Inky-Dinky-Do Blog

Candice & Chris almost Wedding Day!

Wow this year has flown by and it is already time for the wedding!  Chris & Candice you might recognize from our Trailer Trash Bash... although they look a lot more presentable here!  We had a great time shooting at the beach, eating dinner, drinking coffee together... an all around good day.  So we thought we would share a few images.  The wedding is this Saturday- hard to believe and we can't wait.  This will be one of the hardest weddings we will ever do.... because my family are guests!  My Mother is Candice's Godmother and Candice's Mom is my Godmother.  So I will be trying hard to get my own family to follow directions!  That's OK I can just threaten to make them look bad if they don't listen.  :)

Victoria & Nader a quick peek

Wow!  What a crazy fun day we had.  Saturday we got to meet Victoria's beautiful family. So sweet and Victoria has a the cutest little niece ever!  So we played a little near the ocean and took some photos then off to get ready for the wedding on Sunday.   So I haven't even seen everything yet.... just a few images to share from the wedding day for now.  I'm getting ready to fly out to TX to teach in the wee hours so no time to play, but I can't not share anything!

Nader had this beautiful carved box since he was 6 years old and I simply love Vicotria's ring- so delicate and feminine.

Victoria is just full of joy and quiet frankly a stunning bride.

Nader is usually all business... but just talking about Victoria can bring a smile to his face. 

This is their pose... you know the one they just hit  and you can tell it is what they do when things are quiet and it is just the two of them.

So I hope you guys have a fabulous honeymoon and I'll share more when I come back from Texas!

Thanks again for such a great day.  Your families were so welcoming and warm.

I'm off to Beverly Hills

Please know the boutique will be close until Tuesday morning.  Inky-dinky-do is going to L.A.

I'm excited to be photographing the wedding of Victoria & Nadar this weekend.  I can't wait.  Victoria has a great sense of style and we share a love of Café Med, so what isn't to love!

Angela won the tickets/ vacation/ meet & greet with backstage passes to John Mayer.  For those that don't know Angela wins everything!  So don't fell sorry for her "working" she is having a grand time while the rest of us enjoy the wedding!

Angela will be back in the Boutique on Tuesday and I will be on a plane heading to Texas for the workshop I'm doing at the CFPA.  I hope those photographers ate their Power Energy Bars cause I have a busy day planned for them full of information and inspiration!

Madison's Rocking 1980's Birthday Party

Sorry for the delay guys it has been crazy around here!  So here is a little peek at the fun.  The costumes were like going back in time!  Neon, fishnet, gloves, RayBans... it was great.  The kids ate, swam and had a couple activities to keep them busy.  Of course they all had names on the back and had to figure out who they were... not so fast thinking that is easy... we had everyone from Madonna to Papa Smurf!  Then they had a little matching game and as teams had to match things up!  Harder than it sounds.  Of course the costume contest was great and the girls looked great and the hair was soooo well... 80's!  The bar was set up with mocktails of course as it was a bunch of washed up 80's rockers I'm sure they have all been to rehab... and well the fact that these guys are teens so no alcohol!  So Mock- Pinacoldas and Margaritas were yummy.  The music of course... a complete flash back.

Flickr Images / Facebook Postings...

We all love the social networking boards- they keep things fun and allow us to keep up with friends.  (I know I'm awful I haven't checked my space in like a year and it might be a year on the face book page too!)  People also love to upload those galleries to places like Flickr to share with family- only there are some problems you might not think of.

Here are a couple things to keep in mind with sites like Flickr.  You might not know but in that jumble of text you basically are giving away the copyright to your images you upload.  Yep.  So if Flickr wants to allow "acme itching cream" to use your image on their campaign... don't expect a royalty check or apology.  So our images we remind you keep the logo on them and the watermark.  #1- you don't want to be someone on the next embarassing ad & #2 we own the copyright so you can't really asign it to them with out a bunch of legal junk. 

Check out these Flickr snafoos with photos

Virgin Mobil

ticketmaster stole this image from Facebook and used it with no compensation to the person

Image thief steals photos from Flickr to sell on iStockphoto - this one is a person stealing images from a professional photographer who had a Flickr site  and then selling them iStock to make $$. 

excerpt from Anna Goodson's article click for link to article

"I think that everyone really should take the time to read them. They need to understand that anything they post on Facebook can be used by Facebook and re sold to a third party. This is very important, particularly artists who are sensitive to their copy rights.

