Legal Handbook for Photographers by Bert Krages

I hafta say, I love this book. I love primers*, and as one reviewer put it, this book provides "a great breadth of information in modest depth." In other words, it's a primer.

It's called Legal Handbook for Photographers: The Rights and Liabilities of Making Images, and it's by Bert Krages. You should know that name. Bert is the guy who's responsible for the famous and widely used leaflet "The Photographer's Right." (The latter is free, and if you don't already have it, I recommend that you go download it now.)

Bert Krages' book is not the only legal guide for photographers: I've also recommended Photographer's Legal Guide by Carolyn E. Wright, who runs Photo Attorney, a great blog on legal topics of interest to photographers. And Bert's book isn't the place to go for lawyers and others who are deeply immersed in legal topics. Rather, it's the book to have for photographers whose grasp of rights and legal issues is sketchy at best and who need the basics set forth for them plainly and with a minimum of muss and fuss.

The book is straightforwardly aimed at practicing photographers. All of the chapters are good, but my favorites are Chapter 5, "Confrontations and Remedies," a subject on which the author is particularly good; and Chapter 8, "Formulating Your Ethics," because it's so commonsense and practical...and because it puts the responsibility for ethics so squarely where it belongs, on each one of us.

It's this week's "Recommended by M.J."

______________________

Mike

*The word, by the bye, is properly pronounced "primmer," not "prime-er."

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Comments

[Jason Anderson]

I've referenced the Photographer's Rights PDF that is freely available from his website on many occasions.

[Mike C.]

Primmer/primer: It's not pronounced like that in the UK -- I was very confused the first time I heard the US version. I wonder how long ago we diverged?

[Mike C.]

"The word, by the bye, is properly pronounced "primmer," not "prime-er."

Not in the UK -- I wonder how long ago we diverged on this one? I was deeply confused the first time I heard the US pronunciation!

[Mike Nelson]

Pronounce it as primmer in my neck of the woods and all you will get is a blank look. Use prime-er and there will be understanding.

That would be for Australasia not just Australia.

[Martin Doonan]

A question: is it location (thence legal system) specific or a good, international general guide?

[Mike C.]

I also agree with both of m'learned friends called "Mike C." above... Oops, sorry, a "senior moment" as we say...

[Mike J.]

Martin,
It's based on U.S. law.

Mike J.

[Max]

Thanks for bringing up and reviewing this book. Just bought it from Amazon.com. FYI, I visit your blog everyday as a habit. More power to your blog and all your writers.

Max