Photo Copyright: A Quick Reminder

I’ve been heavy into photography for several years now. It’s a wonderful hobby, my creative outlet. Many times over those years, I’ve come across a blog or a website and seen one of my own pictures being used — many times without credit, every time without permission. It’s a weird feeling.

This morning I received a message via Flickr that yet another picture was being used without my knowledge. And I think the offender was living by the old adage “It’s better to ask for forgiveness rather than permission.” On his blog, he says “these are not my photos.” And then he boldly tells the photographers to contact him if we want him to credit us. What?! You want the photographer from whom you stole to contact you and do all the foot work to make it right? I don’t think so.

So, just a couple of reminders:

1. Just because the web makes it easy to copy-and-paste, the act of simply doing so doesn’t make the content yours.
2. Ask! I’m flattered when anyone feels that one of my photos is worthy of using and showing off to friends, and I will almost always say yes when asked about using one.
3. Give credit. Always. Even if you do steal the photo, it will soften the blow just a bit when the photographer finds out. At the very least, by doing so, you’re not trying to pass it off as your own.

With this morning’s stolen picture, a single email to Tumblr support made it right within 15 minutes. They removed my content and let me know that they did.

As soon as I hit the “save” button and uploaded that picture to Flickr, it was legally mine and mine alone. The reminder is simple: If you didn’t create it, it isn’t yours. Unless and until you get the proper permission to use it…