Copyright & Usage Policy
We love that you are in love with our photographs. We love them too!
If you would like to use or purchase any photographs shown on this website, the first step is to reach out to us for more information. It may be that all that is required is an appropriate citation or compensation for that usage.
Don’t play the “I’ll use it and if we get caught ask for forgiveness later” excuse. We are clearly stating to you here that you cannot use any of the content found on this website or shared from this website without first obtaining our formal written permission.
Here is the written public statement
All images and text appearing on this site are the property of the DFW Photographers, David & Luke Edmonson. They remain protected by U.S. Copyright Laws. The images and text are not to be downloaded or reproduced in any way or used for personal, editorial, or commercial purposes without the written permission by the Edmonsons.
Copyright 2002-2016 David & Luke Edmonson All Rights Reserved.
WHY COPYRIGHT EXISTS FOR PHOTOGRAPHERS AND EVERYONE
Every photo has value, the ones we take and the ones that you take. You may not feel like yours are valuable, but they are, and indeed, thank goodness for that protection. The sharing, showing, or displaying of photos to a larger audience makes that value even greater. Thus, distribution is one of the factors that determines usage fees.
Let’s use a simple analogy to explain further. If we take photos for a small business to use in their brochure, we will price that job accordingly. Not only are you figuring out what effort it will take, equipment, support team, expertise and so on, we also keep in mind how many people will view that photograph.
A small number of viewers may mean a lower fee because the exposure is more limited than a larger numbers of viewers.
When we move that analogy to a large company, wanting to use the same photo for a worldwide campaign seen by millions of people, our fee proportionally increases to match an increased value. It’s that perceived value of all the photos that we take that provides for our families.
So who created the idea of copyright and when?
History of United States Copyright Law
We are in the business of photography, but we didn’t decide on our own to give ourselves copyright. Our founders did that for us.
Copyright has been part of the United States Constitution since 1787. At that time, James Madison and Charles Pinckney submitted proposals that eventually became Article I Section 8 Clause 8, reading as follows:
“To promote the Progress of Science and useful Arts, by securing for limited Times to Authors and Inventors the exclusive Right to their respective Writings and Discoveries.”
Revised by Congress in 1831, in 1834, the Supreme Court ruled to uphold what Congress had previously passed.
In 1976, Congress passed the current copyright law of the land extending the term to 75 years or the life of the author plus 50 years.
That brought the U.S. into line with the framers of the Berne Convention, which was first accepted in 1886 and led America to become a signatory in 1998.
In the simplest form of communication, that means that as photographers, from the moment we click the shutter, our work is protected work.
If you are writing a paper or really interested in more details here are some handy resources.
The United States Copyright Office
Editorial Photo Copyright
http://www.editorialphoto.com/copyright/
The Age of the Internet & Social Media
Our livelihood as photographers is dependent on the income we can generate taking pictures. Some people might suggest that exposure alone is appropriate compensation. Perhaps they would change their thinking if they didn’t receive payment for the jobs they do.
For many years in the print media, there has been a minimum standard of attaching the photographer’s name near every photograph that appears. It’s that credit that provides an avenue for others to find us.
In today’s Internet age, we offer clear guidance for the use of our photography when not including monetary payment. In exchange for that usage, there are two clear options you can choose.
Request
- A watermarked photo
- A photo without our logo & name and agree to include a link to our website
Most websites, blogs, and social media outlets prefer the unwatermarked option. Editorial publishers can request a photo for publishing; the terms are described in more detail below.
Advertorial Partner Networks
While long-standing publications understand the importance of citations, many modern business models are run based on newer advertising approaches. Sometimes they approach companies to advertise with them in exchange for promised exposure. There are many different words they can use to do so, but the most common one is an invitation. Unfortunately, within the industry, this is a very typical business model and practice.
These new model companies now need a way to keep their promise to their advertisers and build their own network to bring in, even more, advertisers. They do so through advertorials or guaranteed exposure, and ever since the beginning of advertising, the best way to get someone to stop and look at something is through compelling imagery.
They request material from their customers who then reach out to photographers to promote their business. Often, the new network places their logo and branding on top of the photographers’ work which causes confusion over who is the original author. It places both the photographer and the business that is advertising in a difficult position. Of course, we want to help our local businesses in their advertising efforts. However, it is unlikely that visitors, fans or followers have or would take the time to find out more about our photography without a way to search for us.
The chances of that happening and the exposure value for us increases when our photos have our names and links for them to use to associate quickly. Those new visitors are how we can mutually benefit from exposure both for ourselves and their advertisers.
We invest many resources into updating our website and making it something beneficial for those looking for a professional photographer. Part of that investment is in the SEO value of our website, and the links that assist us in that endeavor. Finally, due to laziness, ignorance, or the limitations of social media platforms, the information contained in a properly permitted posting will have a greater likelihood of including the original citation if shared by someone attaches it to a new or repost.
Real World Examples
Within our industry, we’ve seen and learned first-hand from other businesses who felt an impact because they did not receive complete citations. When another person, blog, magazine or social media channel comes across one of our photos, they are much more likely to contact us first when they see a simple way to find us or our logo. When they ignore that information or choose not to seek permission and run the image regardless, they then become liable for actual and statutory damages.
