[YarPcola]

I don’t know if this is old news to you, but it was new to me. Wal-Mart won’t print your photos if they are too good!

I just returned from my local Wal-Mart. I had electronically sent them some digital files of photographs to be printed and had pre-paid with my credit card. They were pictures of my youngest son which I had taken over the years. When I went to pick up the pictures the young lady at the counter said there was a problem. She informed me that “some of the pictures look like they were professionally done.” It seems that if your pictures look like you are copying professional photographs, they won’t print them for you. After assuring the clerk that I had, indeed, taken all of the photographs, and was very upset, she called for a manager. I explained that I had been a photography instructor with the Navy for over 20 years and had an MFA with a major in photography, and certainly hoped that my work looked “professional.” She said that if I brought in the negatives or camera memory card, they could print them for me. She finally looked at all of the photos and remarked that, due to the high quality of even the “snapshots,” she could see that I could have taken them all, and since I had already paid, she would allow me to have them if I signed a form stating that I held the copyright. She also said that if I print up some business cards that show me as a photographer, that would be all the proof they would need in the future. Since that looks like the easiest solution, I will print up some bogus business cards this afternoon.

[Gooshin]

i hate wal-mart

[ryan s]

Here we go once more...

The reason we (as in "I" a former photo tech) don't let extra good photos be released is that lots of people do try to copy studio shots even ones with DO NOT COPY - PROFESSIONAL IMAGE on the back. And then there's the people who bring in like a wedding CD to get pictures printed. The photographer has to give you the rights to print from the CD, it's not automatic.

Know why? It's to protect the store and its employees from lawsuits. Lame? In some cases, yes. You wouldn't believe how many people try to print copyrighted material. In your case, I would have asked if you took them and that would be the end.

Once you have your release form on file, the store will keep it for 2 years (maybe more if they don't go through them lol) so you don't even need cards. Just refer them to their own binder with your form in it

[YarPcola]

Oh I know the reason, and I guess it's a good one, just it's one more hoop to jump through. I guess I would really be pissed if I knew their policy and they DIDN'T question me.

[afs760bf]

Sam's Club is the same.

I have a letter on file with Sam's that says the pictures I submit were taken by me and are being printed for me. That's all there is to it.

That has never been an issue for me... It hurts a little.

-gus-

[falconeye]

Some countries in this world feed far too many lawyers...

[travis_cooper]

A cousin of my wife had someone use her camera to take family pictures. Then she came to me to process them for her. I did some noise reduction, some color boosting, things like that. When she went to get them printed they told her the same thing, she finally convinced them that she really did take the pictures.

[YarPcola]

Some countries in this world feed far too many lawyers...

I once heard that the U.S has more lawyers than the rest of the world. I don't know if it's true, but I don't doubt it.

[falconeye]

I once heard that the U.S has more lawyers than the rest of the world. I don't know if it's true, but I don't doubt it.

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If this is true, the real problem with this is that many brilliant heads study and then do fairly useless stuff (at the macro economical layer). Same for investment banking (venture capital excluded here).

The U.S. can afford this by importing all those heads. Other countries aren't as lucky...

<no nation to be offended in particular OFF>
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[Lowell Goudge]

I once heard that the U.S has more lawyers than the rest of the world. I don't know if it's true, but I don't doubt it.

Reminds me of a bad joke.

What do you call 50,000 lawyers at the bottom of the ocean?

A good start!

Seriously though,m when you consider how many people are asking about releases for the subjects, it makes you wonder if the store has been there before.

[ve2vfd]

Why won't rats eat lawyers?

Professionnal courtesy

I took a few pics to a local big chain drugstore that has Kodak processing to print some half decent scenery pics of my friends cabin and got the same problem... fortunately I saw it coming having read another thread on this subject so I had put my name in the EXIF "Artist" and "Copyright" tags...

Thats all it took for the lady to give me my pics... (I guess they don't realize anyone can modify that?)

Pat

[J.Scott]

Simply refuse to shop at Wal-Mart for anything - it's that easy!

[bt*ist]

Hi, I'm from Australia.

Are you guys SERIOUS???

Un. Believable.

[-=JoN=-]

ran across that a few years ago. xmas photos of my uncles family. My aunt tried to get it copied, and the walgreens said that they wouldnt do it, since it's by a "pro"

she asked me for the negatives, but, they were on a box full of other negs.....

ended up just scanning it, and printing it ourselves...

oh yeah..moving this to OT