Is this for real??!!

How about asking hiim to sign a legal document that he won't use the files for any other purposes than for what he said in his email. And will not give or sell the files to anyone. And will give you a by-line (copyright) on the prints.

Marq
http://www.pbase.com/marq

Eric Lamont said:

Perhaps I am overracting, but this email blew my mind. Here is
someone I dont know from Adam, asking me to send him my full rez
files, and flat out saying it would be out of the goodness of my
heart, not for cash.

I know a lot of my africa photos are nothing spectacular and wont
end up in N. Geo., but man..... Yeah, I'm thinking no.....

===============

Eric,

Was browsing your photos of S. Africa and like several of them very
much. I am
an avid photographer myself, but unfortuneately am confined to the
Midwest USA.
My wife and I are remodeling our bedroom in an African theme, and I
have been to
my local zoo in an attempt to get some photos to frame for the walls.
Unfortuneately the fences and background do not lend themselves to
anything
realistic. I would like to ask your permission to use several of
your photos
for this purpose, and would like to get the original files if
possible, as I am
wanting to do some photoshop work and print them at a fairly large
size.

The photoshop work I am looking to do is using a technique that
Stephen LeQuier
put together that gives a very realistic watercolor appearance.

I am sure ideally you would like to get paid for this, however budget
constraints right now don't really permit me to make much of an offer.

Please let me know if this might be possible.

Thanks

=================

Fella, if you are a dpreview user, I'm sorry but I had to share
this. Names have been omitted to protect reputations.

--
Eric Lamont
http://www.pbase.com/elamont
http://www.pbase.com/ericlamont (formal portfolio for now...)

'Above all, it's hard learning to live with vivid mental images of
scenes I cared for and failed to photograph' - Sam Abell

Click to expand...

--
MSChecan
Staying Focused

lisafx said:

Eric Lamont said:

Thanks for the ideas. I suppose I could do it at cost and send him
the prints. If he was so inclined I suppose he could scan the
photo and do what he wanted with it. Of course, any buyer can.

Click to expand...

Eric, I see no reason to give this guy anything at cost. He is
redecorating his house! In a "theme" no less. It's not like the
guy is living in a box.

I seriously doubt the folks selling him the furniture, rugs, lamps,
art objects, paint, etc. to redecorate are giving him anything at
cost and you can be sure he didn't ask them. If he's really an
avid photographer, he should PREFER to hang his own artwork anyway,
and if he's as good with photoshop as he thinks, it shouldn't be a
big chore to mask out the fences in the background and replace them
with foliage.

Lisa

--
LisaFX
http://www.pbase.com/lisafx

Click to expand...

--
Good photography comes with experience. Experience comes from bad photography.

TJB



My Website: http://svphoto.us

Eric, I think this is a very well reasoned and fair approach. I am shocked to see you actually berated for wanting to be fairly compensated for your work! You are not being selfish to simply place a value on your hard work and talent. It would be foolish and self-depracating of you to just give away full sized files to a total stranger.

I see nothing wrong with asking a fair price for your work. In fact, when talented semi-pros give away their work, they devalue the whole field of photography and make it harder for the full time pros to make a living.

Try posting this same thread in the pro forum and the folks who actually make a living at photography will have a whole different take on this issue.

Lisa

Eric Lamont said:

thank you for the interest in my photos! I'm afraid I am not
comfortable sending out full resolution files of my photos. I'd be
happy to have prints made and mailed to you. I think we could find
an acceptable price as I'm not out to make millions on these photos.

Also, if this watercolor technique you mention is a photoshop
action you could always email it to me, I can apply it to the
images you want, show you web sized version of the results and if
you are happy, then have a print made.

Let me know,

Thanks.

***********

grablife said:

That's a very reasonable and balanced response. Those who give away
their work value their work as valueless. I know exactly what you
mean about those assume they can ask for your work for free. Would
anyone here think it's reasonable to walk into an airport and ask
the airline to give them a free ticket for that empty seat.
Afterall, it's not going to cost them anything.

No need to apologize for asking for a fee for your work. Do you
apologize to your boss every two weeks when he gives you a payroll
check?

Eric Lamont said:

My thoughts are:

• first and foremost, no way. Not giving away originals.

• I'll offer to print images for him at a reasonable cost.

• If he says no, then thats the end of it.

I sincerely hope I didnt offend anyone, or make people think I am
selfish. Its probably true that this guy isnt trying to take me
for a ride, and isnt going to reprint my photos thousands of times.

