Quick Question and also new here

armenh · Dec 6, 2008

Hello Everyone my name is Armen and this is my first post here. I was on a trip and I took a pic of a very interesting thing which has probably never happened before. It was of a bird, but i dont really want to give away exactly what it was until i copyright it. How do I make sure no one steals my photo and it is fully protected? Also it is kind of a picture that some isnt very pleasant but in no way is it gross...I am thinking of marketing this picture and selling it, any idea how and in what ways I can do that? Also editing the photo till its perfect any suggestions who I can hire I want this to kind of be a start-up business for me but with this 1 extraordinary photo. Thanks

eccs19 · Dec 6, 2008

A lot of people will put watermarks on their pictures, but it's still not 100% guarantee. At least if you post it on the web, you can put a scaled down picture, then at least if you've got the original in hi-res, then you've got some sort of back up if someone was to "borrow" your picture.

Dao · Dec 6, 2008

Welcome to the forum.

You can take a look at this thread and see if you can find something you need.

http://www.thephotoforum.com/forum/showthread.php?t=141494

chrisburke · Dec 6, 2008

yea, if you are that passionate about your photo, my suggestion is don't post it online... truth about photography is, the picture may appeal to you, but I actually hate birds, so i probably would hate the picture (subject wise) but there are people out there who may try to steal it... i remember a while back there was a guy on TPF who created a site of hurricane katrina disaster pictures, and he said that he was collecting donations to help victims (or something like that) but every image on the site was stolen... it happens... and the best way to prevent it is to not post your photos online....

Dao · Dec 6, 2008

chrisburke said:
yea, if you are that passionate about your photo, my suggestion is don't post it online... truth about photography is, the picture may appeal to you, but I actually hate birds, so i probably would hate the picture (subject wise) but there are people out there who may try to steal it... i remember a while back there was a guy on TPF who created a site of hurricane katrina disaster pictures, and he said that he was collecting donations to help victims (or something like that) but every image on the site was stolen... it happens... and the best way to prevent it is to not post your photos online....

haha .. I remember that guy ... he sold his domain name later on. Wonder what happened to him now. Because someone was trying to locate him and sue him.

Harmony · Dec 7, 2008

I remember that! It turned into a huge saga... and very good reading. :lol:

Photog · Dec 7, 2008

Hmmm I'm somewhat sceptical, I haven't yet seen a single photo that someone could base a whole business around... Maybe a genre of photos, but not one single photograph.

Flash Harry · Dec 7, 2008

No, me neither and unless OP has rediscovered the Dodo or this bird is giving an ornithology lecture then his business plan is kaput. H

chrisburke · Dec 7, 2008

i had the same thought, but i didnt want to come off as rude... typically people who are looking to start a business who are on this thread post MANY pictures saying "am I ready" sort of deal... so I'm thinking its either someone who really doesnt know what they are doing... or its that justin guy again... scamming people...

don't know what ever became of him... i know there was a guy who emailed me who had already served him with papers.. but I've heard nothing since then...

Overread · Dec 7, 2008

Well lets see - if you have bird photo and its a rare sight (what sight - telling us certainly can't destroy the worth of the photo) then your best bet is to contact a group like National Geographic with the photo and information.
As for copywrite you have it already - once the photo is taken its yours. Watermarks can help lower the rate of people taking images, but any dedicated theif can use software to remove the watermark from an image. Your best defence is small (600 pixels on the longest side) photos which will sevearly limit what a theif can do (with a shot that size maybe a small postcard at best).
As for starting a business of one photo - not really feasable or practical unless you have something like the one and only true photo of BigFoot or Nessy

armenh · Dec 7, 2008

Overread said:
Well lets see - if you have bird photo and its a rare sight (what sight - telling us certainly can't destroy the worth of the photo)

Its a picture of a fairly large bird at least 10 feet tall...His neck is stuck in between a power line literally the birds neck was hanging from this thin power line...Truly a picture you would never see again . Very unfortunate though...

Photog · Dec 7, 2008

Personally, I have no idea who your target audience is. Yeah, it sounds like an amusing animal photo, but there are thousands out there that sell for pennies.

Aside from anything else, it would have to be a very well-executed photograph to make any money at all, regardless of the scene it depicts.

chrisburke · Dec 7, 2008

i dont mean to be rude, but that doesnt sound like a photo worth starting a business on...

Overread · Dec 7, 2008

I am afraid I have to agree with the others on this - it sounds like you have a crane species bird killed in overhead wires - sadly though not overly common to see its not too rare a sight.
Certainly its would be almost impossible to start a business on the power of a single photo (unless you have a truly powerful image). Very very few wildlife photographers are able to make a living out of image sales alone, many have most of their income from sponserships and teaching workshops and the like - whilst images are never easy to get and take a lot of time and skill, there is simply not the demand from people for such photos - at least paying well for them.
Landscape photos tend to sell far better - most people will pay a lot for a large landscape to hang on a wall - fewer are prepared to pay to hang a photo of an animal alone on the wall - for one like you describe fewer still will want to put it on the wall

Dao · Dec 7, 2008

Overread said:
fewer are prepared to pay to hang a photo of an animal alone on the wall - for one like you describe fewer still will want to put it on the wall

I like that

And yes... I would not want to have a picture like that hanging on my wall. Maybe it can be used in a horror movie.