One of our close colleagues had this exact situation happened to them. They had a website that has millions of eyeballs looking at their homepage every day post one of their photos without the photographer's knowledge. The editor of the article did not seek out permission from the photographer, and instead relied on the word of the author of the piece who provided the image that she owned the copyright. The photo in question then was picked up by other major news channels and shortly appeared simultaneously around the world.
Not only did the photographer lose the money that would have accrued from licensing the usage, but they also had to spend additional resources trying to resolve a situation that never should have happened in the first place.
The business side of photography begins with someone appreciating your work. You see a picture, and you like it enough that you want to find out more. If you do not have an easy or clear way to identify the author of that work, then the reality of discovering the photographer and becoming a client is highly unlikely. In this way, exposure alone is not the panacea that people often suggest that it is.
Terms of Use
Once you have written permission, these are the requirements for sharing our photography publicly. They are well-thought out, and we've given them the same level of attention we do to our photography. They anticipate and address many of the different "tricks" that can be done to circumvent the spirit of the reasonable terms we've outlined.
For Websites & Blogs & Social Media
Three versions of appropriate citations are:
Blogs & Social Media
The text can appear as Photography by Edmonson Weddings, Photography by David & Luke Edmonson or Photographers David & Luke Edmonson. For a blog, the citation must also be an underlined hyperlink to the URL http://www.edmonsonweddings.com and may not include the “no follow” link attribute in the HTML. The credit should appear in the first paragraph of text. For social media, it should appear in closest proximity to the photo above the fold.
1. Photography By Edmonson Weddings http://www.edmonsonweddings.com
2. Photography by David & Luke Edmonson http://www.edmonsonweddings.com
3. Photographers David & Luke Edmonson http://www.edmonsonweddings.com
Note: The use of the camera emoticon alone is not proper photo credit followed only by our names. You can use an emoticon, but it also must include the appropriate citation text.
This nearness of the citation or photo credit next to the photo avoids confusion over who is the actual author of the photograph.
In an editorial context, every instance of a different photo must include the above link and citation.
For displaying or using our photos on Facebook, Pinterest, or similar websites, each photo must have in its description Copyright David & Luke Edmonson, http://www.edmonsonweddings.com or Copyright Edmonson Weddings, http://www.edmonsonweddings.com.
When using photos online, Photos may not be cropped, altered, or otherwise modified. Our Edmonson logo must remain attached to every photo and may not be hidden, altered, or removed.
For social media usages, such as Instagram, Twitter, and similar platforms, instead of a link to our website, you can use an alternative, namely, linking directly to our corresponding social media platform accounts. That does not mean you can tag us in our photos instead of using the crediting link. You are certainly free of course to tag us in addition to linking to us.
An example would be Photography by @davidedmonson & @lukeedmonson or Photographers @davidedmonson & @lukeedmonson appearing in closest proximity to the photo before any other text appears.
If you cannot find us quickly on a particular platform, simply use the written format and the full http://www.edmonsonweddings.com link.
Putting all these together then, it looks like this:.
Photography by David & Luke Edmonson
http://www.edmonsonweddings.com
For Magazines
In a printed editorial context like a magazine, proper citation is considered David & Luke Edmonson / edmonsonweddings.com or Edmonson Weddings / edmonsonweddings.com appearing under each photograph or in the margin per the publication's style guide. The minimum standard font size for a citation is 10 point.
Permission
Each interested party must contact and receive separate written permission and offer just compensation before sharing the designated photos in printed or electronic advertising, magazines, portfolios, websites, or blogs outside your direct control or on your business website.
We have an easy online usage agreement you can access and complete.
Permission may be rescinded for displaying the photographs at any time for any reason. If we do deliver a request for removal, per our written agreement, you agree to remove the photos within 24 hours of receipt of that request.
If you fail to abide by these Terms & Conditions, you agree to compensate us (and the clients whenever applicable) for any usage. We base that compensation on the monetary rate that would be customary for such usage and the industry standard at the time of said publication or distribution. You may also be held liable for actual and/or statutory damages.
To quickly calculate standard industry usage rates, we suggest you refer to the Getty Images calculators for non-royalty free images.
Personal Usage For Visitors
You may share, post, pin, or link to our photography as long as you provide proper attribution of copyright.
You may make links to the images on pages you manage for yourself in a personal non-commercial role like Facebook, Pinterest, etc
Using the buttons provided on our website is the easiest and the best way to do this.
Enrolled students may incorporate our photography and website content for school reports and presentations as long as you give proper citation credit.
If you are producing and distributing a free online guide for photographers, contact us first.
Commercial Usage
If you would like to license or obtain a usage license for anything found on this website here are the steps to follow.
Please, contact us with the following information in hand.
- Photo(s) or content you’d like to use indicated very specifically
- Where you will display them
- How you will display them
- Intent of the display
- Duration of the display
You can also include any other information that you think is useful.
Copyright 2002-2024 David & Luke Edmonson All Rights Reserved.
All photographs and content appearing on this site are the property of the Edmonson's. They are protected by U.S. Copyright Laws, and are not to be downloaded or reproduced in any way without our written permission. You may share photos using the tools provided in our galleries.
Edmonson Photography is based out the Dallas - Ft. Worth Metroplex, Texas.
Check Availability | 11134 Candlelight Lane, Dallas, TX 75229 | (972) 208-0215