Re: [MLUG - DISCUSSION] I missed the best woot evar

[Mike Miller <EMAIL:PROTECTED>]

On Mon, 12 Nov 2007, Jonathan King wrote:

> You have to be careful about this, however. Walmart I know has this 
> weird policy whereby if they think your photos look too good, and might 
> have been taken by a pro, they will refuse to make your prints. This 
> sounds like an urban legend, but it really did happen to my 
> brother-in-law, to his incredible and vociferous (via forwarded email) 
> annoyance. The weird thing is that he isn't *that* great a photographer; 
> he just made sure the background was decent and that people were 
> actually looking at the camera.


At the grocery store near my house, where they let us use a USB flash 
drive to print photos on the spot, they have a touch screen that requires 
the user to claim that the photos were not taken by a professional 
photographer.  That's it ... no discernible policing.  They don't even see 
your printed photos, nor does anyone else, but they might see what appears 
on the screen while you prepare to print.

Easy solution for pros:  Charge a lot for the first copy and a lot less 
for later copies.  Just let people scan/print if they want to.  You can't 
police them forever and letting them scan gives added value.  Using a 
really nice digital camera and giving them the original digital images, 
for a price, is another good idea.  In fact, that could be a great way to 
do it because it saves a lot on labor -- just give all the images files on 
DVD to the customer and let them deal with it.  Just set the price where 
it has to be and get your money before the session.  You can still do it 
old school for low-tech customers.

What if I have a professional photo taken 40 years ago (of course we do 
have such photos), and I want to make some copies.  The person who took 
the photo, and probably his company, are gone.  So what am I supposed to 
do?  I think it is fine to make copies!  Walmart should let me be.

Mike

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