Expensive BrightRoom Event Photos

[KnottedYet]

It's $50 to order a CD with the 10 or so pictures of me (some not so good) taken by the photographers at my tri. Kinda pricey, but the only photos of me "in action".

Has anyone had any experience with ordering these? Any regrets?

[Kitsune06]

I'll probably get booed and hissed, but because the only thing I used my photos for was to show mom 'n pop at home, and a few friends, I just grabbed my pics off the site and used Photoshop to take the little copyright bands off them. I know, I'm bad, but Im' not using it for my personal gain... just to keep for myself.

[Aggie_Ama]

I have never bought them. Both years we did the MS150 I thought it was outrageous. This year they got some good shots of the both of us, but I can't justify the ridiculous expense.

[DeniseGoldberg]

I'll probably get booed and hissed, but because the only thing I used my photos for was to show mom 'n pop at home, and a few friends, I just grabbed my pics off the site and used Photoshop to take the little copyright bands off them. I know, I'm bad, but Im' not using it for my personal gain... just to keep for myself.

Yup, I'm one of the folks who will give you a hard time for this. I agree that the prices that are on these photos may be a bit high - but grabbing the photos off the web (without paying for them) is really a form of theft.

I publish my own photos on the web, and while I'm not a professional photographer the thought of people saving these photos locally really bothers me. (Reminder to self: I guess I really do need to upgrade my photo site to disallow right-click saves, although I'm well aware that folks could still use screen capture tools.)

--- Denise

[SadieKate]

Sorry, I'm with the Denise. Those photographers aren't there as volunteers. They are professionals with very expensive cameras, lenses, timing equipment and computers. It takes skill, knowledge and labor to take the photos, to organize and deliver them. It is a product/service just like anything your own companies sell. If you don't pay for the photo this time, they won't be there the next time or they'll raise their prices just like stores that have to price their items high enough to cover loss from shoplifting. Or bookstores having to cover loss from damaged books and magazines because people use them like a library.

BTW, I bought two prints and a CD at this year's Party Pardee. I've enjoyed having them because there are so few good photos of either of us on road bikes. Not all of us have a Thom in our lives (Veronica's hubby).

[Veronica]

That's actually pretty cheap. The going rate is about $20 for an 8 x 10 print, so to get a CD that you can make as many prints up as you want is a good deal.

Camera gear is not cheap. Thom's gear purchased new was about $10,000! And he's not a pro. They often have multiple camera bodies, costing between $1000 and $3000 each. Not to mention their time. And it's not just shooting time, it's also the time to process. And they need to make enough off a weekend's shooting to pay the bills.

It's hard to make money as a photographer. I know I'm biased, but I think Thom is good enough to be a pro - but we couldn't afford it.

V.

PS Taking them off a photographer's website is stealing.

We've found our stuff in some odd places. That's why the tandemhearts logo is so huge.

[Bluetree]

I don't mean lecture anyone about what you should or should not do... I just want to explain the situation here.

A big part of my work as an artist deals with copyrights. Because of my subject matter and background, I am also an accredited sports photographer and personally know many professional photographers. So this is a subject matter I'm pretty familiar with.

A freelance photographer is in a tough situation... equipment is expensive and it is a constant cost... technology is expanding so fast that anyone who is serious has to keep up with the latest innovations. Those prices can be astronomical because photographers cannot wait until the photo market corrects and prices come down. And it's not just the camera equipment. Clients demands may require satellite hookups, instaneous downloads, faster computers, etc. (I have a $3000 camera that is about a year and a half old... and I feel antiquated in comparison.) All those expenses are passed on to the customer and, simply put, helps to put food on the table. If people stop paying for the service, the service goes away because they cannot stay in business. Sometimes, it's their own fault because, as you say, the quality is subpar. Sometimes, it's because they cannot sell enough because it's much easier for people to take it for free.

Regardless of whether the photos are worth the money, copyright violation is a scurge that I am fighting all the time. I work hard (60-80 hours a week), I went to a prestigious art school on a scholarship after studying myself to exhaustion in high school. In some instances I have sacrificed relationships, my health and peace of mind for my work. I've spent dreary afternoons in the rain waiting for that one shot, bitten by rouge horses, and scrimped and saved for that one lens, or that roll of $800 linen, or whatever. I've had to slog through 10-page contracts regarding permissions and releases and have had to pay my attorney just to make sure all my dealings are completely legal.

