Great article - it's ashame that it is happening. I've been contacted, surprisingly, a few times about someone wanting to use my images. It always makes me wonder how many times someone may have pulled one without contacting me. I know that I put myself and my images at risk when I post them on sites such as this, even my own website. That's simply reality today, the other side of the coin is if I don't do some promotion of my work then it becomes hard for the masses to see it all. It's a catch 20/20. The only way to really stop this sort of thing or at least curb it, is for the laws to be stricter and penalties become heavier with compensation going straight to the artist for dollars that were generated by the offender.
That is awful. I read some of the comments and people were like, "Simple fix if you don't want your photos used...don't put them on the internet"....what?? How are photographers supposed to really market their product and art without using the internet these days? Stupid people.
I can understand if you copy something for your own personal use, but to make profit using someone other's hard work... that's just so wrong. If anyone reading this has sold a photo which has been edited using pirated Photoshop, shame on you ...
On a lighter note, I'd be stoked to have any of my pics stolen & shown on a Mötley Crüe gig ;-D
@janim ha ha ha. I agree - Motley crew can use one of my images.... Just as long as people know it was mine... :)
It is interesting. I photographed an event the other month (Wizard of Oz). The event also had a vidotogrpher. I produced DVD and prints for sale. He also produced a DVD for sale.
The main logo that was used was someone else design that I didnt have the rights over, so I had to create my own, even though it cost me a heap of time in hours.
He on the other hand used the copyright image on the cover of his DVD and within the video...
This guy should know better and I just shook my head....
Copyright is an interesting thing. In my line of work, I spend a lot of time "creating", often without owning much of what I've created.
The trouble is (certainly in music, at least!) that there are so many different "rights" all the time, people end up getting confused - I've known artists be up-in-arms over a record label deal stating that the label own the rights to the artists' recordings, without realising that this doesn't mean they own the rights to the songs you've written (intellectual property) but just to that particular recording of them (the physical product).
I'm not a professional photographer, and I'm not too concerned about the ramifications of putting pictures I've taken online, where people can view - and even download - them without my knowledge. I doubt any photo I've shot is good enough for anyone to want to use it, either with or without my permission!
However, I do know quite a few professional photographers (I tend to come across photographers fairly often, through work) and I have a huge amount of respect for them. I often use other people's images for my own promotion - on my website, for example, all the banner images are other photographers' pictures, either from gigs, or from staged photoshoots that I've done - but I never use a photographer's work in this way without first seeking his permission to do so, and if he says that he doesn't allow people to use his images like this without some form of payment, I will respect that too.
I know too well what it's like to be entirely self-employed in a creative industry where people will often expect you to work for free not to respect others in similar situations who are good at what they do.
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On a lighter note, I'd be stoked to have any of my pics stolen & shown on a Mötley Crüe gig ;-D
It is interesting. I photographed an event the other month (Wizard of Oz). The event also had a vidotogrpher. I produced DVD and prints for sale. He also produced a DVD for sale.
The main logo that was used was someone else design that I didnt have the rights over, so I had to create my own, even though it cost me a heap of time in hours.
He on the other hand used the copyright image on the cover of his DVD and within the video...
This guy should know better and I just shook my head....
The trouble is (certainly in music, at least!) that there are so many different "rights" all the time, people end up getting confused - I've known artists be up-in-arms over a record label deal stating that the label own the rights to the artists' recordings, without realising that this doesn't mean they own the rights to the songs you've written (intellectual property) but just to that particular recording of them (the physical product).
I'm not a professional photographer, and I'm not too concerned about the ramifications of putting pictures I've taken online, where people can view - and even download - them without my knowledge. I doubt any photo I've shot is good enough for anyone to want to use it, either with or without my permission!
However, I do know quite a few professional photographers (I tend to come across photographers fairly often, through work) and I have a huge amount of respect for them. I often use other people's images for my own promotion - on my website, for example, all the banner images are other photographers' pictures, either from gigs, or from staged photoshoots that I've done - but I never use a photographer's work in this way without first seeking his permission to do so, and if he says that he doesn't allow people to use his images like this without some form of payment, I will respect that too.
I know too well what it's like to be entirely self-employed in a creative industry where people will often expect you to work for free not to respect others in similar situations who are good at what they do.