Services

Defined

Photographic Art
   A product of creative skill and imagination derived from a photograph of the physical universe, intended to be appreciated primarily for its ability to evoke an emotional response.

Digital Restoration
   Software-aided 'repair' of digitized physical (e.g., paper) photos, transparencies (slides), or negatives. Unlike editing or retouching, which change an image, the goal of restoration is to make a 'damaged' image look as much as possible like the original photograph.

What I Do & Do Not

Photography

• For Myself.  Mainly, I photograph animals, people at work or play, landscapes, travel destinations, architecture, industrial sites, machines, sculpture, cityscapes, craftwork & artwork, and fairs & festivals.  My goal is to capture images of interesting or uncommon elements of the world we share and to create source material for photographic art.
• For Others.  My focus is in-studio or on-site 'objects & locations' photography for catalogue, business, publication, website, and personal use.  I will also take casual or informally-posed personal photos for use in digital applications (e.g., avatars or profile images, e-cards, or social media posts).
• I do not work as a photographer or photography coordinator for any kind of event and I do not take 'formal' or 'staged action' portraits of people or their pets.

Digital Image Services

• I do digital photo finishing, photo-art transformation, image retouching, and photo restoration (i.e., digitization, reconditioning, & reconstruction).  I can use my own images or images provided by a client for a project, either in accordance with my own artistic sense or to produce a specified result (mood, medium, style, & idiom).
• I create logos and graphics for websites or other uses, based on existing images or from scratch.

Printing, Production, and Distribution

• Printing is Optional.  Because I transfer copyright ownership for commissioned or 'rights-included' images to the customer upon payment, I am willing to provide final images in a digital format instead of, or in addition to, a physical print.  This means a customer does not have to buy prints from me, but may instead print and distribute as many copies as desired using whatever method is suitable, and may even make changes to the original photo as long as my name or my company name is not thereafter credited for the changed image.
• Printed Images.  I do not print images locally unless there is a security or privacy concern.  Images I outsource for printing will typically be produced by a professional lab like Miller's Imaging or Nations Photo, or, for photo-bearing merchandise like coffee cups or business cards, by a service like SmugMug or Shutterfly.  In all cases, any image printing will be done in accordance with the customer's wishes and budget constraints.
• Digital Images on Removable Media.  If digital copies of images are requested, I will provide images on CD/DVD/BD or an appropriately sized write-protected USB drive, in one or more image formats (usually uncompressed .jpg and .tif), depending on customer desires.  In most cases, unless otherwise requested and agreed to in advance, images will be watermarked with my name as the photographer.
• Digital Image Uploads.  I do not typically upload finished images to a 3rd party image service or cloud-based server.  Upon request, however, I will upload images to a secure web location of my choice and send a time-limited, password-protected link to the customer.  Customers will be responsible for downloading to and storing the images at a location of their choice, and for confirming receipt.  Typically I delete all on-line images within 48 hours of download confirmation unless other arrangements are made beforehand.

What I Charge

   A Price Sheet will be available soon

For Finished Images

• The price of an existing single image or theme-set purchased directly from this website or through a service organization depends on the size, format, finish, number of images, and urgency.
• The total cost will include image price plus applicable media, packaging, and shipping fees.
• Texas state sales tax is added to the total product price, regardless of the customer's location, the finished product format, or the method of delivery.

For Commissioned Work

• Fees for new or modified images or for a project will depend on the subject, timeline, criticality of results, security, and privacy concerns.
• Costs may be assessed per half-hour, per event, or per image (or all of those), and may include travel+expenses, security, translator, driver, and unusual equipment costs.
• Except for negotiated agreements to the contrary, costs for commissioned work will generally be as shown on the price sheet; however, costs and conditions of every commissioned photography project are always negotiable.
• Texas state sales tax is added to the total product or service price, regardless of the customer's location, the finished product format, or the method of delivery.

For Digital Services

• The digital services fee is a flat rate per half-hour that covers all aspects of the service, including image preparation, scanning, and transfer time.
• The fee, shown on the price sheet, is based on the use of my equipment and software at a location of my choosing.  For work at a customer-requested location, or if required to use software or equipment I do not own or license, additional fees may be charged.
• Prices for long-term, large quantity, or more-complex-than-usual work are negotiable.
• Texas state sales tax is added to the total services price, regardless of the customer's location, the finished product format, or the method of delivery.

What I Provide

Quality

• My top priority is to provide high-quality results for fair value, so if my work is ever deemed unsatisfactory, I will do what I can to make things right.  To that end, I will unconditionally refund or void costs related to defects in materials, poor craftsmanship, or project mismanagement.
• Because photography is as much art as technical skill, however, and because I work closely with a customer before and during a project to ensure I know what outcome is wanted, I may not provide a full refund or void an invoice solely because a customer is dissatisfied with the final layout, look, or feel of a commissioned work.
• Regardless of the above, I value my reputation and appreciate the good will that comes with customer satisfaction, so I will do what I can to preserve both.

