Category: information
Have I lost my dang mind? Perhaps. I can feel my photographer friends out there shaking their heads in disbelief. I mean, who gives away wedding photography?! Yeah, this girl.
Here’s why…
November 3, 2001. Our wedding day. We planned for a very very small wedding. Now, I’ve always had an appreciation for good photos… not as much as I do currently. However, on one of the most important days of my life, I had not planned for a hired photographer. I (*gasp*) was going to just rely on my mother’s friend to snap some photos with my camera and hope for the best. The thought of hiring a photographer honestly never crossed my mind and honestly wouldn’t have been in our very limited budget.
Enter my bridesmaid’s boyfriend. Her boyfriend that dabbled in photography and knew how to wield a camera. I had no idea he would be there or that he would end up capturing our day… for free! I cherish those photos more than he’ll ever know.
Some of my faves (these are scans of not so great quality prints – I need to get my wedding photos reprinted… one of these days):
Jason and I
My beautiful mother, sister and I
One of my absolute all time favorite photos of my dad and I
Jason and I with his parents (who I can honestly say are two of my favorite-est people in the world. I am beyond blessed to have the in-laws that I have!)
I have no words. Haha. This was as we were walking out of the tiny church, with the tiny aisle, while I was wearing a big poofy dress. By far, one of my most favorite photos from the day! 
Looking back on our wedding (which I always thought we’d have a vow renewal “one of those days”), I know that I was blessed to have someone there that knew what he was doing. And knew that I would regret not having “real” wedding photos. And out of the kindness of his heart, stepped up and gave me a priceless gift.
I want to pay it forward. I want to give some loving couple that same gift that was given to us. I want to bless a couple who is thinking they can’t afford a wedding photographer and will just hope to get some decent snapshots from their family and friends. I want that couple to look back at their wedding photos on their 10 year anniversary and think of something they can do to pay it forward for someone else.
So, have you recently gotten engaged? Is your mind blown with all of the details that go into planning a wedding? Would you like to have one of the planning burdens lifted?
Here are the details:
What – The gift of 4 hours of wedding coverage, 5×7 album and a hi-res disc of images with print release along with a 30 minute engagement session with a hi-res disc of 3 images from the engagement session (retail value $1,425)
When – Any date in 2012**
**Of course, I must be available for your selected wedding date. So please ensure that I am available before entering. Or perhaps consider a date change?
Where – Within 40 miles of Seymour, Indiana
Please contact me before entering if your wedding will be take place outside of that 40 mile radius
Cost – FREE
How to enter:
I want to get to know the couples that are entering this giveaway. I want to know what you love about each other. I want to know why you want me to photograph your wedding. I want to know why I should photograph your wedding. I want to know about the two of you! So, I’m asking that you write me a little essay telling me about yourselves, your wedding plans, your dogs, your cats, your crazy Aunt Sue… whatever floats your boat. I’d just like to get to know you. It doesn’t have to be a novel… just a short little essay will be fine. However, if you want to send a novel, by all means. I love to read!
After reading through the entries, I will choose my favorite three couples. Then I will do a blog post featuring those three couples and have my blog readers help me choose who should win free wedding photography.
Where to send entries:
Please send entries via email to marindafowlerphoto@yahoo.com with the subject line as “WEDDING GIVEAWAY 2012“. Please include photo of yourselves along with your entry (to be used in the blog post). Don’t have access to a computer to send me an email? No worries, give me a call at 812-569-4997 and I will gladly give you a mailing address to send your entry.
When to send entries:
Entries must be received by 10:00PM EST on December 23, 2011. No exceptions.
Can I submit an entry for a couple that I love?
Yes, absolutely! You can submit an entry for a deserving couple if you wish.
Can I submit an entry and use the prize for a portrait session?
Nope. Sorry. This giveaway is for wedding photography only.
Can I have the retail value in cash instead of photography?
Nope. This prize has no cash value.
What if we want you to stay longer than the 4 hours?
No problem! We can discuss adding extra hours into your wedding coverage.
What if I do not win but still really want you to photograph our wedding?
All non-winning entries will receive a 20% discount on newly booked wedding collections (wedding must be booked before December 31, 2011)
Hello friends! I can’t believe we’re getting ready to great May of this year! The weather is starting to get warmer (and hopefully less rain soon). With warmer weather comes prime outdoor portrait season!
I just wanted to give an update on a few things going on at Marinda Fowler Photography.
- There is still time to take advantage of the “Free” Session April Sale. Sessions must be booked before April 30th. Details can be found here: FREE SESSION
- Canvas Gallery Wraps are on sale 30% off through June 30th. These are absolutely gorgeous pieces of art that do not need framing. Go ahead, invest in that stunning canvas of your stunning family. You know you want to!
