Sunday, June 21, 2009

Book review: A digital Photographer’s Guide to Model Releases

A digital Photographer’s Guide to Model Releases
reviewed by Dr. Eric Flescher, Olathe, KS: (dreric1kansas@aol.com)

Author: Dan Heller
Publisher: Wiley Publishing , Inc. 111 River Street, Hoboken, NY 0703 Released: March 31, 2008
Pages: 288
$30 USA
$ 33 Canada
ISBN-10: 0470228563
ISBN-13: 978-0470228562

Strengths: Comprehensive information about model releases. Full color and additional hints abound through the book. Excellent model photographs highlight nice examples. Vertical tabs at the side of each page highlight main part of the section. Nice yellow like sticky notes are strategically placed throughout the book and the pages, to portray tips and highlight specific concerns or ideas that are relevant to the chapter/ pages or text.

Weaknesses: None

Novice/Intermediate/Advanced

Rating: 5/5


Introduction

Taking photos of people, places and many types of visuals, for publication, is commonplace. However in many lines of work, the necessity and use of model release forms is misunderstood, to say the least. Sometimes the nuances are not quite understood or well defined in many cases, by photographers or the places of business themselves. The book Model Releases: A digital Photographer’s Guide, helps to clarify the meaning of much of the process and update advanced in print media and more in recent years.

The author has been a freelance photographer and photo industry analyst. His works have been featured in publicaiotns from news and business media to fine arts books. This book is the result of over five years of his research to model releases. He is well versed in the changing trends that have transformed books, the press, music and much more, in recent years. His knowledge is transmitted to this book in a very readable and understandable way.

The seven part book covers a wide range of important topics within its 288 pages. The titles of the parts of the book highlight the necessity of model releases. These are : Everyone’s doing it ; So what’s wrong; What’s a model release ; Understanding “use”; Analyzing the need for a model release; Dealing with photos of property; The business of Licensing. The book makes it much easier to clarify when releases are needed and not needed. What buyers need in the way of model releases, and those who don't need releases are summarized. Also included is information for marketing and licensing all your photos, whether they have been released or not. Also the author does the best he can in accumulating years of information and distilling helpful information in one book.

The book is relevant to those in the United States and abroad. The author helps to define in clear terms, what should be initiated and followed through, under many situations and circumstances. He is clear and concise so that misinformation does not occur and clarity of the releases are understood. The well illustrated text is a very comprehensive book available on the subject, covering everything you would to know about model releases. The releases pertain to people, places and additional circumstances. Much has changes in light of a photographer's role in the creation of photographs that may be uses on or in conjunction with the internet, with digital photography. newspapers, books and magazines.

Conclusions

This important book is both insightful and a pleasure to read and understand. The book is useful for everyone from professional photographers whose work involves photography to those amateur photographers who take vacation pictures on vacation, take photos of at their children' s teams/games, schools or more. This book also includes information about models themselves and what they can learn about their rights concerning how they can protect themselves and when that is not possible.

The importance of this book is highlighted by the fact that a well known GPS technology firm “stole” (or should we say “did not secure properly”), music from my daughter’s business/ firm. Whether it was on purpose or not, she had to set them straight and went through the proper channels. This was an interesting event and it served to highlight what should and needs to be done in the way of copyrighting materials. In addition, a firm in Africa wanted to use one of my photographs for their greeting cards. To make a long story short, I had to find that person and that firm, after they used my photographs, as the individual did not forward my payment. If I would have had the information from this book beforehand, I would have know the proper course of action to take to protect myself with the transaction. This book would have let me know, in advance, the proper procedures so that the situation would have not occurred. Now I am better prepared. And you will be too if you read this well prepared book.

Whether you are in business, work with photographs whether your home, business or personal use or involved in possible interactions with businesses, this book is well worth reading. There is something to be said for knowing and understanding your rights, as well as the rights of clients and businesses. That way you can make the best decision about your photos that possible will end up in businesses, books or other forms.

Saturday, June 20, 2009

iPod Saves Girl from Lightning Bolt Strike

(June 19) -- Sophie Frost was lucky to receive an ipod from her grandmother, not just for enjoying tunes on the go but for saving her life several days later when she was struck by a powerful bolt of lightning.
The 14-year-old British girl was hit by a 300,000-volt bolt while she and her boyfriend were standing underneath a tree. Although the impact knocked them both out and left them with minor burns, the electricity was diverted away from her vital organs, the Daily Mail reported.

http://www.gnn.com%2Farticle%2Fipod-saves-lightning-strike-victim%2F534805

http://www.theregister.co.uk/2009/06/19/ipod_lightning_strike/

Monday, June 15, 2009

More on Snow Leopard

* More on Snow Leopard

After last week's Worldwide Developers' Conference, we now know
that Snow Leopard will cost Leopard users $29 ($49 for the family
pack) when it ships in September. But what do you get for your
$29? Are there more features than what Apple had previously
announced since first confirming Snow Leopard a year ago?

