Details

The specifications on this page represent our published standards and are contractual.

Instructions for the Photographer

This applies to all work sent or brought to the studio to be shot without the artist in attendance. Please mark individual items where necessary to indicate the side to be photographed, orientation, etc. Written instruction, descriptions, and sketches are essential, especially for jewelry. For groupings, please provide a sketch or photograph of the intended composition. 

Proofing

For photography created with the artist in attendance, proofing is on-the-spot. For work sent to the studio, our standard procedure is to shoot the work and then send low-resolution images to the artist for review. These images will be identical to the final master images in all aspects but resolution, and may be evaluated as indicative of the final images. The artist will have the opportunity to evaluate the images according to how well the images conform to the written instructions supplied prior to the shoot, or whether or not the images meet industry standards.

The artist should also evaluate the images based on color, tonal range, background, etc.  Most of these can be easily adjusted in Photoshop and we are happy to make adjustments where needed and submit additional proofs.  The artist should keep in mind, however, that unless they are viewing the images on a properly calibrated monitor, there is no guarantee of the accuracy of what they are seeing concerning subtleties of light and shadow and color tonalities.

Re-Shooting

Based on the review of the email proofs, we will re-shoot images which fail to meet the proofing standard outlined above. Meaning we will re-shoot an image at my expense which fails to conform to written instruction provided to me prior to the shoot. For example, we will re-shoot an image at our expense wherein we have oriented a piece of jewelry incorrectly, but only if we were given explicit instruction as to orientation prior to the shoot. We will not re-shoot an image at my expense because the photography has revealed defects which were not clearly visible to the naked eye, such as tool-marks or poor workmanship. High-resolution digital photography is a close-up medium which can be very unforgiving. Make sure your work can stand the scrutiny before you send it. We are happy to re-shoot an image in these circumstances, but the artist will pay for the re-shoot.

Image Editing

We are happy to work with the artist to make adjustments, alterations, or enhancements to any image(s) we produce. However, the artist needs to keep in mind that time used for making adjustments, alterations, or enhancements at the artist’s request is billable time, and will be billed at standard rates. For images to be used for juried competitions we will use every tool at our disposal to give you the very best images of your work. However, your work will nonetheless be photographed “as it is.”  We will make no alterations of the work, including painting out imperfections, removing blemishes, enhancing colors beyond how the piece actually looks, etc. This is to maintain a level playing field for all artists, so that it is the art work which is being juried, not our skills in Photoshop.

We consider images to be used in other types of promotion, such as Web sites, brochures, cards, etc., to be traditional advertising. For work of this type we will do whatever is requested concerning image editing, as is commonplace these days in all types of advertising.

Approval

It is our single goal to give you the best image(s) we can create. If you are unhappy with our work or my services please let us know promptly and we will do everything to make it right. However, we also ask the artist, to understand that photography is an art form itself.

Rights

In all cases, unless otherwise stipulated and agreed to in advance, final copyright to the images we produce are retained by Gallery 564. However, once the images are paid for, we transfer to the artist the rights to freely use the images we produce for them in any manner and medium they choose, without restriction, in perpetuity, and without further obligation to Gallery 564, monetary or otherwise. We also reserve to myself the right to use any images we produce for the sole and exclusive purpose of promoting our business.

Other than these simple reservations, the artist may consider that they own all necessary rights to their images, free and clear, and may use them as they see fit, without restriction.

The only reason we retain final copyright of the images is simply so we have standing, should we find that our images are being used inappropriately and/or without permission by a third party. It is possible that images we produced can be used by third parties which fraudulently claimed to have produced the images themselves, or to have produced the artwork contained in the images. Retaining final copyright gives us the right to order them to cease and desist, which protects both Gallery 564 and the artist.

Charges, Billing, and Payment

We accept payment by check or credit card. My standard procedure is to receive payment when services are delivered. If you are sending work to the studio, I will send you review copies of the images by email for final approval. At that point I will expect payment, either by check or credit card.  When I receive payment I will forward final copies of the images and return the work to the artist. We bill by the hour, not by the piece.  I bill for however long it takes me to produce the images you order.  By hiring me to produce your photography, you agree to pay me for time used.  This includes time for proofing, time used to make changes or alterations to images at the artist’s request, time required to reshoot images (see below), and all Photoshop time used.  It is incumbent upon the artists to be as prepared as possible for the shoot, to know as clearly as possible what they want, and to express their wishes and expectations as clearly as possible in order to keep costs as low as possible.  I am happy to be as responsive to the artist as possible, but the artist needs to understand that while just about anything is possible in the realm of digital photography, the more changes, the more alterations, the more “tweaks,” the longer the process takes, and the more expensive it becomes.

Guarantee of Satisfaction

It is our goal to create images of the highest quality for artists. It is also our goal to ensure that the artist is happy with their images.  For that reason we offer the following guarantee. We guarantee that our work will be of the highest quality of which we am capable of producing, of a quality similar to the examples displayed elsewhere on this website. We further guarantee that our work will be of a caliber and on a par with the work of other top professional photographers in the field. Should any of our work prove to fail to meet these standards, we will refund the cost of the photography to the artist.