What bothers me still, is the principle of the thing. Its so far
outside my realm of acceptable behavior I have set for myself, that
it really seems bizarre to me.

Finally, to those who say I have nothing to lose, and that it would
be some sort of public service, I would only say this: if you
worked hard to capture a nice picture, would you (without
hesitation or concern) hand over YOUR originals to ME for free,
just because I say I cant pay you for them?

If you say yes you would, I'm sorry, but it seems like you dont
value your own work enough....

Thanks for all the thoughts, from both sides. I really appreciate
this great forum.

Eric Lamont

Eric Lamont said:

Perhaps I am overracting, but this email blew my mind. Here is
someone I dont know from Adam, asking me to send him my full rez
files, and flat out saying it would be out of the goodness of my
heart, not for cash.

I know a lot of my africa photos are nothing spectacular and wont
end up in N. Geo., but man..... Yeah, I'm thinking no.....

===============

Eric,

Was browsing your photos of S. Africa and like several of them very
much. I am
an avid photographer myself, but unfortuneately am confined to the
Midwest USA.
My wife and I are remodeling our bedroom in an African theme, and I
have been to
my local zoo in an attempt to get some photos to frame for the walls.
Unfortuneately the fences and background do not lend themselves to
anything
realistic. I would like to ask your permission to use several of
your photos
for this purpose, and would like to get the original files if
possible, as I am
wanting to do some photoshop work and print them at a fairly large
size.

The photoshop work I am looking to do is using a technique that
Stephen LeQuier
put together that gives a very realistic watercolor appearance.

I am sure ideally you would like to get paid for this, however budget
constraints right now don't really permit me to make much of an offer.

Please let me know if this might be possible.

Thanks

Click to expand...

Click to expand...

--
http://www.PatYuen.com

Click to expand...

--
Eric Lamont
http://www.pbase.com/elamont
http://www.pbase.com/ericlamont (formal portfolio for now...)

'Above all, it's hard learning to live with vivid mental images of
scenes I cared for and failed to photograph' - Sam Abell

Click to expand...

--
LisaFX
http://www.pbase.com/lisafx

well put Lisa. there have been a few other analogies in this thread that are quite pertinent (the one about thanking your boss for the pay check springs to mind). i think the fact that this is a total stranger asking for YOUR work Eric is enough to have put a dubious spin on things. fair enough if it was someone you know well who has an interest in your art, i'm sure you'd be happy to give away a print or twelve, but full res files.....i don't think so.
as someone who enjoys seeing the fruits of your labour Eric, i'm with you.

lisafx said:

Eric, I think this is a very well reasoned and fair approach. I am
shocked to see you actually berated for wanting to be fairly
compensated for your work! You are not being selfish to simply
place a value on your hard work and talent. It would be foolish
and self-depracating of you to just give away full sized files to a
total stranger.

I see nothing wrong with asking a fair price for your work. In
fact, when talented semi-pros give away their work, they devalue
the whole field of photography and make it harder for the full time
pros to make a living.

Try posting this same thread in the pro forum and the folks who
actually make a living at photography will have a whole different
take on this issue.

Lisa
--

Click to expand...

http://www.pbase.com/koiom

I gotta say, i am anti freeware / open source etc. I am a software engineer, it is what pays my bills, puts food on my table, allows me to make the initial outlay for exxy camera gear. If a customer came into my office (for which i must pay rent) one day asking me to write some software for free, you know where i am going to tell them to put it.

I dont work for free, and i dont expect others to work for free. You often hear comparisons like "well, gimp is free and open source, so why doesnt adobe release photoshop for free and open source??" - maybe because the people at adobe dont come into work each day for free, adobe must pay them a wage, and to pay that wage, they need to generate income from somewhere - most likely going to be the sale of their software. This kind of freeware environment is what leads to such a high level or software piracy - "Well, if i can get gimp for free, why should i pay for photoshop, i will just download a crack for it"