If you followed any of the WWDC keynote coverage, you know the
answer to that question is yes. In addition to Snow Leopard's
already-known features, Apple revealed some very interesting
things about the next major OS X release. I detail them all at
Macworld.com.

http://www.macworld.com/article/141038/2009/06/106features.html

- Rob Griffiths

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

* Our Top Story

iPhone 3G S: What you need to know
We answer frequently-asked questions about Apple's new iPhone
http://www.macworld.com/article/141143/2009/06/iphone3gs_faq.html?lsrc=nl_mwweek_t_cbintro


* Mac News and Reviews

The Macalope Weekly: WWDC fallout
As Apple's Worldwide Developers Conference draws to a close, the
Macalope examines the radioactive remains of this week's
announcements and predictions.
http://www.macworld.com/article/141121/2009/06/macalope_fallout.html?lsrc=nl_mwweek_t_cbstories

Reassessing the 'Apple Tax'
PC World's Michael Scalisi is rethinking the so-called Apple tax
after Monday's changes to the Mac laptop lineup.
http://www.macworld.com/article/141085/2009/06/appletax.html?lsrc=nl_mwweek_t_cbstories

What's new in iPhone 3.0
Apple showed off a number of the new features coming in iPhone
3.0 at Monday's WWDC keynote. While we saw many of them demoed
earlier this year, there were a few new surprises.
http://www.macworld.com/article/141069/2009/06/iphone3_new_features.html?lsrc=nl_mwweek_t_cbstories

The MacBook turns Pro
On Monday, Apple overhauled its entire laptop line. Dan Frakes
thinks the result is great for Mac laptop buyers, who can now pay
for performance rather than having to trade features for lower
price.
http://www.macworld.com/article/141046/2009/06/macbookgoespro.html?lsrc=nl_mwweek_t_cbstories

Canon PowerShot A480
If youre a tripod-shooter, a steady-handed photographer, or just
want a bargain-bin camera with good image quality, the PowerShot
A480 is worth a look.
http://www.macworld.com/article/140798/2009/06/powershot_a480.html?lsrc=nl_mwweek_t_cbstories

WWDC keynote in review
The star of the Monday's WWDC keynote may very well have been the
brand-new iPhone 3G Sboasting higher speeds and added features
such as voice control, video capture and a compass. But several
other products had their moment in the spotlight as well.
http://www.macworld.com/article/141050/2009/06/mwvodcast112.html?lsrc=nl_mwweek_t_cbstories

iPhone 3G S and the 'Uh Oh' moment
Sure, Monday's iPhone 3GS announcement may have unsettled some
phone manufacturers, but there may be broader implications for
gadget companies.
http://www.macworld.com/article/141039/2009/06/iphone3gs_and_gadgets.html?lsrc=nl_mwweek_t_cbstories

E3: iPhone Games Worth a Gander
E3 is over, but here's Chris Barylick's roundup of iPhone games
worth looking at -- titles that have either come out or will be
coming out soon.
http://www.macworld.com/article/141023/2009/06/iphoneroundup.html?lsrc=nl_mwweek_t_cbstories

Troubleshoot your Internet connection
Is your Net connection feeling poky? Are downloads taking
forever? The problem could lie anywhere along the line from your
Mac to your ISP. Glenn Fleishman explains how to get things back
up to speed.
http://www.macworld.com/article/140747/2009/06/troubleshootnetconnection.html?lsrc=nl_mwweek_t_cbstories

Image-placing shortcuts in Adobe InDesign
Adobe's InDesing page-layout application usually offers more than
one way to take care of a task. That's certainly the case for
placing images in a document. Join James Dempsey as he shows off
some ways to improve your productivity with a few handy keyboard
shortcuts.
http://www.macworld.com/article/141112/2009/06/indesign_imageshortcuts.html?lsrc=nl_mwweek_t_cbstories

MacBook Pro SD slot not just for digital camera cards
Apple's newest MacBook Pros feature built-in readers for Secure
Digital flash cards. But it turns out they can do more than just
help you offload your camera files.
http://www.macworld.com/article/141091/2009/06/sdcard_mbp.html?lsrc=nl_mwweek_t_cbstories

The Button as last resort
When a device has given up the ghost, the press of a couple of
key buttons could put things right.
http://www.macworld.com/article/141072/2009/06/the_button.html?lsrc=nl_mwweek_t_cbstories


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Friday, June 5, 2009

Steve Jobs is coming back yeahhhh!!!

Apple CEO Steve Jobs is on track to return from medical leave this month, and
there is even speculation that he may be present at the company's annual
software developers' conference next week at San Francisco, The Wall Street
Journal reported Friday, quoting people familiar with the matter.
http://cwflyris.computerworld.com/t/5205501/1394971/195498/0/

Friday, May 15, 2009

The Universe is not fair- humor cartoon

Now people are beginning to complain about Facebook and Twitter. See what computer they are using?

http://www.geekculture.com/joyoftech/joyarchives/1243.html