Look in your wedding contract. You might have given them rights to use your pictures in that.
I didn't have a wedding contract with the venue. It was privately owned and my FIL was part owner. We literally just picked out stuff and paid the bill.
Look in your wedding contract. You might have given them rights to use your pictures in that.
I didn't have a wedding contract with the venue. It was privately owned and my FIL was part owner. We literally just picked out stuff and paid the bill.
Is it possible your FIL gave them the photo?
I don't think you're overreacting and I think you have every right to ask them about it.
Post by imojoebunny on Mar 28, 2015 22:14:56 GMT -5
I would ask them to take it down. That is advertising and you did not agree to be in an advertisement for them, even if you inadvertently agreed to be in advertisements for your photog.
I would not contact a layer, unless they refuse to take it down and will not produce documentation that they have permission to use it (Which they most likely don't, unless you photog did something wanky before he left the country.
I would work with my lawyer buddy to request compensation for the modeling my H and I did in their print magazine, and let them know the fees we charge for the rights to use our digital image. I wanna get paid
Post by sunshineandpinot on Mar 29, 2015 7:31:49 GMT -5
I'm in the minority; I pretty much agree with @livinitup. As long as it was a good pic of us, I would be very flattered and wouldn't have a problem with it at all.
If it bothers you, I would start by calling and asking them to remove it. I would also make sure they know they don't have permission to use it in any more publications. I would also ask how they got it, as I would be curious.
I wouldn't jump to legal action until you had tried to resolve it amicably first.
ETA: This wouldn't bother me as long as I liked the photo. Our wedding planner has several photos of our wedding on her website and I was flattered. Of course she asked first though.
Post by polarbearfans on Mar 29, 2015 7:42:26 GMT -5
Your photographer probably gave them the photo at some point. I know a couple of my vendors asked my photographer and me for photos to use in their portfolios. When looking at venues, we also noticed language in the contract giving rights to use our images.
My photographer who I am still waiting to fulfill some of the contract has been using my picture. I am mainly mad because I am still waiting 5 years later for some items.
Why would you threaten legal action without first, you know, asking nicely? It may not take much to have them comply with your wishes.
Also, they have to have gotten the photo somewhere. Could your FIL be the culprit? Does he have any contacts there any more? Asking him a million questions would be my second angle.
I'm in the minority; I pretty much agree with @livinitup. As long as it was a good pic of us, I would be very flattered and wouldn't have a problem with it at all.
I think I agree with this. If it bothers you, I'd ask to have it taken down, but I don't know that legal action is necessary. What would you ask for anyway? Compensation? You haven't been harmed, right?
My wedding hair was used in some advertisements for the salon that did it. I think they took the picture, so maybe that's the difference here, but I thought it was pretty awesome that they thought I looked good enough to be used to advertise their services.
I'd be pissed, but I probably wouldn't jump immediately to legal action. I would contact them via some trackable method (in case it eventually goes to legal crap) that you want them to take down your photo and (if you feel like it) that you would want compensation for the use of it so far. I probably wouldn't ask for compensation, myself, but if you want to, it probably wouldn't hurt to ask. I would probably also ask them how they got the photo, because I'd want to know how that happened.
After that, if they don't remove the photo, I'd consider legal stuffs.
I wouldn't occur to me to be bothered by this, but I think you are well within your rights to ask that the image be removed from the website and not used in future print publications. I would not consider legal action unless you ask them to take it down and they refuse, but I can't imagine that happening.
I would ask them nicely where they got the image first.
You could send them an invoice for using the image in the magazine - if you have the rights to all the pictures, they need to pay you for having published it in the magazine.
I would want it taken down and would be pretty upset. I get why several people here wouldn't mind, but not everyone wants their stuff out there like that. This kind of thing would make me really anxious.
I would just ask for it to be taken down from the website in a professional manner. Before you do that, though, I'd be asking your FIL and others how they might have gotten your photo. As far as the magazine goes, there's nothing to be done about that, so if you want to pursue legal action, I don't know. I probably wouldn't go that far but this would stress me out big time so I don't think you're overreacting.
I would be angry if I had not agreed to have my images used like that, as you stated. Some people are private about their image being used, and using random images that are obviously not free stock photos without permission is shady.
But I would begin by drafting an email or certified letter to the company, asking them to remove it. I would also contact the magazine and let them know that the photo was used without your permission (and you are the legal owner of the photo). If they have it archived on their website they can at least remove it.
Actually, first, I'd ask FIL if he gave it to them to track down the source of the photo. Is it also possible they pulled it from an online account that had the venue name mentioned somewhere? It doesn't really matter how they got it, though; you are the owner of the rights to the photo.