Sunday Spotlight On: Why $35 can save you a lot of headache!

Becoming a photographer has been fun and rewarding. Every time I pick up my camera I feel proud of what I create and to know that I created it is even more satisfying. Registering your images with the U.S. Copyright Office is like wiping the sweat off your brow. It is the smartest move that a photographer can make to ensure that he or she is protected against the nuances of infringement.

I am not sure about you, but I know that I do not have the money to hire an attorney to fight on my behalf because someone was using my images without my permission. Four times a year I register my images with the U. S. Copyright Office and that gives me a sense of security.

I will admit that the process of registering images may be lengthy and sometimes confusing, but there are tutorials out there that can walk you through the process step by step. American Society of Media Photographers as well as Professional Photographers of America both offers guidance on how to register your images.

There are two ways to file with the Copyright Office:

Electronically is the quickest and cheapest method. A payment of $35 is required and your images are immediately registered!

Hard Copy is sending the images on a disk in the mail. Payment is $65 and your images will not be registered until they receive the disk.

Regardless of the method, I cannot stress the importance of securing your works of art. Make sure that you take all precautions to prevent infringement and know your rights as a photographer!

I am your Sunday Funday Ambassador! Happy Shooting! 

Mantler, Jeffrey H. "Be Copyright Smart: Why and How to Register Images." Professional Photographers of America. 2014. Web. 7 June 2014. <http://www.ppa.com/membership/article.cfm?ItemNumber=3058>

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.

Know your (copy) Rights!

Dark Beauty - Mike Krogemann

Recently I entered a Photo Competition in a neighboring county.  I was fortunate to have 3 of my images selected for exhibition.  I was also lucky enough to have one of my images selected to be part of the Press Release for the exhibition.  Thankfully, the organizer of the show understands copyrights and when I was ASKED if they could use my image for the release, the terms were very specific.  Given the narrow scope of the usage rights, I readily agreed to allowing the use of my image to help promote the show (and one of my images ended up in a small town newspaper to promote the show).

Narrow usage rights are not always the case, especially with many of the online photo contests.

By entering, you grant the Sponsor a non-exclusive, worldwide, royalty

-free license to edit, publish, promote, republish at any time in the future and 

otherwise use your submission, along with your name and likeness, in any and all 

media for any purpose, without further permission, notice or compensation (except 

where prohibited by law) ("2013 Popular Photography").

This is part of the terms if you submit a photo to the 2013 Popular Photography photo contest.  Let's break this down, shall we...

Non-exclusive - You get to sell your photograph to other people

worldwide - the entire planet (as if you needed me to tell you that)

royalty-free - they will not give you any money

license to edit - change your photograph in anyway they see fit

publish - as in in their magazine, or website

name and likeness - commonly known as "photo credit" and does not pay the bills

HERE'S THE BIG ONE (FOOT STOMP)

in any and all media - anywhere they like

for any purpose - like an advertisement

without further permission - they don't have to ask you if they can

notice - they don't have to let you know they did it

or compensation - you'll never see a dime for it

So basically, just be entering their photo competition, all the entrants have given the publishers a giant, fresh library of content to choose from for magazine content and advertising material that they don't even have to pay for.  As a matter of fact, you have to pay them to look at your photos.  $10 each image.

Doesn't sound right does it?  Its not, and it sucks for YOU, the photographer.

If you are looking to get into competitions, read the terms of service and see what rights you are giving up.  There are competitions out there that are not all inclusive rights grabs.  Check out I-Shot-It, a competition sponsored by Leica.  The only rights they ask for is the right to use your image in the competition.  Period.  

Oh and for the record, I did not win the contest that I entered, but it was a great experience and my images are still on display until the end of the month.  The winning image was submitted by Lucien Knuteson who is a very talented freelance photographer from Seattle.  His image was FANTASTIC.  Check it out...his website is Lucienknuteson.com

Haircut - Lucien Knuteson