Commissioning Photographs

Illustrate your Welsh family history

Have you ever considered illustrating your Welsh family history with high quality colour photographs of the towns and villages where your ancestors once lived?
Imagine being able to actually see the church or chapel where your ancestors were baptised, worshipped or got married; the house or cottage where they lived; the inns they frequented; the streams they fished; the lanes they walked; the bridges they crossed; the landscape around them; the graveyard where they were buried; even the tombstones marking their graves!

Good news!! – I will happily undertake such photographic assignments, tailor-made to your own specific requirements. To date, I've completed over ninety commissions and have received lots of positive feedback from satisfied customers.

The questions and answers below should explain how I operate my photographic service.

• Who does the photography? – I take the photographs myself. You can see examples of my work on my Images of Wales pages on this website, but note that the resolution of the images on my website is considerably reduced compared to the original images.
  
  
• What kind of photographs are they? – I offer digital images only, taken with my 6.1 megapixel Nikon D50 digital single lens reflex camera. The images will be in the popular JPEG format, varying in size up to 1.5 megabytes according to the subject and the way it is cropped. I will normally supply you with 'enhanced' images which I have optimised with my image manipulation software. The images are of high resolution (3008 × 2000 pixels uncropped). Should you prefer to do your own image manipulation, I can, on request, provide the 'raw' images exactly as they download from the camera.
  Digital images can be viewed on the screen of your computer monitor, and in many cases displayed on your TV through your DVD player. Alternatively, by using a commercial printing service (or your own a high quality printer and special paper), your digital images can be turned into superb colour prints at least A4 or 15" × 10" in size. Please note that I do not offer an image printing service.
  
  
• How many photos can I order? – I can do as many or as few as you wish; there is no minimum order.
  
  
• How will you deliver the photographs? – The digital image files will normally be sent by regular post on a CD-R disc. A CD can hold up to 500 images. Alternatively, I can send up to five image files as e-mail attachments if you wish.
  
  
• What area of Wales do you cover? – I live near Swansea in South West Wales, so most of my photographic work covers the old Welsh counties of Breconshire, Cardiganshire, Carmarthenshire, Glamorgan, Monmouthshire, Pembrokeshire, and Radnorshire. However, I will certainly consider undertaking photo-assignments in other Welsh counties further afield. Just let me know what you want and I'll tell you if it's possible. The further I have to travel, the longer you may have to wait for the results, and the more expensive the commission will be.
  
  
• What pictures will you take? – I can either take pictures of specific subjects, according to your instructions, or you can give me a free hand and leave it to my discretion to produce a selection of images that will capture the atmosphere of the village, town or area of your choice. If you prefer, you can set a limit to the number of shots you want me to take. I always provide a full written description of what each picture shows, often accompanied by a detailed map and in some cases I enclose a small memento of the area.
  
  
• What about copyright? – I retain the copyright on all my work, but once you've reimbursed my expenses, the images are yours to use for non-commercial purposes in any way you wish. All I ask is that you acknowledge me, John Ball, as the photographer.
  I retain a duplicate of each image and I reserve the right to use this material at any time, on my website or in any future publication of my own.
  Please contact me for advice if you wish to publish any of my photographs commercially, in a book, on a CD-Rom, on the Internet, or in any other medium.
  
  
• How much will it cost? – This is not a profit-making venture; all I ask is that you cover my expenses. The different cost elements include:
  • Travel expenses – these obviously vary according to the length of the journey involved. As a rough guide, the cost would be no more than 25 pence per mile. It could be less if I'm able to combine two assignments into one journey.
  • Photographs – I charge 50 pence per digital image, including free CD-Rom. A CD-Rom will hold up to 500 images but there is no minimum order.
  • Post and Packing – Minimum charge £2.00, rising according to weight and destination.
  
  
• How do I pay? – We will agree on the charges before I undertake the assignment. Payment can be by cheque in your local currency, or by international money order or bank draft in British pounds sterling. If your payment is not in British currency, I have to add a surcharge of £6.00 (for orders under £50.00) or £8.00 (for orders of £50.00 and over), to cover the cost of currency conversion.
  
  
• How do I get things moving? – It's easy!! Just e-mail me via my Contact Page giving me an idea of your requirements and a cost limit. I'll then get back to you and suggest possible options, costs and timescale. Once this is agreed, I may ask for further details, then I can organise the photoshoot. I will let you know when payment is required (normally after I've taken the photographs).
  
  
• How long will it take? – I try to complete commissions as soon as possible. However, the Welsh weather can cause long delays because I need bright and dry conditions to obtain the best photographic results. Between mid October and mid April there may be very few opportunities for photography so I do not normally undertake commissions during this period. If I accept your commission in the autumn you will therefore have to wait several months before I can complete the work. Commissions accepted in the spring and summer can often be accomplished within a few weeks, but are still heavily weather-dependent.
  High-mileage commissions may also be delayed because I need stable weather conditions before embarking on a long journey, so I can be reasonably sure the lighting will be good for the entire day.
  Check the Status Table to see what commissions are currently on my list.

Write to me, John Ball, via my Contact Page if you have any questions, or if you want to discuss a possible assignment. I look forward very much to being able to help you.