Disposal of Wedding Negatives

[bill_ashley2]

<p>I have negatives dating back to the early '80s representing over 1,000 weddings. I have them stored in dozens of large boxes in an air conditioned storage facility. They take up considerable space and, frankly, I'm weary of continuing to pay money to store them.<br>

Here's my question: What's my legal obligation (if any) for holding on to these negatives, since I've already met the terms of the photographer (me) client (them) agreement? Is there any reason why I should continue to store them, or can I dump them?<br>

I know there are many of you who have faced my situation and I'm wondering how you resolved it.<br>

Thanks for your feedback.</p>

[Member69643]

<p>I would try to contact the couple and offer to sell them for $25, mentioning how you've paid for storage all these years. Give them 30 days to respond. If no response, mail them the negatives anyway.</p>

[john_h.1]

<blockquote>

<p>would try to contact the couple and offer to sell them for $25... ...If no response, mail them the negatives anyway.</p>

</blockquote>

<p><br /><br />It will appear rather snarky to try to sell what one is willing to give away right away. Plus there's the long long effort to track down everyone of "over 1,000" weddings and the expense of mailing when expense was specifically mentioned as something to avoid. Would you really give yourself this advice?</p>

[howard_m]

<p>if you're holding the negs, are you still holding the contracts too? Was there any language that covered that? You may want to consult your lawyer. Even the odds are small, do you really want to get embroiled in a situation where you've dumped them but are still legally liable?</p>

<p> </p>

[john_h.1]

<blockquote>

<p>What's my legal obligation (if any) for holding on to these negatives, since I've already met the terms of the photographer (me) client (them) agreement?</p>

</blockquote>

<p>Doesn't the part after the comma answer the part that comes before?</p>

[Member69643]

<blockquote>

<p>It will appear rather snarky to try to sell what one is willing to give away right away. Plus there's the long long effort to track down everyone of "over 1,000" weddings and the expense of mailing when expense was specifically mentioned as something to avoid. Would you really give yourself this advice?</p>

</blockquote>

<p>I figured I'd get this sort of response. :)</p>

<p>If you explain how you can no longer justify the cost of storage and if the couple would like to pay $25 towards the storage all these years, it's hardly snarky. If they pay up you're $25 richer. The key is wording it so that the alternative end result is not specified. Maybe sneaky. Appealing to their sense of fair play is worth a shot. Heck, you don't even have to mail them the negatives, you could just give them 30 days to pick them up at the storage place. As far as the original mailing cost, it's cheap to do it with a postcard and a printer or printing service.</p>

<p>This is advice I'd hope my wedding photographer gets. I'd sure buy my own wedding negatives if offered the chance.</p>

[dave_wilson1]

I can relate.

[bill_ashley2]

<p>John H, since I'm not a lawyer I want to be as sure as possible that I'm on solid legal ground before i make a move to discard the negs. Even though the thousand or so wedding contracts I have in my possession have been fulfilled as to the wedding photography itself, there's nothing written in them speaking to the negatives and whatever obligation I might have for holding on to them. When delving into gray areas of the law as I'm doing here, I get a bit nervous. No, I'm not going to pay a lawyer hundreds of dollars to give me his opinion on this.</p>

[cricketprints]

John H., Snarky? It's business.

 

Bill, every contract I have ever seen expires after 5 years so I can't see anyone winning but that doesn't mean they can't try come after

you. If you have all the paperwork, maybe you can sell, or give them all to a document scanning company who would scan all the negs &

paperwork then try sell the digital files. That way the physical negs can be trashed.

[steve m smith]

<blockquote>

<p>John H, since I'm not a lawyer I want to be as sure as possible that I'm on solid legal ground before i make a move to discard the negs.</p>

</blockquote>

<p> <br>

Do a (sort of) risk assessment.<br>

<br>

Q1. What are the chances of a customer asking for reprints after so long?<br>

Q2. What are they going to do when you tell them you no longer have the negatives?<br>

<br>

I suspect the answers will be:<br>

<br>

A1. Practically no chance whatsoever.<br />A2. Go away without any pictures.<br>

<br>

</p>

[Member69643]

<p>I think you've already decided to pitch them, but on the off chance...</p>

<p>If you don't want to do the work yourself, maybe you could sell them and the contact info to some enterprising third party.</p>

[shawn_mertz]

<p>I tried to give away my negatives when i switched to digital (not as many as you have). I was only able to reach the most recent couples. some of them didn't care if i got rid of them. others were divorced and didn't care. i managed to give away two sets. <br>

In the end a hurricane took care of disposing the rest of them.</p>

[William Michael]

<blockquote>

<p>I know there are many of you who have faced my situation and I'm wondering how you resolved it.</p>

</blockquote>

<p>I have, yes.<br>

When I moved / sold / bought studios the negatives stayed with the new owner and at the studio site. I know the last new owners cleaned out (destroyed) many of mine, about two years after I sold to them; as did I when I’ve bought an existing studio.<br>

Concerning the (circa) 1975 to 2004 (Film) Weddings/Portraits that I have shot under my own name, mostly all been destroyed or be given to the B&G or Portrait Client: and the gift happened about two years after the event.<br>

