Allison recently won the "Wedding" photo category in the first round of our Hot Shot or Not competition. You can see all winners here.

In this post - Allison talks about her winning image:

I always wanted a dramatic poses for my wedding photo’s and just as that picture
was about to be taken the wind came up and my dress just billowed out, and we
knew that that photo would be brilliant!
 

Allison’s tip for others getting wedding photographs is:

I did a lot of research on poses and picked out the ones I wanted for my wedding
photos and I made sure that those were taken.  I would rather a few fantastic
photographs than a lot of ordinary.

Stay tuned for more feature photographer posts from our July Round of Hot Shot Photographers/

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Peta recently won the "Other" photo category in the first round of our Hot Shot or Not competition. You can see all winners here.

She kindly shared the story and technique behind her winning image "Action at Avalon Air Show"

Peta Writes:

When I booked my tickets online for the 2007 Airshow, I was initially disappointed that I could only get seats in the top row of the Grandstand. I wanted to be down by the runway so I could get some high speed shots of the big jets before they took to the air. On the day however, I changed my tune. I found that my seats up high gave me a unique perspective I had not seen before from other photographers at Airshows. As the planes left the runway, I felt like I was up there with them (briefly). Many that have since seen this shot asked what plane I was up in to get the shot!
 
I shoot with a Canon EOS 5D. My trusty Canon 70-300 IS was my lens of choice that day for obvious reasons. I used a circular polarizer to help improve contrast and pump up blues and greens, on what was a very gloomy day. I was shooting mostly on Shutter Priority, with my ISOs up around 500. I also changed from single shot mode to continuous. This shot was 2000 @ f7.1 at 300mm focal length. I chose to crop to a panoramic format in post production, as well as making some slight adjustments to the curves to improve contrast.
 

Peta’s tip for other photographers:

My tip: Dont be afraid of negative space in your compositions! I find they give context and in this case, room for the subject to move further into the frame.

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544 images. 5000 votes. 1 very tight contest.

We are proud to announce the winners of the first round of Hot Shot or Not. Each of the winners received the highest average vote in their category.

In no particular order - our 5 Hot Shots for June are:

Wedding Category:

Allison M. for "Windswept"

Landscape Category:

Sally M. for "Resting ontop of the Alps"

Portrait Category:

Sally M. for "After a day’s surf"

Flower Category:

Jenny T for "Purple Hyacinth"

Other Category:

Peta C. for "Action at Avalon Airshow"

Each winner receives their image as a 12 x 18 canvas print.

Many of the winners have offered to share the stories, techniques and tips behind their images on this blog. So keep checking back to find out their photographic secrets

Do you have what it takes to be our next Hot Shot?

We will be deleting the winning images from the server. So make sure you vote, or upload your own images!

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We are proud to announce the launch of Hot Shot or Not - our ongoing photographic competition.

The idea behind "Hot Shot or not" is simple. You can:

1) Rate other photographers images and provide feedback

2) Upload your own images anonymously and get both ratings and comments

3) Win great prizes. The monthly winner in each category gets their winning images printed as a stunning 12 x 18 inch canvas prints.

We’ve created Hot Shot or Not to be an easy way for keen photographers to get honest feedback on their work.

The competition will run monthly - so make sure you see whether you are Australia’s next Hot Shot!

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Many of our clients express confusion over the issue of copyright. We are often asked to print pictures onto canvas in situations where the ownership of copyright may not be clear. This quick introduction to copyright law is an attempt to answer many of the questions we receive.

The Basics

Copyright in Australia is governed by the Copyright Act (1968). In certain cases, a range of international treaties also apply.

The two most important things to remember are:

• Copyright applies to a photograph from the moment it is taken
• copyright lasts for the life of the creator plus 70 years

Do I have to put the copyright symbol on my work?

Under Australian law, you automatically receive copyright protection by virtue of being the person who created the work. That protection applies even when where you have not included a copyright notice with the work.

However, including a copyright symbol or wording will make it easier for you if you ever need to take someone to court for a copyright violation. If no mark can be found on the work, the court will first require that you prove that you are the rightful creator.

Who owns the copyright for family or wedding photos?

Generally, the person who created a photograph or artistic work is the owner of copyright. However s 35(5) of the Australian Copyright act creates an exception for photographs taken after the 30th of July 1998.

If the photograph has been commissioned for a "private or domestic" purpose - the person who paid for the photograph (or client) is the owner of the copyright unless otherwise agreed.

In this case, "private and domestic purposes" includes photos of children, weddings and/or family members.

However, it is important to remember two things:

1. If an agreement has been signed giving the photographer copyright ownership - the legislation will not apply.
2. Where a client commissions a photographer to produce a work for "private and domestic" purposes - the photographer may still be able to prevent you from using the work in other ways (i.e. commercially)

Things to remember if you planning to pay a photographer to take a picture

1. 1) Make sure you read any agreement carefully if you are planning on having a private photo taken. If you sign an agreement giving the photographer ownership over copyright - you will not be able to make any copies without their permission.

Things to remember for photographers:

1. Unless you have explicitly signed an agreement with your client - you may not be legally entitled to enforce copyright restrictions if the work was for ‘private and domestic purposes.’ This may still apply where the client has not yet paid you for your work.
2. However, even where you no longer own copyright you still have a range of ‘moral rights’ that can allow you to restrict certain uses of your artistic work.

Further resources:

The Australian Copyright Council has a great range of online fact sheets

For people wanting to make a detailed study you should examine the Copyright Act.

Tags: , copyright, ownership, photography
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