Yes, I CAN Use your Picture
May 23, 2009 by Allison Boyer
Filed under Finance
Quick rant – and anyone who does freelance photography, please listen up.
When you make a picture available for public use on a website, you’re giving blanket rights for anyone who meets certain criteria to use the picture. It doesn’t matter if it’s being used for a children’s newsletter or hanging in an
Image: sxc.hu
adult-only store. It just isn’t fair for you to go back to certain people and send them nasty emails about using their pictures, as long as they are doing so with proper attribution and according to the site guidelines. It’s so damn frustrating.
I get pictures from Flickr from time to time, for example. I always use a creative commons search and make sure to attribute the photograph properly. I also make sure that I use the correct search to filter out only the pictures that are OK to use on commercial websites, since this and other websites where I write sell ad space.
Do I contact the owner of the picture? Sometimes. If there’s a note directly on the photograph that says “I’d love to know how you used this picture,” I usually send a message or leave a comment. I don’t always go out of my way to do that, and I never ask permission. The point of the licensing choices is so that you can choose how people are allowed to use your photograph. Reserve all of your rights if you want people to ask for your permission to use it!
I’m a little upset about this at the moment because I just got a nasty email from someone who’s picture I had used MONTHS ago. They were upset, because apparently it says on their profile page that you need written permission to use their pictures. Yet, I double-checked – the picture in question is uploaded under the license that allows any commercial or non-commercial website to use the picture.
I’m sorry, photographers out there…but I don’t have time to browse your profile page. Actually, I don’t even really have time to email you to ask for permission. That’s why I use the search tools I do – because you don’t have to ask for permission. It could take you days to get back to me, and frankly, many of my posts are time-sensitive. There’s rarely a picture SO perfect that I would go out of my way to contact the photographer for permission. Frankly, I can find another picture to use.
Trust me, I understand that many people spend a lot of time on their photography and deserve to get compensated or at least give permission to use the photograph. If that’s how you feel about a picture you took, great…but upload it under the damn right licensing setting.
And for heaven’s sake, if you see someone using a picture you took in a way that makes you uncomfortable approach them like a human being. I rarely lose my temper, but when this schmuck accused me of stealing pictures and breaking copyright rules, I almost punched my computer. He actually threatened to contact my host to alert them that I was stealing content. You have got to be kidding me. I’m not a jerk, and I fully respect your right to choose how your work is used. Most people who are approached will take down your image if you aren’t happy with its posting, even if you messed up the licensing rights when you uploaded it, but you need to respect them. Freelancing as a writer or as a photographer can only be successful through networking with your peers; making enemies is NOT the way to go.
On the other hand, I’ve had people steal my photos and art work, which I didn’t license with CC or any other means – I was putting it as my on-line portfolio. Some people just try to take artwork as their own, and no that can’t be used. Too many people think that putting an image on a website makes it publicly available.
I’m glad you look for work with is usable via Creative Commons (I do as well), but unfortunately too many people aren’t aware of what Creative Commons is, or how to properly use it, which is frustrating.
I’m sorry, but I disagree with your position on this issue. The law states copyright is in effect at the time the image is exposed. While registration is some protection if a case should go to court, it isn’t necessary in order for the work to be considered copyrighted.
Unless you are buying from a stock site, it is only courteous to get permission from the photographer when you are using an image. I’m really surprised that you wouldn’t get angry emails more often, especially if you are using the image in a way that makes you money.
If you are short on time, a stock site will have images in an easy to search catalog. Some sites sell for as little as a dollar. That way, you get the image you want, the photographer gets a little change, and everyone should be happy.
I have used images that were clearly CC, and when I went back later to use them for something else, the rights had changed to ARR (all rights reserved). So I didn’t use it again. I’m leery of using Flickr images, although I have. But only those with the appropriate CC licensing, which I usually try to note along side the image credit.
If I can find it elsewhere, though, I’d rather use it from someplace else. As Walter said above, too many people don’t understand CC nor its proper usage.
Bottom line, you’re a thief. Try taking your own photos rather than stealing another’s creations.
I definitely agree with you, Walter. I’ve had people steal entire blog posts, actually, and think it was OK because “everyone does it” or “that’s the risk you take when you put your work online.”
It isn’t fair…but it’s also up to the photographer to understand how CC works as well and to upload their images properly. I shouldn’t be persecuted when I’m actually one of the good guys, trying to do the right thing! I think this photographer has likely been burned more than once, and that sucks. At the same time, I was polite to his heated email, explaining why I used the picture and how he can prevent people from doing so in the future…and he replied to me with an even nastier email. So screw him. :-p
I think you’re misunderstanding, Amy. I don’t do a Google Image search and steal pictures or other take images from websites willy-nilly. I understand copyright laws better than most. The issue here is that people are uploading their photographs on websites under licenses that say “yes, people can use this image for free.”
It would equate to posting a big notice on your website that says “Anyone who wants to use this picture can do so for free as long as they attribute it to me” and then getting upset when someone actually uses it. If you don’t want your pictures to be used, don’t upload it to a site under that permission setting. It’s as easy as that.
It is the photographer’s responsibility to upload on Flickr using the correct licensing setting. The default is all rights reserved, so it shouldn’t be a problem! The reason I use a certain image search, though, is because I don’t have the time to email people and ask for permission, which can take days or even longer. It is not my fault if someone doesn’t use Flickr (or other sites) correctly or read the licensing options.
Bottom line: I’m happy to remove images when people email me and explain they’ve made a mistake in uploading. I’m even happy to remove images when people email and say they normally don’t mind people using their pictures, but are uncomfortable with the way I used it. What I DO mind is someone emailing me and accusing me of stealing pictures after they were the ones who gave the blanket OK when choosing licensing options.
That’s a ridiculous statement.
I agree with Lulu. Flickr is a social networking site, not a stock photography site. The default is not set for all rights reserved. This has been a huge issue for Flickr users who join and do not know the intricate settings and defaults behind the scenes.
When someone steals your articles, which will inevitably happen, and posts them all over the Internet under their own name – or yours to completely ruin your reputation, maybe then you’ll learn how the other side feels. I hope they are just as nasty when you ask them to remove that content.
I never, ever steal others’ work or put my name on it. I attribute it properly, and only use pictures that have been uploaded under a license that allows me to do so. It is not my fault if people don’t care enough about their work to understand the licensing system. My MOTHER understands it and she knows NOTHING about copyright laws or the internet in general.
And for the record, I’m not nasty to people who ask me to remove their work. I wasn’t even nasty to the jerk from the post who emailed me with all sorts of mean accusations.
Karma, baby.