That information probably doesn’t help you all that much, addressing this issue, I understand, but you did ask how I addressed my situations.</p>

<p>It occurs to me, you have a situation of volume accumulated, because there was not an <em>ongoing</em> system addressing the build up.<br>

It also seems (from you website) that you’ve been located in the same area for several years.<br>

There seems to be an element of customer service or at the least you appear to be placing yourself under some obligation to make the best effort to contact your old clients: as that would make you feel good. </p>

<p>I am not lawyer and I know even less about your laws than mine: but it seems to me most logical that if you have completed/fulfilled the contracts with these old clients; and also, if you did not make any promises to them apropos storing the negatives or the availability of reprints ‘forever’: then you may go ahead and destroy the negatives.</p>

<p>If you need to address your desire to make an effort to contact these people, then consider taking a general advertisement or notice inviting their contact and make an end date for that.</p>

<p>Moving forward, I suggest that you be proactive and consider instituting a <strong><em>system</em></strong> whereby you have and also note a defined timeframe for reprints and your client’s access to the files and or negatives of any shoot you undertake.</p>

<p>WW </p>

[daverhaas]

<p>Since you seem to have fulfilled the terms of the contract, legally there's nothing a client can do to you. </p>

<p>If I were a customer in that situation, and you had provided the prints / album we ordered, I'd expect you got rid of them years ago. Many couples (myself included), probably can't remember the name of their photographer much less find the contract. </p>

<p>Dave</p>

 

[paul_mckinley3]

<p>If you do a general advertisement check you local and state laws for how long it needs to be advertised. It might be under lost or abandoned items. You should also check how many advertisements are required. Another option is to send a post card to the last known address to pick up the negatives within the next 30 days or they will be destroyed. Not sure how much your monthly storage fee is but if a 100 bucks to a attorney will keep you out of the courtroom it won't be a bad investment.</p>

[William Michael]

<p>To be crystal clear, my suggestion of a placing a general notice, was to address what I suspect to be feelings of the Photographer: and not to address any Clients’ needs, wishes or expectations.<br>

The negatives are neither lost, nor abandoned: they are the property of the Photographer. </p>

<p>WW</p>

[john_h.1]

<blockquote>

<p>"If you explain how you can no longer justify the <a id="itxthook2" href="/wedding-photography-forum/00bt2M?unified_p=1" rel="nofollow">cost<img id="itxthook2icon" src="http://images.intellitxt.com/ast/adTypes/icon1.png" alt="" /></a> of storage and if the couple would like to pay $25 towards the storage all these years, it's hardly snarky."</p>

</blockquote>

<p><br />True but that's not what you said.</p>

<p>It was suggested to mail the items for free when the former client didn't go for making a payment. Now that you add the part about telling people costs can't be justified followed by cost incurring conduct you suggested, its even worse than before in terms of apparent snookery.</p>

[john_h.1]

<blockquote>

<p>John H, since I'm not a lawyer I want to be as sure as possible that I'm on solid legal ground before i make a move to discard the negs. Even though the thousand or so wedding contracts I have in my possession have been fulfilled as to the wedding photography itself, there's nothing written in them speaking to the negatives and whatever obligation I might have for holding on to them.</p>

</blockquote>

<p>Before you said fulfilled the terms of the contracts. Now there are missing terms in thousands of contracts for which we have no idea of the contents. One supposes if there are no ongoing temporal obligations and every other duty has been discharged, then a checking the statute of limitations for breach of contract and equitable remedies for lapse of time to make a claim would seem to be the answer. </p>

[john_h.1]

<blockquote>

<p>"John H., Snarky? It's business.<br /><br /></p>

</blockquote>

<p>I wasn't aware that business conduct is always always viewed in a positive light.</p>

[bill_ashley2]

<p>John H, thanks for your contributions to this forum thread, but I don't need any more input from you.</p>

[john_h.1]

<p>It's only fitting since your question has been answered. Your welcome.</p>

[frank_skomial]

<p>Just scan the negatives and get it over with. Keep digital copies perhaps forever.<br>

You could try to sell them on an auction, that could be benefitial for newcomers to the wedding photography business.</p>

<p> </p>

[steve m smith]

<blockquote>

<p>Your welcome.</p>

</blockquote>

<p>What about his welcome?!</p>

[paul_wheatland]

<p>Being neither an attorney nor a professional photographer, my opinion is simple. You, the photographer own the negatives and can dispose of them as you wish. Your obligation for a wedding whether yesterday or thirty years ago was to be paid to attend, make images and provide them to the customer all in a timely and professional manner. The negatives are part of your work file.</p>

[dave_wilson1]

I had a clause in my contracts that all proofs and negatives were considered the property of the photographer. However, I

always gave away the proofs and told each couple to keep them safely so they could be copied should their finished

pictures ever be destroyed and the negatives no longer available or useable. I also gave them a one year limit to order

finished prints from the negatives. Nobody except for one bride by a casual meeting ever asked me about prints or the

like. Honestly I think more than half are no longer together. One very nice girl had her big 16x20 water damaged and I

casually met her in the liquor store and she asked me if it was still possible after 15 years or so to get a new one. I said I

would check and see if I could come up with it. I did and got her a brand new print and she was thrilled, but at no time did

she expect me to comply.