The same goes for photography. People say "well, it didnt cost you anything to take the shot, you just put your camera down and pressed the button" - when this should really read "I spent a few thousand dollars hopping on a plain to africa, i spent 2 weeks of my time, i took my camera gear which cost me x (insert camera, lens, flash, bag etc etc etc cost here) amount of money, then i spent my time going thru the photos, post prcessing, filtering etc, paid for the hosting of the images". When people start giving photos away for free, it undervalues the work done by people who are trying to earn a living from this sort of activity - "Why would i pay for your photo when someone else will give it to me for free" to which a response might be - "Well, my pictures are better quality, i used an L series lens, shot raw, used a 1ds etc" - "But i as a punter cant see the difference, and you are asking $x, i just cant see $x difference" at which point the (here we go, a good rant ) struggling photgrapher, who had to mortgage the house to buy the camera gear, has thier wife working in a diner to cover extra photography expenses, has 4 kids all running around in clothes from 4 years ago, no shoes and all working cleaning toilets to try and bring that little bit more money in to pay for tonights dinner - has lost a sale and now has to start looking for some other means of income (Ok, little over the top, but was fun).

If you look at photgraphy as a hobby, then i think you should atleast look to cover your expenses - how many amatuer artisits do you see giving away thier paintings at the local markets on a weekend? The raw / full res file is the master copy of the image - it is the same as the master recording for a record studio - they never sell the master, but copies of it, because the master is what other copies are made from. I would be pushing to sell the person prints, maybe at cost price if you are feeling generous, maybe at a little markup, but i dont think i would be giving away the master. Also, do you really want someone taking you "view" and photoshopping it? If they are not happy with the view you captured, then they should look elsewhere for someone that has taken what they are looking for. You have obviously beenthru your photos and picked the ones that you think best represent your style of photography, if they go and edit the image, it is no longer representative of the work you do.

Just my 2 cents (well, maybe 2 dollars worth)

Cheers,

Ben
--
Its not the speed that kills, its the sudden stop at the end.

I don't think he has been berated at all.

I for instance tried to pay him and have him see the compliment in the situation, only to be referred to a different post that he had 'already said he was flattered'...

It is appearent to me that the problem is a bad attidude. Eric is obviously angered by others inability to (foresee) that he has 2 jobs and is starving.

One with a more positive attidude might recognize that the potential customer (these are key words for an aspired professional Eric) has expressed interest . This is the A-#1 factor in ANY sale. Yes, it's a fact...someone actually has to want something before they will buy it....

But, instead of recognizing opportunity, he has chosen to come here and guarentee that his potential customer will be insulted.

Personally, I think your larest failure here is the inability to read between the lines.

first line----------------He has money (he is remodeling right?)

second line-----------He is interested in your work (he asked right?)

Somewhere in between these two lines is a price is he willing to pay. When he says he 'doesn't have budget for it', how do you know that he doesn't think you work is worth hundreds of dollars which he doesn't care to spend right now? Doesn't mean he isn't willing to pay an amatuer $50 for a photo.

Just because he asked to get them for free means nothing. You are not a professional...Your website (pbase) doesn't say Click here to purchase , why the heck wouldn't he ask? Maybe it is you that is putting too much value in your work. Has anyone else asked to buy anything from you?

And are you positive he even knows what your actual original is? Do you shoot RAW? Does he know that? Does he even know what RAW is? Chances are he just wants something higher res then whats on the web and has no clue what exactely that is...Hi-res doesn't have to equal original and if you ever want to be a "pro", guess what, it's your job to explain that too him, hopefully without offending him....your potential customer .

Sorry, but I think I got more upset about this as I wrote it. It erks me to know end how some you people think...

Just because someday you WANT to be a pro, doesn't mean you ARE one now. And guess what, with this attidude, i'm sorry to say it will probably never happen...either that, or get someone else to handle the sales/business.

my $.02

Ok, I usually don't get into these topics but was just wondering if you compensate Bill Watterson for every post that you make?

I know I am the odd one on this but I give away my stuff all the time.

When I shoot a wedding for someone, I give them all of the originals, even the ones that I think don't reflect my best work. This is because it may still have an element that they appreciate (Oh, there's Uncle Billy just before he passed away!)

Someone noted that if you give things away it loses value.
I believe "where your treasure is, there will your heart be also."

Now before someone jumps me here, no, I am probably not going to give you my car, or my house or cash. And, I am not saying you should give away your pictures that you worked so hard to get.

It just seemed a little incongruous to me.

Eric Lamont said:

thank you for the interest in my photos! I'm afraid I am not
comfortable sending out full resolution files of my photos. I'd be
happy to have prints made and mailed to you. I think we could find
an acceptable price as I'm not out to make millions on these photos.

