To Watermark or… not to Watermark

I’ll admit… I’m torn. There are times when I just want to give away my work to someone. There are other times where I know that’s a kind and welcome gesture. There are other times where I know it is not a sensible thing to do for my business.

Even for friends and (not immediate) family, there are times where I want to hand out the images and there are times where I know I shouldn’t. In business, there seem to be the occasional opportunity to trade a photo for a product or service that someone else has to offer. But… I would like to develop an actual policy that has actual consistency to it. I do that in my “other” job, so why not this one? There are many legal cases regarding digital rights management. I know digital photos fall within that classification, so that should make this easy, right? Yeah… right.

For the standard visitor to our shopping cart, this is a no-brainer. Everything is watermarked. But what about an image taken of a friend at a picnic? Or images taken at church during worship? Is it necessary — or even appropriate — to watermark these images if posted on the church web site? I don’t presently do that, but I’ve had some folks tell me that I should. I’m torn. I want to do what is right for both the viewer and our brand.

We took some fun shots of a youth concert at our church several weeks ago. We published them to the church website without any watermark. ANY casual visitor can go see these images without any branding on them whatsoever. We love taking them and we don’t charge the church anything (we’re there anyway!) and people love looking at them. But… there is no association to us when a visitor views the images on the site. Hmm…

So, what say you? Do you think these should be watermarked? Or do you think these should not be watermarked? And why? Give me some honest input here.

I’m looking forward to hearing your thoughts.

Christian Concerts

I don’t know about the rest of you, but there is something remarkably powerful and truly special about a packed concert where the entire audience is like one big Praise and Worship choir.

Last weekend (Sunday, March 29), I had the distinct pleasure, honor, and blessing to be able to photograph the Chris Tomlin and Israel Houghton “Hello Love” concert at the Xcel Energy Center in St. Paul, MN. It was fantastic! The music is genuinely top drawer. Better than that, though, is that the Holy Spirit can be felt in the midst of 5,000+ fans singing along with these artists. Hands in the air… voices ringing out to give Glory and Honor and Praise to the Living God. It sometimes makes it hard to keep snapping the photos. Seriously. I have a hard time pressing the shutter release when my hands are in the air, too. 

Here is a link to our photos from that concert:

http://www.ccgcreativestudios.com/photocart/index.php?do=photocart&viewGallery=1658

For those that have not had the opportunity to hear some of these artists, you are missing out on one of the most popular and fastest growing music genres in the music industry. If you’re really into acid rock, heavy metal, punk, etc., then there are a few Christian artists covering your tastes, too. But the most popular segment is the popular rock sound, also referred to as “Contemporary Christian” or “Christian Pop”. We absolutely LOVE this music!!

We listen about as close to 24×7 as you can… we wake up to this music playing on our alarm clock, we play it in both of our family vehicles [each of our kids has their own cars, too, but they're obviously free to choose their own style of music, unless we're driving], we sing it in our church,  and I look for every opportunity I can get to volunteer to take pictures at these events.

To combine these passions — photography and Christian music — is an incredible blessing for me. I really love it!!

Feel free to browse the rest of these events at your leisure:

http://www.ccgcreativestudios.com/photocart/index.php?category=109

Let us know what you think. We know this music isn’t for everyone, but we’re sad that it isn’t. Everyone has the freedom to choose the music that appeals to them and that really is the way it should be. But maybe some just haven’t heard it yet… Check out your local radio markets for Christian music and see what you think. You never know… it could save you.