proof across them so you can't print them and have you order prints through them although some will give you the disk and a letter so you can have them printed yourself when you pay extra for that option.
It is simple when you have a letter then they will let you have the pictures.
I have a camera that takes really nice pictures and my friend has a studio set up in her basement. When I took pics of my son one time, Walmart almost didn't let me have mine. I told them that I took the pics in my friends basement and WM just had me sign a piece of paper saying that I was the photographer. Same thing happened when I took pics of my son outside last year. They questioned me, but I think I can't remember if I had to sign again. Since it's a cousin, I would just tell them you took the pics and see if they'll just let you sign for them. I agree that with digital photography this could be a touchy subject for developers!
www.kodakgallery.com / I've used them for 10 years, never a problem or a question.
I had this exact thing happen to me while trying to print pictures my sister-in-law took of my daughter. They said they looked professional also, which they weren't. At first I got angry, then I just told them I took the pictures with my own camera. No more questions asked, and they added a note to my file- so it's never come up again! Problem solved!
As long as it does not have her mark on the photo... like a name on the edge somewhere, they are not supposed to be able to turn you away. I would speak to the manager.
I used to work in a photo lab.
The copyright laws are very strict, and the businesses must err on the side of caution.
It can be very hard to tell the difference sometimes, as you just found out, but if they just once make a wrong judgment call, and the professional photographer decides to sue over it, they stand to lose everything.
Try to understand that although it is frustrating for you, they are not trying to be mean to you. This law is just as frustrating for them. They run a business and WANT to help you, and give you great customer service.
It can just be very hard to distinguish, if a photo is professional or not. As you said, equipment is very advanced these days, and people are getting very good at picture taking.
If you are unhappy with this, instead of blasting the poor manager who is just doing their job to the best of their ability, put your energy into changing the law. It has not kept up with our changing times, and needs to be updated.
write the copyright release yourself and sign a fake name. they just have to have something for their files in case someone sues them. after you get you pics, tell them you will no longer be using them because of the inconvenience, and then don't. how annoying!
So if it was a digital camera I'd take the camera with the pics to the store with me. My experience with Walgreen's was not good, I took an amazing picture of my newborn granddaughter in a big bow and Santa hat. We took it to Walgreen's and stood there while they tried to get the picture right. The color was bad and they couldn't get the size right without cutting off part of her body, so we got some odd sized pictures that didn't have the same colors as the original that we had. There are lot's of good photo options online now, I'd go there instead of Walgreen's anymore.