Also, if this watercolor technique you mention is a photoshop
action you could always email it to me, I can apply it to the
images you want, show you web sized version of the results and if
you are happy, then have a print made.

Let me know,

Thanks.

***********

grablife said:

That's a very reasonable and balanced response. Those who give away
their work value their work as valueless. I know exactly what you
mean about those assume they can ask for your work for free. Would
anyone here think it's reasonable to walk into an airport and ask
the airline to give them a free ticket for that empty seat.
Afterall, it's not going to cost them anything.

No need to apologize for asking for a fee for your work. Do you
apologize to your boss every two weeks when he gives you a payroll
check?

Eric Lamont said:

My thoughts are:

• first and foremost, no way. Not giving away originals.

• I'll offer to print images for him at a reasonable cost.

• If he says no, then thats the end of it.

I sincerely hope I didnt offend anyone, or make people think I am
selfish. Its probably true that this guy isnt trying to take me
for a ride, and isnt going to reprint my photos thousands of times.

What bothers me still, is the principle of the thing. Its so far
outside my realm of acceptable behavior I have set for myself, that
it really seems bizarre to me.

Finally, to those who say I have nothing to lose, and that it would
be some sort of public service, I would only say this: if you
worked hard to capture a nice picture, would you (without
hesitation or concern) hand over YOUR originals to ME for free,
just because I say I cant pay you for them?

If you say yes you would, I'm sorry, but it seems like you dont
value your own work enough....

Thanks for all the thoughts, from both sides. I really appreciate
this great forum.

Eric Lamont

Eric Lamont said:

Perhaps I am overracting, but this email blew my mind. Here is
someone I dont know from Adam, asking me to send him my full rez
files, and flat out saying it would be out of the goodness of my
heart, not for cash.

I know a lot of my africa photos are nothing spectacular and wont
end up in N. Geo., but man..... Yeah, I'm thinking no.....

===============

Eric,

Was browsing your photos of S. Africa and like several of them very
much. I am
an avid photographer myself, but unfortuneately am confined to the
Midwest USA.
My wife and I are remodeling our bedroom in an African theme, and I
have been to
my local zoo in an attempt to get some photos to frame for the walls.
Unfortuneately the fences and background do not lend themselves to
anything
realistic. I would like to ask your permission to use several of
your photos
for this purpose, and would like to get the original files if
possible, as I am
wanting to do some photoshop work and print them at a fairly large
size.

The photoshop work I am looking to do is using a technique that
Stephen LeQuier
put together that gives a very realistic watercolor appearance.

I am sure ideally you would like to get paid for this, however budget
constraints right now don't really permit me to make much of an offer.

Please let me know if this might be possible.

Thanks

Click to expand...

Click to expand...

--
http://www.PatYuen.com

Click to expand...

--
Eric Lamont
http://www.pbase.com/elamont
http://www.pbase.com/ericlamont (formal portfolio for now...)

'Above all, it's hard learning to live with vivid mental images of
scenes I cared for and failed to photograph' - Sam Abell

Click to expand...

--- You paid big bucks to get to Africa , not to metion the cost of your camera, film or digital material, and your time. It was rather presumptious for the guy to make a request such as this, and your response was very professional.

Ranger a.k.a chammett
http://www.pbase.com/chammett

Correct me if i am wrong here, but when you say "When i shoot a wedding for someone" - i take it that you are being remunerated for taking the photos of the wedding?

If i was paying someone to take photos of my wedding, i would damned well hope that i got all the originals, otherwise i wouldnt be hiring them to take the photos. It is like when someone asks me to write some software for them (as opposed to asking me for a product) - if they have asked for software, i base the quote on the fact that they get the source code at the end of the project, and own the entire lot, they get all the code, with all the changes that have been made along the way, any redundant code that may have been brefily used etc, and are free to go and modify the code from there - but they pay a premium for this benifit, i charge a lot more for software as opposed to products (product being an end running solution that is delivered and all further maintenance coming back to me).

A good example of this is the sports illustrated article on rob galbraith's site, where it mentions that the photographers are required to send in all images to SI, alot of them dont even bother looking at the images first, they just burn and mail - SI is paying them to take photos, and SI owns the intellectual property contained in the photos - not the photographer - this is usually the kind of arrangement used in weddings is it not?

Cheers,

Ben
--
Its not the speed that kills, its the sudden stop at the end.

