Surprise at the costco photo printing counter .

[Hansk]

I go flip flopin in on my normal wed - thurs trip to pickup some 8 X 10s , test shots , topaz stuff I've tried . The girl asks if I was the photographer of all the images , Yeah why . These look better than normal snap shots , we cant release these till you sign a release that you are the photographer . Are you a professional photographer ? ,,, Ahh no not really I have a better camera and do some photoshop editing , thats it .

I start looking for hidden cameras , she hands me a release form with a few lines to fill in .Its a copy-write thing we could get fined for releasing wedding - studio prints - to the customer at just the printing cost .

I felt like the king of the world for 5 minutes .

I'm sure you all have had this same thing happen .

[Merlin]

Um, no, it hasn't happened to me...yet.
I guess I'm safe for now.

[Hansk]

I guess its a problem at times .

A few times I've seen folks argue with the staff about wedding prints . Normally the photographer picks them up and meets with the customer / mails them . So they tell the employee " I paid for these and she is leaving on a flight in 2 hours " . Must be the gray area of pro or, a friend shot our wedding .

[digital2006]

That must have felt reall good...it must have been really good photos.

[davidinva]

Good for you. I use Costco. I look forward to signing a release. (lol)

[GAffleck]

Similar at a Sam's club. Needed some fast images. They finished them, I went to pick them up. As I got the images from the lab tech there, she had called over the mgr of the photo dept. She said "So you're the hot new photographer in town?" "Thanks", I said; "But Ive been doing this as a Pro since 75, new to this area though" She said, "Anything I needed or wanted to contact her" That was nice. They have also called me a couple times because of that since, when I've had a client or two that I had given written usage rights to be used for advertising such as cards and newsletters. They asked if that was correct as the client said they had a written release but left it at their office. I thanked them for watching out and yes the client (s) in question were legit and go ahead with the images for them.

[Babble]

I took pictures at my niece's wedding and sent a disc to my sister to print them. They hired a pro as well but my pictures were much better except for the posed ones. My sister had the same problem when she went to get prints so I had to send her permission to get the prints. It is nice to get some uninvited positive feedback though.

[Michigander]

I had the same thing happen at Wal-Mart. Sent in a processed image and they made me sign a release that I was the photographer. Now it is on record and they don't ask me anymore. BTW - Wal-Mart quality is darn good.
Guess we can't blame them. Just protecting themselves.