Frequently Asked Questions & Information

Special Orders

Most of the prints seen in the Fine Art or Event sections may be special ordered in larger sizes, unique media, or in other specialized configurations.

If you see a work here you would like to purchase in a specific manner (for instance gallery canvas mounted at 20×30, etc), please contact us directly for availability and price. Include the name of the piece or collection you would like and your special requests.

Paper Types

We utilize several types of paper for our prints, the choice of which is based on how the image is to be displayed, the image itself, and other factors. All of our media is top quality professional media and printed in professional labs, not on a inkjet printer in someone’s back room.

The main types of media we offer are:

• Luster: Like “Glossy” but not as reflective and as tacky.
• Matt: A flat coating helps prevent light reflection and is the best choice for most prints that are displayed under glass.
• Metallic: A special paper coated with metallic film that makes images and colors “Pop”. Excellent for Black & Whites, Landscapes, some Portraits, and images with lots of complex colors.
• Canvas: Great in order for a print to have all the hallmarks of a work of art.

Do you offer electronic prints?

Yes, but typically only of our stock photos. (see SunStockPhoto.com).

For electronic versions of our fine art or event photos, please contact us directly.

What are “Limited Editions”?

For our Fine Art images, we only make a limited number of prints of each type available for sale. Once that limit is reached, no more of those prints will be sold.

For example, we might only offer 50 20″x30″ prints on metallic paper for sale. The same print might also have a run of 20 prints on gallery wrap canvas.

We will not go back later and do more prints in the same format. This is to protect the originality of the art and to preserve its value.

Why is there such a focus on “copyrights” on your site?

Because the work presented here was created by us and is our product. Taking or using it without permission is plain and simple theft. It is no different then coming into your house and stealing your furniture. Some people say “well it’s just a copy, you can make more.” That argument does not fly. Your child can be considered a copy of you and your spouse, and you can probably make more, but that does not absolve kidnapping. In short, this is how we earn a living and pay our bills, so please don’t steal from us.

Logical follow ups are “How do you know if someone steals from you?” and “What will you do if there is a theft?”

How do we know? We have services and programs that scour the net to detect if our images appear somewhere, and they are checked against our licensing database. Also we check our server logs for activity.

What do we do? It depends on the usage and theft involved. Anywhere from a take down notice or cease and desist, to a licensing agreement, to civil suits are possible. In most cases it just involves an idiot that took it because they were too stupid to read the copyrights and a simple cease and desist suffices, often with a licensing payment for the time it was used. Outright theft has our lawyers and the lawyers of the artist associations/groups we belong to start legal proceedings, often with a DMCA notice to have the offending website taken down by the provider. The cost to the thief is often much more than the cost would have been by buying the photo the right way.

About Copyrights

Copyright is a form of protection provided by the laws of the United States to the authors of certain “original works of authorship” including “pictorial, graphic, and sculptural works” (photographs) as defined in Section 101 of the 1976 copyright Act.

Under subsection 201(a) of the Act, ownership of a copyright in a work vests initially in the author or authors of the work. Section 101 further defines a copyright owner by referring to the exclusive rights that the owner enjoys as enumerated in section 106 of the Act. Section 106 provides that the owner of a copyrighted photograph is vested with the exclusive rights to reproduce the photograph in copies; to prepare derivative works based upon the photograph; to display the photograph publicly; and to distribute copies of the photograph to the public by sale or other transfer of ownership, or by rental, lease, or lending. 17 U.S.C.S. Secs. 101, 106 and 201.

Section 202 of the Copyright Act states:
“Ownership of a copyright, or of any of the exclusive rights under a copyright, is distinct from ownership of any material object in which the work is embodied. Transfer of ownership of any material object, including the copy or phonorecord in which the work is first fixed, does not convey any rights in the copyrighted work embodied in the object; nor, in the absence of an agreement, does transfer of ownership of a copyright or of any exclusive rights under a copyright convey property rights in any material object.” 17 U.S.C.S. Section 202.

In other words, the sale or transfer of an original photograph, photographic negative, or copies thereof, does not carry with it any rights of copyright.

SteelSun Photo & Art does prosecute the use of images from their collections that are found without a valid release or license.