And you'll note its been removed. I guess I hadnt thought of that. I just loved C&H so darn much as a kid... but you're absolutely right.

sarge912 said:

Ok, I usually don't get into these topics but was just wondering if
you compensate Bill Watterson for every post that you make?

I know I am the odd one on this but I give away my stuff all the time.
When I shoot a wedding for someone, I give them all of the
originals, even the ones that I think don't reflect my best work.
This is because it may still have an element that they appreciate
(Oh, there's Uncle Billy just before he passed away!)

Someone noted that if you give things away it loses value.
I believe "where your treasure is, there will your heart be also."

Now before someone jumps me here, no, I am probably not going to
give you my car, or my house or cash. And, I am not saying you
should give away your pictures that you worked so hard to get.

It just seemed a little incongruous to me.

Click to expand...

--
Eric Lamont
http://www.pbase.com/elamont
http://www.pbase.com/ericlamont (formal portfolio for now...)

'Above all, it's hard learning to live with vivid mental images of scenes I cared for and failed to photograph' - Sam Abell

bdinnerv said:

Correct me if i am wrong here, but when you say "When i shoot a
wedding for someone" - i take it that you are being remunerated for
taking the photos of the wedding?

Click to expand...

No, I don't charge for the weddings that I do. I just do them for friends but I think you will find that many wedding photographers retain the rights to all photos. If you take a copy of a wedding portrait into a place like WalMart and try to make a copy they will ask for a release from the photograher to make prints. The same with Family portraits from a studio.

sarge912 said:

Ok, I usually don't get into these topics but was just wondering if
you compensate Bill Watterson for every post that you make?

Click to expand...

Good point - and good to see that Eric removed it when pointed out.

I posted earlier one of the 'it doesn't cost you anything' comments, but I didn't realize that you sometimes sold your work. Definitely that puts you in a position where giveaways may devalue it. I certainly don't consider you selfish for choosing not to give something away, but I also don't think it necessarily means that someone doesn't 'Value their own work' if they choose to do so.

-rh

photodood said:

photodood said:

Just because he asked to get them for free means nothing. You are

Click to expand...

not a professional...Your website (pbase) doesn't say Click here
to purchase , why the heck wouldn't he ask? Maybe it is you that
is putting too much value in your work. Has anyone else asked to
buy anything from you?

Click to expand...

so he should put value in his work. i'm betting everyone here puts some measure of value in their work, amatuer hobbyist or fully blown pro. the fact that Eric doesn't make his entire living by being a pro means absolutley squat, and your argument has little merit.

photodood said:

Just because someday you WANT to be a pro, doesn't mean you ARE one
now. And guess what, with this attidude, i'm sorry to say it will
probably never happen...either that, or get someone else to handle
the sales/business.

my $.02

Click to expand...

i'm tipping that whoever Eric did have advising him on his business affairs would certainly be sceptical about virtually giving away original files. thats what good business tends to avoid. as somone else here put it, if this was posted in the pro forum he'd have very few people disagreeing with his point of view
--
http://www.pbase.com/koiom

Then that arguement doesnt really apply here. In one of the other responses I mentioned that if it were a family member or friend or coworker (depending on which one) I'dgladly help out. I actually feel completely guilty letting anyone I know charge me for work.

This person however is a total stranger. If you would do a total strangers wedding for free, give them all original, and not ask for a penny, you are a bigger person than I am. And have a lot more free time too.

Eric

sarge912 said:

bdinnerv said:

Correct me if i am wrong here, but when you say "When i shoot a
wedding for someone" - i take it that you are being remunerated for
taking the photos of the wedding?

Click to expand...

No, I don't charge for the weddings that I do. I just do them for
friends but I think you will find that many wedding photographers
retain the rights to all photos. If you take a copy of a wedding
portrait into a place like WalMart and try to make a copy they will
ask for a release from the photograher to make prints. The same
with Family portraits from a studio.

Click to expand...

--
Eric Lamont
http://www.pbase.com/elamont
http://www.pbase.com/ericlamont (formal portfolio for now...)

'Above all, it's hard learning to live with vivid mental images of scenes I cared for and failed to photograph' - Sam Abell

I haven't done a lot of watercolor conversions, but one of the things I have heard is that they often come out better using lower resolution images. The pics you have online now may be large enough for him to work with without your permission, but he did come to you to ask for permission.

I would consider offering a lower rez image for say $50. It would be better than him taking it from online without giving you anything.