Image Copyright & Ownership

• I retain and reserve all rights for all photographs I take for my own purposes and for all derivative and original images I create, unless an image is purchased with copyright-included.
• Unlike other photographers and studios, however, I do not retain copyright of photos I am commissioned to take after I am paid for them.
• Upon payment, I will turn over to the customer on previously agreed-to media all paid-for images, and I will also transfer in writing all rights to those images.  I will then destroy permanently without backup all paid-for project images.  The only retention exceptions will be images a customer asks me to store, or images I am given permission by the customer to retain for advertising or other purposes.
• Unless other arrangements are made in writing, I may retain for my own use copies of and copyright of any un-purchased project images.  In such cases, I will show the customer which images I plan to keep.
• For MidTexas Photography copyright & usage policy, please click here.

Discretion, Security, & Privacy
   I provide photography-related services without regard to gender, race, ethnicity, age, education, religion, nationality, sexual orientation, etc.  I do not share opinions about customer activities or lifestyles, I do not discuss clients' affairs with other people, and I do not concern myself with things that have nothing to do with the commissioned work.  Discretion, security, and privacy are very important to me, so I assume the same is true of my customers.  With that in mind:

• I will never share paid-for, commissioned, or client-provided images with anyone, in any medium, unless I've first obtained the image owner's permission.
• I will not maintain or keep copies of paid-for commissioned images unless I am asked to do so by the client, or I am given permission to do so for advertising or other use.
• I will never take a commission to photograph a person without that person's express permission.   I will not take a commission to modify any image for any purpose I deem malicious, hurtful, or criminally deceitful.
• Except for the images displayed on this website, I do not store any of my work on a cloud service or openly accessible website.  All of my local digital storage media are password protected and reside on a closed, non-web accessible private network.
• I will cooperate with law enforcement agencies as required, but I will never otherwise share personal information, home or business addresses, phone numbers, e-mail addresses, or any other details about a client with any other organization or person for any reason.  If I am asked for information about a specific client, I will inform the client about the request unless I am legally and legitimately precluded from doing so.
• Upon completion of a project, I do not consider my client my 'new best friend,' and I will not seek to maintain an on-going relationship unless it is desired by the client.  Also, I despise junk mail and spam, so I will never mail or text unsolicited advertisements or requests for additional business unless I am told it is okay to do so.

Free Stuff

General
   I welcome reasonable requests for donations, loans, or free limited-use rights to my images.  For example, I may allow a non-commercial 'reference' website to include one of my images in a visual library of related images.

• In all cases except one, written permission must be obtained before any of my work may be used by anyone for any purpose.
• The sole exception is that artisans and crafts-persons may freely use unedited versions of my published photos of their own work for promotions, portfolios, business cards, or sample galleries of their work, as long as they visibly credit me as the photographer and do not sell or distribute the images for any other reason.
• For MidTexas Photography copyright & usage policy, please click here.

Promotions
   If images are needed to promote a specific cause or event, I may be willing to provide limited rights to some of my existing images, or I may be willing to create new images at reduced or no cost.  In either case, usage rights will typically be limited to printed and digital promotional materials and to a specific period of time.  In all cases, I require unambiguous artist-credit for my images.  Also, unless otherwise agreed to in writing, I retain full copyright ownership of any image I provide.

Donations
   I do not donate any work or product to for-profit organizations, community boosters or chambers of commerce, or to non-registered charities.  I may donate images or do charitable work on a case-by-case basis, under certain non-negotiable conditions.  Specifically:

1. I require full-value tax-deduction credit for any work or item provided;
2. I must be acknowledged for the donation and credited as the artist;
3. My donation must be used only in accordance with the conditions of the donation agreement; and
4. Unless otherwise agreed to, I retain full copyright ownership of any image I provide.

Provisos

• I do not consider SMS (text) messages or e-mails in any way contractually binding, in either direction.  All binding agreements between me and an MTP customer must be executed in writing with a signature, either on paper, in a locked .pdf file using Adobe Acrobat's digital signing tools, or using an on-line service like DocuSign.
• I do not knowingly photograph or work on images of illegal activities or subjects.  I will report to an appropriate authority any activity I observe or anything I am asked to do that I suspect to be criminal in nature.
• I reserve the absolute right to refuse or return any commission, to cancel any sale, or to sever any business relationship for any reason I deem appropriate.  My decisions in this regard are unilateral and final, without any obligation to explain and will result in no liability to me.  These conditions must be agreed to before I will accept any commission.

Last Updated: 8 Feb 2024