Ethics in Business

Source: "Stop Stealing Photos." Photo Stealers. Stop Stealing Photos, 2014. Web. 20 Mar. 2014.

The ultimate free advertising is word of mouth, when people love your service so much that they share your images and information with family and friends. Eventually, your studio may even become a household name! At the other end of that spectrum, though, is the fact that your reputation can be completely ruined because of one mistake. Taking one shortcut or making one unethical move, no matter how small it may seem to you at the time, can mean the end of your career. Following are just a few examples of people taking those shortcuts and deciding that they don't want to take the time to create their own work, whether photographed or written.

During the past couple of months I have been following Photo Stealers/Stop Stealing Photos, which was started by a photographer with the goal of exposing copyright infringers. You will be amazed at how many so-called photographers she has on her site! Keep an eye on her Facebook page for new listings to see how NOT to run your business. The image above is one example of a photographer taking an original image (right) and using it as his or her own (left). The price for wedding coverage alone is enough to tell anyone in the know that something is off, and having a resource like Stop Stealing Photos that calls out frauds is one step toward weeding out those without real skill.

People haven't just been infringing on image copyrights. Lately, it seems there has been a wave of plagiarism by some well-known photographers in the wedding and portrait industries. Without mentioning names and adding to the myriad articles and opinion pieces out there, one popular wedding photographer has repeatedly copied other people's tweets while another has duplicated entire pages of his workshop brochures from other photographers. While copying tweets may not seem all that horrible, that first photographer has built up a reputation of being a funny, relatable person that others trust. Even such a seemingly innocuous thing can bring an entire body of work into question. Had she simply retweeted instead of making it seem like she was the originator of the various thoughts, she may not have become the center of controversy.

Much like the legal and political worlds, in photography the appearance of impropriety is enough to get you shunned. Build your brand in an ethical, honest manner and your clients (not to mention other photographers) will appreciate and value you. Check out this November blog entry on ethics if you're interested in photojournalism, a field in which even the smallest photographic manipulation is a definite career-ender!

-Friday Ambassador

Works Cited:

"Photo Stealers on Facebook." Photo Stealers on Facebook. Facebook, 2014. Web. 20 Mar. 2014.
"Stop Stealing Photos." Photo Stealers. Stop Stealing Photos, 2014. Web. 20 Mar. 2014.