Wednesday 3 April 2013

Do wedding sites have the right to use your wedding photos?




The couples above obviously had no idea that their wedding photos will go viral on social media. Sadly it shows Nigeria's harsh economic reality



Recently, I got into a conversation with a friend while we were having a girls hang out this Easter-   somebody had sent her a message telling her that half of her wedding album was on a wedding site's facebook page. Now knowing her to be a really private person I knew she would be extremely angry but nothing prepared me for the slew of angry words that followed- "Useless people", "God will punish them", "Bastards", "In fact I'm going to send them a stinker right now, what the hell?". We all told her to calm down. Most of us were of the opinion that wedding photos provided inspiration for intending brides and that the same way she had visited sites like green wedding shoes and style me pretty to get wedding inspiration that was the same way she was going to inspire others because her wedding was filled with such beautiful ideas. Weddings are also a good thing and it's okay to share your joy with others.


But my friend didn't see reason and she sent the site a message asking them to pull down her photos or risk litigation. I laughed so hard. Litigation ko? in this Nigeria?  to me she was overreacting especially since I blog about weddings and from time to time have to put up wedding pictures that I find around the web (I usually give credit though or when I can, I ask for permission to use such pictures)

I remember when Uche Pedro of Bella Naija had her wedding, there was a strict instruction not to take pictures. It was rumoured that she flew in her photographers and there was a strict confidentiality contract restricting them from sharing pictures online. Tuface and Annie's wedding also, pictures weren't allowed to be taken although a few still got out.

Photographers put up pictures to advertise their work, in fact at the just concluded Wed Expo one photographer displayed photos of Annie and Tuface's traditional marriage and they were beautiful to look at, wedding sites sometimes get permission from these photographers or help advertise the photographer's work which is indeed pictures of clients, but more often than not the permission of the couple is never sought and being Nigeria it just doesn't matter. We like to share our wedding photos and tell our friends to go check them out on this site or that site, but are wedding sites or even wedding photographers in any breach of posting wedding pictures without the express permission of the couple? Please what do you all think? If you ask for my opinion I will be biased since I blog about weddings. Was my friend guilty of overreacting? 

Looking forward to hearing from you all. Please share your thoughts.


6 comments:

  1. MizV you are part of the problem. What is the use of sharing this photos any further? if it was your brother will you like him to be the butt of jokes on social media. Bloggers do the most. Surely there must be a law against infringement on privacy by bloggers.

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  2. Lol at azzi abeg cool down o! she already said she is in a biased position. Reading is fundamental. Attacking her was totally unnecessary

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  3. Its actually wrong to use photos without permission but i think if the intent is not malicious and calculated to cause harm then it shouldn't be a problem. lol at litigation ko. She go tey for naija court

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  4. Pics definitely affect the quality of a wedding. I have seen my share of good and bad wedding photos and it has had its share of experiences. DIY Wedding Programs can be a great resource for any wedding or ceremony and I would recommend them to everyone.

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