- Session availability: There are no available Saturday sessions in May or June and only TWO available in July. Sunday sessions will be limited to weather reschedules only. To maintain my quality standards and be able to spend time with my children this summer, I will only take two weeknight sessions per week this summer.
These are the dates that are still available. Once they are gone, my availability will be gone as well. If you would like a spring/summer session, I highly encourage you to book immediately:
May – 10, 12, 17, 24 and 31
June – 2, 7, 9, 14, 16, 21, 23, 28 and 30
July – 5, 7, 9, 12, 14, 19, 21, 26, 28 and 30
I hope everyone has a great spring and summer!
.
Copyright? Say what? | Marinda Fowler Photography | Seymour, Indiana
December 29, 2009
How about a little education on the issue of copyright. Sounds like fun, right? Bear with me as this is going to be a bit lengthy. Go grab that coffee or diet coke now. 
What is copyright?
The U.S. Constitution and the Federal Copyright Act give “copyright” protection to “authors” for their “original works,” such as photographs.
.What does that mean?
Simply that the law protects the original works and gives the exclusive rights to reproduce them to the author. When the copyright has been violated, the author can pursue legal action and the offender can be held liable and fined.
,So, what are the rules regarding the prints I purchased from my professional photographer?
Here are just a few examples of things that you may not do with your professional photos:
- Scan them – for any reason
- Copy them
- Reprint them
- Crop watermarks out of photos and repost them on the web
- Edit them – in any way
- Take pictures of your printed professional photos (especially with your cell phone) and post them on the web.
- Throw darts at them. Ok, fine. Do it if you must!
.Well, why can’t I scan them? The photos are of me and my family?
While the photos might be of you, they are not yours. The images belong to your professional photographer; who owns the copyright. Granted you may have purchased a print of the image, and you are encouraged to display that image and enjoy it. However, it is not at your disposal to make copies of by scanning or any other means. It’s actually against the law.
Also, most professional photographers like to maintain quality control over their work. There is a large quality difference between a scanned photo and one that your photographer creates and sizes for use on the web. We do not like to see our work all distorted and wonky because it has been scanned.
,What’s the big deal?
The big deal is that your professional photographer works extremely hard at creating the beautiful images that you see. Everything from lighting, posing and post-processing goes into one single image. In that regard, your photographer will price their work to maintain a profitable business. When clients start scanning images and reprinting at home or worse, local one-hour labs, they have basically stolen the ability for the photographer to make a profit from that image. Since selling their artwork is how photographers earn a living, it tends to make us unhappy when clients steal images from us.
,Aunt Susie saw my photo and just wants to have one little copy of it. Now what?
Great! Your photographer will be thrilled to help you get one little copy of that photo for Aunt Susie. It’s always a great thing to hear that your family and friends love our work!
I bought the disc with the printing rights. What can’t I do with these images?
On the print release form, there will be instructions on what you can and cannot do with the images contained on the disc. However, just for the sake of education, I’ll give you a quickie list of those things.
Things you can do:
- make prints for personal use
- make greeting cards for personal use
- make photo books or photo gifts for personal use
- upload the images in the WEB folder onto the web to share with your family and friends (however, please do not remove the watermark)
Things you cannot do:
- enter the photos into contests – nope, not even those “cute baby” contests
- post full-size non-watermarked images on the web
- alter the images – part of your photography experience with your professional photographer will include the photographer’s time and talent in editing/processing your images. If you do not like the style in which your images were processed, it might be time to look for a different photographer. I’m just sayin’.
What about the images on your blog and facebook?
The images on my blog are meant to be enjoyed and viewed. If you would like to share the images on my blog, please do so. All you have to do is share the link (URL) with your family and friends. Or, you can simply find share buttons at the bottom of each post (titled “share the love”) and share them anywhere you’d like.
The images on facebook are also meant to be enjoyed and viewed. I welcome and encourage you to tag yourself in the images on facebook or share the link to the images. I also welcome and encourage you to use the images on facebook as your profile photo as long as you do not remove the watermark in the cropping process. To avoid removing the watermark, simply drag the cropping bars all the way to the edge of the photo. Easy-peasy-lemon-squeezy!
Okay, I get it. I might have violated your copyright policy. Now what?
Photographers: Yes, by all means, feel free to use this post to educate your clients. I just ask that you link back to me. xoxo
One Comment
Dearest Marinda,
I am so so happy to see that ‘Happily ever after” does exist! You and Jason are the proof! Happy Wedding anniversary!
The person which will win this great gift from you can bless her heart for it will be a gift she will cherish forever.
Big hug from Belgium
- V –
ps, if i ever meet my prince charming, do you offer your services oversees?
pss, if you know of a prince-charming who is a bachelor, please let me know!