Please just keep in mind that you asked for opinions, and several people have given theirs. We're on your side...just trying to help. The photos are yours and decision is yours. Good luck!

Eric Lamont said:

And you'll note its been removed. I guess I hadnt thought of that.
I just loved C&H so darn much as a kid... but you're absolutely
right.

Click to expand...

I understand, I still miss the boy and the tiger. My kids have discovered him though books at the library and also have become big fans. He has really changed the way they build snowmen too!

Strange, every person that i know that has been married recently, for film got a print of all the images they wanted and all the negatives. In the case of digital, they got a print of the images they wanted and all the files on cd.

I was speaking to someone the other day that is getting ready to get married, and they said that the photgrapher they were going to use cost a little less than some others, but what the arrangement was was that they would get the prints they wanted up front, and not get the CD for 6 months - this way the photographer had an income stream for 6 months form any reprints, but after this all files were to be handed over - this i thought was a good way of doing it.

We dont have WalMarts in aus, so cant comment on thier policies, but i can safely say that i have never been asked for a photographic release when getting a print done - the whole turning up with a cf card with a 30 odd meg tiff image file on it kind of indicates that you were the photographer, or have the right to use the image.

Cheers,

Ben
--
Its not the speed that kills, its the sudden stop at the end.

Eric Lamont said:

And you'll note its been removed. I guess I hadnt thought of that.
I just loved C&H so darn much as a kid... but you're absolutely
right.

Click to expand...

Not to tick off the 'sarge or beat a dead horse that's already been driven into the ground, but I think your Calvin and Hobbes sig proves your point, it doesn't negate it.

You have a low res version, a reasonably depreciated representation of Watterson's art. Likewise, this guy has a low res version of your handiwork. If you want the high-res version, you buy a Calvin and Hobbes book. (Yukon Ho is my favorite). I pay for original music CDs when I like it, instead of just recording it off the radio, but no one stops me from recording songs from the radio.

I am not a lawyer, and I'm aware that my sentiment above does not follow the letter of the law. I tear the tags off of my mattresses and I don't stay in the crosswalk when I cross the street.

Don't pull your sig because you think you're being a hypocrite. You know the difference between a degraded sample and an exact copy. The people that turn a blind eye to that will always find a technicality to nail you on. They're the types that turned the justice system into a "legal" system and a business.

(last note, I'm not trolling for a fair-use argument, just sticking up for Eric)

Eric,

You're not over-reacting. It's your photo treat it as you wish. I personally would tell him I'm flattered and would consider any reasonable offer and leave it at that. The ball's in his court and his feelings aren't hurt.

It seems to me that there is no other possible way he could gain access to a full res file of this type of shot. Sounds vaulable to me - supply and demand and all...

Tom

Eric Lamont said:

Then that arguement doesnt really apply here. In one of the other
responses I mentioned that if it were a family member or friend or
coworker (depending on which one) I'dgladly help out. I actually
feel completely guilty letting anyone I know charge me for work.

This person however is a total stranger. If you would do a total
strangers wedding for free, give them all original, and not ask for
a penny, you are a bigger person than I am. And have a lot more
free time too.

Click to expand...

It's funny that you should say that.
Here is a portion of an email that I got yesterday.
*************************
Dear Scott:

I don't know if you'll remember me... but my boyfriend and I were at Huntington Beach one warm evening last summer and you were taking digital pictures of the sunset. You and your friend (taller fellow?) took a picture of us and sent it to my boyfriend. We also talked about the impact of the Lord on our lives and how church has had a positive impact on what we do and how we approach daily living. You also encouraged us to consider marriage. We both enjoyed that encounter very much.

Fast forward many months and is now my fiance, having proposed on Valentine's Day and presenting me with a beautiful ring on Easter Sunday. We are planning our wedding for Saturday, Sept. 25th of this year and are wondering if you'd be available for photographs, digital or otherwise? We're getting married at Church with the reception on the charter yacht , docked downtown.

I like your approach to living and enjoyed reading your testimony. Thanks for sharing your story.
******************************
I told them I would be pleased to do it. BTW, I let them pay for the prints.

Again, I am not saying you should do what I do or that I always feel the same way.

The last wedding I did was with a 10D that the bride's family rented for me, and I got to play with it for a few days so I am not saying that life is without its compensations. They just aren't always cash.

PS, you can find the last wedding I shot at http://www.medlong.com so you could decide for yourself if they were even worth giviing away.