So you can imagine how I must feel when people "take" my stuff without permission and use it for whatever reason. They may think they are flattering me, when instead I see it as a disregard (or ignorance) of all the effort I put into it. It is my WORK, just like an accountant, a fireman or a bank teller works. A musician "works" to make songs, and illegal downloads make sure he/she stays poor he may not be able to work anymore. And a photographer "works" to make pictures, good or bad.

Perhaps I am a bit sensitive about this, and people may say that it doesn't hurt anyone, since they wouldn't pay anyway. Well, imagine putting all your time and effort into writing a paper or thesis. You turn it in and get an "A". You later find out that someone else downloaded it illegally and used it in another class to get an A. It doesn't affect your "A" at all. But it doesn't feel so good, does it?

Sorry for going on so long.

[caligurl]

I'll probably get booed and hissed, but because the only thing I used my photos for was to show mom 'n pop at home, and a few friends, I just grabbed my pics off the site and used Photoshop to take the little copyright bands off them. I know, I'm bad, but Im' not using it for my personal gain... just to keep for myself.

yep.... still wrong... still ILLEGAL!

soooooo if you leave your bike outside.... and someone takes it to use just for themselves... NOT for personal gain... (they aren't going to sell it)... it's ok in your book?

[KnottedYet]

I'm not saying I want to snag the photos from the web (I don't know how, anyway.) I'm just asking if people have bought the CD's before, and if they were glad they did. Or if they didn't buy the CD's and wished they had.

I'm inclined to buy the CD, just because it was my first tri and I do want some pictures. There are a couple that I like. One is not of me (someone with a similar bib #, but not me). A couple are very out of focus and a couple are very over exposed.

I read the legal info on the BrightRoom site yesterday, and if I buy the CD I can make all the prints I want, post 'em on the internet, create Christmas cards, make avatars; whatever I want as long as I don't sell them.

Just want to know if anyone has bought the CD from their event, and if they are glad they did. I have until Oct 29 to get it without extra "archive" charge.

(There are a lot of artists in my life. I'm aware of copyright issues.)

[caligurl]

our posts weren't meant for you knotted... they were meant for kitsune who did snag them and altered them taking off the copywrite info!

[SadieKate]

You'll see that I did buy the CD and am glad. Can you get it cheaper with fewer pics? Or is it $50 with one or all photos?

[KnottedYet]

It's $50 regardless of the number of photos. I need to let them know that one belongs to someone else. Currently I'm wending my way through the "lost and found" for others of me. As long as I notify them of the L+F's that are mine, they will add them to the CD.

I'd like the CD because it seems like I could do more with the pics that way.

[SadieKate]

I agree. A friend of mine did the Tour de Tahoe with me a couple years ago. They got a spectacular shot of her above Emerald Bay. Of course, I look like a preggers pumpkin in mine because the wind went up under my wind vest at the crucial moment.

They had gorgeous 8x10 prints in folios at the end. A CD would have been nice so they could use it for other things, but the print from real film was just beautiful.

[Running Mommy]

Yeah knotted it, is steep, but then I figure that they had to go through all the pics and try to get them in order, publish them on the site, and then there is the cost of having the folks out there taking them, and the equip. etc. And of course they are there to make some $$ too. It is a service to you, and you have the choice to buy or not to buy (or steal I suppose, but that is just WRONG! ).
Personally I usually always cough up the dough. In fact at IMAZ I spent a TON on pics! Because I preordered them and paid 100 clams for the package, and then went back and ordered the cd- also 50 clams... But hey, it was my first IM, so I figured it was worth it.
And the good thing about the cd is you can make as many pics as you want.
So I say yeah, if you can afford it- go for it. You only do your first race once, and to have it documented on film is priceless. IMO- of course....
Denise

[roshelleuop]

Knotted,

I have purchased Bright Room photos before and yes, it was expensive but unless you are a photographer and are able to get all those shots, I think the money is worth it.

I was happy with what I received. I purchased a couple single pictures of my husband at a triathlon last year and it was cool becuase they printed the name of the triathlon, city, state, and date on the bottom of both pictures. I bought 2 6x9s and with shipping, etc. it cost me about $40, so I would strongly suggest if you are going to order, to order the whole CD. That way you can do whatever you want at your local walgreens. Plus, you have them online to post on TE!!!!!

Hope this helped!!!!

Roshelle from Milwaukee