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Making Your Photography Safe On The Internet

Damien Franco | Sep 22, 2008 | Comments Comments

Safe from what exactly?  Well…

THEFT! of course.

Truthfully, most people aren’t concerned about people stealing their images on the Internet.  Should you be?

Perhaps.  That’s the simple answer.  Or how about; It depends?

If you are considering selling your photos in any way shape or form then you are going to be responsible for securing your images on the websites you use to share your images.  Even if you don’t think you’ll be selling your pictures, you may still find it heartbreaking that someone stole one of your images from a photo-sharing website and is using it to advertise a product or service that you may or may not agree with.

It’s theft.  Pure and simple.  And regardless of which photo-sharing site you use, it is your responsibility to deter theft as much as possible.

So how does one go about preventing theft?

  • Only upload smaller images.  Realistically a digital image will look great at even a measley 500 pixels on it’s longest size.  You could do more, but I wouldn’t recommend more than 800 pixels.  Sure, someone could still take your image and use it on a website, but at least you won’t be driving down the highway and see it plastered on a billboard, and at that size you can’t get a good print made.
  • Watermarking images can be a great way to show ownership of images and usually implies copyright.  Now some people can remove a watermark on an image with practice but those people can and will be able to steal whatever images they please.  Can’t really do much about that other than totally plastering your images with logos or other watermarks.
  • Secure your settings on whatever photo-sharing website you use.  Most websites will offer a security setting to allow or disallow people/contacts/friends/strangers or whatever to download the images.  Learn them and use them properly.

My suggestion is to use a combination of at least two of these methods.  Example: I don’t watermark my images (yet?) but I do only upload smaller images and make sure that security settings are super tight.  Now that I’m selling prints as fine art photography I may be going back and watermarking those images in the very near future.  I’m still debating.

Some people really love to share their large images to show off the great care used to capture very detailed photographs.  That’s fine and all, but I do suggest at least adding a small and unobtrusive watermark otherwise you’re just asking someone to “borrow” it for an ad campaign and skip paying a photographer thousands of dollars.

I want to hear what you think about Internet security and your images.  Do you use security measures?  Do you care if your images are stolen and used or even printed?  What do you do to secure your images?


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  • Geo
    Damien, this is a great article. I've never sold a photo, so I guess I'm not a pro. But I post a lot of photos at my blog, and it really chaps me when someone steals them.

    I'm going to try that watermarking. It's sort of like a brand -- it won't prevent a theft, but unless they can remove it it will always be there as a reminder.

    But one thing you pros should consider is registering your photos at the U.S. Copyright office. It's not that expensive -- $35 or $45. And you can register a bunch of photos at one time on a CD for one fee. Here's the link:

    http://www.copyright.gov/

    The advantage of registering is that you could get attorney's fees and statutory damages if you had to sue. No one wants to sue, but with that backing you up a simple notice to the offender will probably get corrective action.

    But it's important to register before publishing.

    Don't be intimidated by the forms. If you've mastered Photoshop then they will be child's play!
  • @Jim - Putting the meta information with the exif files are a great way for someone to be able to find you should they be interested in contacting you. Plus with the new copyright laws it should help in future areas of lawsuits should that route be needed.

    @Justin - TinEye is a great tool to find images that were already "borrowed" and you'll be able to notify that webmaster of any actions that may need to take place.

    My concern is that both of these things are great after the fact. Meaning; the images are already taken and you'll be able to take action.

    Unfortunately, anything one puts on the web is "up for grabs" in some people's view.
  • Sorry, the link in my comment above should be TinEye - http://tineye.com
  • Damien -

    I just started (today) uploading smaller size images and have been using a very small watermark in the lower left corner.

    These are the basic tips, but in reality, once you place your picture online, it will be used somewhere along the line without your knowledge.

    TinyEye is a great online application to use to scan the interwebs for your pictures. As they index more and more of the internet, the more valuable their service will become.

    The bottom line, I think the most effective and important tip is to not upload your full size images to any online service, unless you can be absolutely sure it is inaccessible to those that you don't want accessing them.
  • One of the most important things a photographer can now do is embed metadata in their photography. Embedding your name, contact info and web site are essential for people to be able to track you down if they're interested in using your work legitimately. This doesn't negate image theft, but it does make it easier for those who'd like to properly license your work.
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