Under the terms of Facebook,

User Content Posted on the Site

“When you post User Content to the Site, you authorize and direct us to make such copies thereof as we deem necessary in order to facilitate the posting and storage of the User Content on the Site. By posting User Content to any part of the Site, you automatically grant, and you represent and warrant that you have the right to grant, to the Company an irrevocable, perpetual, non-exclusive, transferable, fully paid, worldwide license (with the right to sublicense) to use, copy, publicly perform, publicly display, reformat, translate, excerpt (in whole or in part) and distribute such User Content for any purpose, commercial, advertising, or otherwise, on or in connection with the Site or the promotion thereof, to prepare derivative works of, or incorporate into other works, such User Content, and to grant and authorize sublicenses of the foregoing. You may remove your User Content from the Site at any time. If you choose to remove your User Content, the license granted above will automatically expire, however you acknowledge that the Company may retain archived copies of your User Content. Facebook does not assert any ownership over your User Content; rather, as between us and you, subject to the rights granted to us in these Terms, you retain full ownership of all of your User Content and any intellectual property rights or other proprietary rights associated with your User Content.

So that said, basically anything that is posted on Facebook can be used or sold by them to anyone. Yes, you do retain full ownership but you automatically grant the usage over to them."

We live in a rapid moving, ever changing world and as all this techonology makes our lives easier we will find a new set of complications.  I don't advocate living in a cave or not sharing- that of course makes life fun and lively.  However, I do think there are some precautions that people should take to make sure they aren't being taken advantage of.  More on this later....

Buyer Beware Fauxtographers are out there...

Photography has been my passion and love for many years, unfortunately, like any industry there are some bad apples that make is hard on everyone.  There is a growing trend in our industry that clients should be aware of and it has effected how we even do things at inky-dinky-do.  We are now adding the light ©inky-dinky-do© to  the blog postings.  Please know this has nothing to do with our wonderful clients- we allow all our clients to download off the blog to their personal computers provided they leave the logo.  I have to say clients have been great about that and it is fun to stumble across one of our images on a family blog or a myspace.  However, in the last year we have had problems not with clients, but other photographers stealing our images.  About once a week there is a new photographer exposed for posting images on their website that do not belong to them.  Seriously, I know it sounds odd.  Everyone that got a camera for Christmas and can buy a website is a "photographer" these days and  some are even stealing images to post to get clients in the door.  Not only is that a legal issue for using my image to promote your business, but what about the poor person that books them thinking they can do that work?  What about my client who you just took the image of them and put it on your site- they didn't give you permission to do so.  As a professional in the industry for 17 years it makes me sad to see this happening.  We haven't yet decided if we will add the ©watermark to all images on the website (which is changing soon) or just to the blog posts for now.  Please know this isn't a punishment to our clients, but a safeguard to our clients and our images from being used elsewhere. 

Here is an example a recent "fauxtographer".  She has taken image from several photographers around the country and Canada.  If you look at the video you will see a fellow photographer recorded her site with the photos on it before she could delete them.  If you look at her blog you will see her work isn't even close to what you see on the site.  I am blessed to be in a network of photographers that are quick to alert each other if stumble on images that we know the real photographer.

Recorded Website of Stolen Images

The Website which now has her images after being exposed, the quality is obviously different than before.

*This happened in St. Louis and while the offending photographer is named Ashley Karandjeff and operates under Hoffman Photography  this is not the same company as Jerry Hoffman Photography & Video in the same town which is called Hoffman Photography & Video.- never met the guy but I hope he doesn't get any fall out for her actions having a name virtually the same!*

As a photographer what to do if you have images stolen by another photographer. (be certain before doing anything)
- record the site or at least screen shot the entire site- yours might not be the only images stolen.
- don't contact the photographer immediately- you need to record it before they delete them all.
- notify PPA, state affiliations, DWF,ILP,WPPI- any of the associations that this person may belong to and make them aware of the situation.
- contact any other photographers that you recognize the work of on that site.
- then contact the photographer
- decide what if any legal action you would like to take

