Wal-Mart photo lab refusal to sell pictures Mansfield Ohio

Shayne, if you are indeed a Wal-Mart employee, then by your insulting words to the OP, you've just done not one, but TWO things here;

1) Reaffirmed just WHY we in the populous tend to hold your establishment and yourselves in such low regard, and

2) While representing Wal Mart, shot your mouth off, thereby making Wal-Mart appear all the less appealing to shop in, knowing that there are more like you in each and every location across the country. Seriously chap, who wants to be waited on by someone who makes arbitrary decisions on how "professional" a photo looks, and eyes his customers with such contempt!?

Congratulations, Shayne! Your short post spoke VOLUMES!

Autumns_mom, the solution is simple! The smart money says: Go spend the extra 500 dollars, buy an Epson RX-series photo printer, a box of matte-finish Kodak photo paper, a box of semi-gloss, and a box of glossy. Soon, you're doing what Wal-Mart WOULD NOT, without all the hassles! Trust me, I have a Nikon SLR with all the accoutrements, and an Epson. With a little Photoshopping, I make miracles happen right from my desktop!

Read the terms of service. Who can get the copy of terms of service? I bet WalMart will not let the customer read the right or term of service. If they will not help, go somewhere esle. I do my at Target.

I work for Wal-Mart back in electronics and I am also trained in the photo lab. First of all the Wal-Mart policy says that as an employee at the photo lab we have the right to say if we will sell the pictures, since it is up to us to judge if the pictures are professional or just done by a high dollar camera. It is not just professional pictures that we have the right not to print, but also pictures that show nudity or pictures that we think are inappropriate.

We get yelled at and cursed out on a weekly basis by customers like you that think that all of us are idiots and have no idea on how to do our jobs, well the thing is is that if we sell pictures that are professional and you don't have the photographers permission then we will not only lose our jobs, but can also be brought us on charges. Are you going to pay us for not having a job just because you wanted and extra copy of a picture and not want to pay $10 for it, I don't thinks so. So next time that you go to make a copy of a picture the read the terms of service that you agree to on the kiosk before you start to complain about nonsense and make yourself look like and idiot.

If you have a $3000 camera and would have bought $400 worth of stuff there anyways why not buy a photo printer and print them yourself? Whats the big deal? Wal-mart thought they were pro and if they were they could be sued, they were just doing their jobs. Maybe not in the best way but I'm sure you wouldn't as sweet as you say, customers never are.

The Photo Policy at Wal-Mart is at the discretion of their under paid employees. Some photo centers at Wal-Mart do not question if there is a copyright in place while others are overzealous as previously stated.

I am an active student in a community college with some training into photography. My equipment is just like what a photographer would take to a private party or a social event. This leaves an impression of a professional photographer anytime the photos are printed.

Just like the original posting, my pictures were shredded without any explanation other than "These are professional portraits and are protected under federal law." The fact is that the pictures were taken by a student at my college and there is no reference to any Intellectual Property.

The photo employees were quite upset when I purchased an ink-jet printer and some photo paper to print my own pictures from a hotel room. I later sent the pictures to an online photo lab and there were no problems printing these pictures. The photo policy at Wal-Mart seems to be very strict at a retail level and not enforced when using their online services. One of my relatives has reported that scanned portraits are printed from Wal-Mart online without question but not in a retail outlet.

Everyone who takes a picture holds copyright to their own work, this is valid for 70 years past their death. It is unlikely that any studio will sue a photo lab for damages if there is just a few prints reproduced. For more information on this subject, check out the "Fair Use Doctrine" under Patent Law.

My advise is not to deal with the Photo lab at Wal-Mart. The employees are not properly trained to understand what their supervisors have instructed them to communicate to the public. This is the normal for Wal-Mart stores in general, I prefer not to have to deal with such a Capitalist company.

It's actually a matter of liability. Most photo labs instruct their employees not to copy or print photos that appear to have been taken by a professional. That's because in the United States, copyright goes to the photographer (with a couple of exceptions) and he/she can sue a lab that copies work without authorization.

If the story happened as it was presented, this WalMart appears to have been a little zealous and this Staples was a little too lax. You could have filled out a form at WalMart declaring that the photos were taken by you (or your husband).

Out of curiosity, if you have a $3,000 camera, you likely have a good lens and a strobe at the very least. Why worry about dinky photos at WalMart?