Image Sharing Policy » Amanda Elkins Photography

From the perspective of a client

"A portrait should be more than a passport photo. It needs a backdrop, an expression, a movement, and, in my opinion at least a little bit of natural light. Maybe even a dewdrop or a splinter. When by happenstance I found Amanda, I stumbled onto a visual biographer, someone who could capture the character within us, place it in time and space, and make it a memory.

"Unlike most of us who can detect a Kodak moment but not capture it, Amanda has fine-tuned her professional skills to bring it all together in a single frame. Perhaps it was her knowledge of being the subject that gave her an intuitive sense of what to look for.

"Amanda came into photography honestly, first as a model in Brazil, then as a parent trying to capture her own son's poignant moments. As a model, Amanda discovered the art of environment. As a parent, she learned to tune in to the emotion within a subject. Unlike studio photography where poses seem forced and smiles unnatural, Amanda's pictures reflect the nature of her subjects whether they capture an intimate moment between newlyweds or the fleeting sense of excitement in a toddler.

"Without a doubt, her Brazilian heritage emerges in the colors she captures with her camera. One wonders why we fill our frames with black and whites and sepia tones when there is such vibrancy in the things we take for granted everyday: an old straw broom, a loved leather chair, even the fringe of a much abused rug. I used to be a fan of sepia-toned family shots until I saw Amanda's work. Now they fade into a sea of lost faces compared to the rich intensity of Amanda's prints. Besides bringing life and vibrancy into the expression of the subject, Amanda sense of light and color also captures the subtle nature of distressed wood or rusted steel in the background. I had no idea how much energy a picture could possess. I caught glimpses of my son possessively reaching for his favorite toy, of my husband smirking from the corner of his eye, and of me delighting in a single moment of being a novice mom.

"A picture has a hundred reasons for being taken; to share with friends, to remember for when we are older, to reveal to our children when they ask about themselves. Amanda's pictures capture the weight of a newborn's head on his mom's shoulder, the delighted smile of a toddler jumping in the air, even the tenderness of a couple's hands touching. She finds these moments, as unique as they are to the individuals she is photographing. Each time I revisit pictures Amanda has taken I see something new, something that brings me into that moment even if I wasn't there to begin with."

Ruth Barbie, Los Angeles, CA

Image Sharing Policy

As much as I love to make my people happy, there are a few big no-no’s when it comes to using my images. Unfortunately, I have had images stolen from my website on several occassions and I really don’t appreciate that! I have no problem with clients wanting to share a couple of their images on facebook! In fact, it makes me happy to know that they truly loved the work I did for them! There are always lots of images from each session posted on my blog to view and you can send everyone a link to view them there.

Here are a few issues I have encountered in the past that will be aggressively addressed in the future:

• I’d be happy to send you (past client) a couple of watermarked, low-resolution images for you to use on facebook, myspace, twitter, etc… I only ask that you please add a link to my website under the photos. It’s just a NICE thing to do!

• For the fans of my commercial, editorial and celebrity clients, please do not take “print screens” of the images off my blog and then reuse them on your website stating “IMAGE PROPERTY OF YOUR WEBSITE”. That is copyright infringement, illegal and just NOT COOL! If you would like to use the images, please send me an e-mail and let me know. I will consider each request on a case-by-case basis.

• Do not, under any circumstance, crop my logo off my images or alter the images in any way!

• Don’t print the images from my facebook, blog or website. They are all VERY low resolution and print terribly! It would not be a good representation of my work to have the images displayed that way. It is very impolite to invest in a photo shoot, only to copy and print images off my website! This is my livelihood and I put so much effort in making each image perfect. It is a lot of work!

• Scanning images you have bought to “share” with other family and friends is prohibited as well! (…of course if you have purchased the digital package, you will receive the high resolution images WITHOUT my logo on them and you will be able to print and reprint as much as you need!)

• Do not steal my images off my website and present them as your own body of work!

• The photo shoot is only the beginning of my job! The editing is where I complete the work and make each image unique. So, I ask that you don’t re-edit my work. If you hired me for your photo shoot, I will assume you like my overall vision. A HUGE part of that vision comes together in the final editing. If you find that my portfolio doesn’t match your taste or requirements, please let me know and I can refer you to several other extremely qualified photographers.

To protect my business, I will be much tougher on these issues going forward. I hope that with the guidelines above, there won’t be as many violations. And to those who have always been respectful and considerate of my work… THANK YOU! It means the world to me!