As a consumer how to not get taken by a "fauxtographer"
- websites are a great way for photographers to show portfolios, but go see the actual prints in their place of business- look for large prints- you can't get a good wall portrait off  someone's website.
- If you saw things on the site and they aren't on the walls... why?  Photographers like to show off their work and if it is a stunning shot they will most likely have it up.  Now keep in mind we shoot a lot and change things all the time... but if there are NO big prints that look like the quality you saw on the web- that should be a flag.
- are there locations that you have never seen before?  If you are stealing images from the web- well the world is your shoot room.  I've seen people steal images from photographers in Australia and Canada- complete with notable landmarks- yet the "fauxtographer" has never been out of state.  (that is one amazing camera then!)
- compare their website and blog.  For some reason they will often post the images to the website, but wont blog them.  Maybe they are OK with stealing and mis-representing their abilities, but don't want to come up with at blog story about them!
- if you aren't seeing any people and locations you know- ask for local references and the images of that family.  Sure they may not want to give out everyone's information, but there should be some testimonials, or local people that they wouldn't mind putting you in contact with if need be.
- Finally, trust you radar- you know what I'm talking about... that little voice that says.... "wow this work is amazing and  I can't believe it is so cheap... "  It most likely wasn't cheap for the person that created it and like most things you do most often get what you pay for.

how about some cool stuff for the house

I thought it might be fun to see some cool new things for the house...How  about a sink that follows you... creepy or super cool?  The Hidden Tap by Jalmer Moorman is a new idea that uses a sensor to follow your hands and dispense water.

Moonlight Sound globes stylishly conceal integrated speakers providing up to 200 watts of crisp, clean audio combined with rich LED lights that change color with the rhythm of your music.

Take a look at the Ammonite washbasin from HighTech that is shaped as a fossil. This unique design showcases the organic qualities of concrete.

An interesting idea for displaying some artwork

WALLIES® Peel & Stick Chalkboard

Removable and repositionable
vinyl chalkboard sheets  Four 9" x 12" panels  and chalk included

Just add water

So for those that don't know last week was crazy with our Surfs Up and Indiana Jones.  I've been neglecting the blog because we have been trying to get everything ready for clients to preview and orders to lab for those that already have!

So just thought I'd share a couple real fast... more to come as we had a great time both above and below the water!  I even have a sunburn to prove it!

How about our buddy Boyd...

Wendy went with a custom 16x16 for the wall that was as fun as this crazy kid!

Madi helped with all the underwater shoots and let me tell you ask any of the older kids that did underwater and they will tell you it is work... and fun!  These kids make it look easier than it is... keep in mind that glass float wants to float not sit nicely as Tori is holding it! 

Batman vs Mama Mia

Mike took the girls to the midnight showing Thursday when Dark Night was released.  I had some retouching to do so I stayed behind and will be fine with the DVD release eventually.  So tonight Mike & I went to dinner and a movie!  My husband is quiet the romantic and while normally the rule for him with a movie is that it must have some great chase seen or something blowing up to warrant the big screen... he took me to MamaMia.  I know!  believe it or not he wasn't the only guy in there either.  He knows I have always loved ABBA. (how that mixes with my AC/DC I don't know- it just works)
So the kids and Mike loved the Dark Night and recommend it.  MamaMia was upbeat and a bit campy and fun.  Hard to believe they built a musical around a series of unrelated songs- but they did  and it worked. 

Now harder to believe.....   took this shot on the iPhone of the 10:50 show with people lined up 2 hours early... been like that for days since Dark Knight opened!

Wooo Hoooo who loves Dana's Mom... we love Dana's Mom!

Angela called me to come by the office Friday in between stuff .... why?  Because there was a care package for me!!!  Dana's Mom is just the sweetest lady ever and I keep teasing her to send me those goodie bags not Dana in the Navy... well ha ha Dana we got your cookies!  The kids of course were more than happy to see the care package and while I offered Angela one... she didn't need one 'cause she had her own stash hidden! 

<like a chorus now...> Thanks Dana's Mom!!!!

Ok so I'm impressed even with the presentation!  I think we should have hired Dana's Mom instead of Dana!  (jk Dana)

Why yes that is 3 types of sugary goodness.... snickerdoodles, Peanut Butter AND chocolate chip! 

No wonder why I can't lose weight, my "peeps" as Madi would say, feed me!

Thanks "Mom" I'll have my laundry in a pillowcase ready for you next week!  ;)