Back in the olden days when photographers used film, it was very very rare that a photographer would ever give the negatives to his\/her client.\u00a0 The negatives were the ONLY ones from the event and if something happened to those – there was no way to ever get a quality reprint of any images from the event.\u00a0 Most photographers stored these negatives for years on end just in case they were ever needed again.\u00a0 Times have changed and with it the method of not only taking the images but how we store them as well.\u00a0 There is no longer just one ‘negative’ of an image captured – there can be many and stored on many different media types as well.\u00a0 With it though comes the desire from the clients to also have that ability to have and store their negatives from the event as well – however not all photographers are willing to do so.\u00a0 Those photographers that do offer digital negatives will vary on not only what kind but also what size and finally what kind of copyright you get with those.\u00a0 Confused???\u00a0 Here’s some things that will hopefully help you wade the waters of the negatives.<\/p>\n
What is a digital negative?\u00a0 <\/strong>A digital negative is the file straight from the camera without any editing.\u00a0 This can be in JPG, TIFF or RAW format depending on what format the photographer captured the image in.\u00a0<\/p>\n JPG, TIFF and RAW?\u00a0 That’s photographer speak!!!\u00a0 <\/strong>JPG is the file format that most point-and-shoot cameras shoot in.\u00a0 JPG is the lowest file size of the three and has the lowest dynamic range.\u00a0\u00a0 JPG is the file format that most photo labs will require.\u00a0 TIFF is the next highest in file size as well as dynamic range but it is rarely recognized as a picture format by photo labs.\u00a0 RAW files are the largest file size but capture the most dynamic range that your camera is capable of capturing in a file.\u00a0 RAW files are not accepted at photo labs.\u00a0<\/p>\n Dynamic Range?\u00a0 <\/strong>Dynamic range is the range of color that your eye can see.\u00a0 Have you ever taken a picture at sunset and then looked at the picture and thought the sunset was much more vibrant in person?\u00a0 Your eye can see hundreds of thousands of different colors and can also see in shadow and in light at the same time.\u00a0 Your camera can only ‘see’ a fraction of this amount, depending on the camera at most 200 or so, and can only see either the darks or the lights.\u00a0<\/p>\n Why shoot RAW to go to JPG?\u00a0 <\/strong>When a photographer shoots in RAW they give themselves the ability to capture both the lights and darks as well as the most colors possible so that in post processing, they have the most color and light information possible to make the best possible image.\u00a0 Shooting in RAW also gives the photographer the ability to lighten and darken an image if the exposure is not perfect.\u00a0 After perfecting the image for color and exposure, the RAW image is then saved as a JPG enabling the image to go to print.\u00a0<\/p>\n What type of files will be on my disc?\u00a0 <\/strong>You need to ask your photographer what files will be on your disc if you get one with your package.\u00a0\u00a0 Most photographers do not release their RAW images files for varying reasons – the biggest one being that the general public typically does not have the ability to open these files.\u00a0 Some photographers give out the JPG images straight from the camera with no edits and some give out the edited images as they want them to be seen.\u00a0<\/p>\n Does having the disc mean that I own the copyright to them?\u00a0 <\/strong>No, the only person that has the copyright to the image is the photographer.\u00a0 This means that unless you have a written agreement with your photographer you cannot sell, distribute, print, change\u00a0or release the images on the disc.\u00a0 Meaning that you are not allowed to take these images to Wal Mart for printing, you cannot submit them to The Knot for publication, you cannot sell the images to US Weekly if you had a celebrity at your reception, you can’t give out copies of the disc to everyone that was at your wedding as a favor, you can’t have a Blurb album made from the images, you can’t photoshop your blemish out, you can’t email the pics to your bridal party,\u00a0you can’t post them to Facebook\/MySpace\/Flickr etc.\u00a0and you can’t give the images to any other vendors that you have had (even if they ask for them!).\u00a0\u00a0\u00a0<\/p>\n So what CAN I do with the images?\u00a0 <\/strong>When given a digital negative disc with no copyright releases, that basically is a disc for safekeeping for you if something ever happens to your photographer’s set or your printed items.<\/p>\n What if I get a release?\u00a0 <\/strong>Most photographers will not transfer full copyright to the client, but some will give out a Limited Copyright License Agreement stating that you are able to reprint the files.\u00a0 Keep in mind this is only applicable to the person(s) named on the release, this isn’t for Aunt Sally to take to her local store to print with.\u00a0 Many photo labs will ask for the release and will not give out images to anyone but the person(s) named in the release.\u00a0 Also take note if there is a restriction on the size of the file that you are permitted to print.\u00a0 This still doesn’t mean that you can do what you want with the image files – it only allows you to print the files out.<\/p>\n Low-resolution, mid-resolution, high-resolution – what!?<\/strong>\u00a0 Each photographer is different on what size of files they offer the client.\u00a0 Some only offer low-resolution files which means that they are only suitable for web use (Facebook, MySpace and the like).\u00a0 Mid-resolution files are usually sized to be printed off as a 4×6 so you can have physical proofs from the wedding but for higher image sizes you have to order prints from the photographer.\u00a0 If you try and be sneaky and print the image off a mid-resolution file at a larger size you may find yourself pretty surprised at how awful the image looks.\u00a0 High-resolution files are the file unsized and should be able to be printed to whatever size your heart desires.<\/p>\n This disc will last forever right?<\/strong>\u00a0 No, DVDs do have a shelf life of 5-10 years or so on the average.\u00a0 I highly suggest that you back up your images on an archival disc every 3 years or so to ensure that the images will be there for a lifetime.\u00a0 You also may want to back up the images on an external hard drive or another means of data storage in case something ever happens to your disc.\u00a0 Finally, I also highly suggest keeping your disc in a cool, dark space – preferably in a safe.\u00a0<\/p>\n How long do you keep your files?<\/strong>\u00a0 I keep my files indefinately but after the intial backups (2 times on DVD or CD, once on an external hard drive and once online) I do not repeat backing up the files.\u00a0 Once you recieve a disc, you are responsible to ensure that the images last a lifetime.\u00a0 Each photographer is different, ask yours how they backup and how long the files are available.\u00a0<\/p>\n I hope this helps solve a few of the questions that you may have about digital negatives and what all that mumbo-jumbo really means.\u00a0 If you have any questions, please comment and I will do my best to answer them!<\/p>\n","protected":false},"excerpt":{"rendered":" Back in the olden days when photographers used film, it was very very rare that a photographer would ever give the negatives to his\/her client.\u00a0 The negatives were the ONLY ones from the event and if something happened to those – there was no way to ever get a quality reprint of any images from 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