is putting pictures online a good idea?

[rmarcus9]

hi everyone, i'm knew to photography and thought about creating a website (using wordpress) to publish my work online so my family, friends, and also strangers can see everything. i've also put thought into making a career out of it, but if i do is it a bad idea to publish my work online? does that take the originallity out of it at all? for example, if later down the road i want to put my photos in a gallery (to sell as art), does the fact that someone else can pull them off my website and publish them themselves in the same quality or better take away any value? if my photos don't exist anywhere except on my computer and printed at my discretion doesn't it make them more valuable then if they are published online? then again i feel like if i dont have a portfolio online it may be hard to get noticed, seems like a catch 22. if someone can help me out on this that would be great. thanks everyone

 

[CrimsonFoxPhotography]

hi everyone, i'm knew to photography and thought about creating a website (using wordpress) to publish my work online so my family, friends, and also strangers can see everything. i've also put thought into making a career out of it, but if i do is it a bad idea to publish my work online? does that take the originallity out of it at all? for example, if later down the road i want to put my photos in a gallery (to sell as art), does the fact that someone else can pull them off my website and publish them themselves in the same quality or better take away any value? if my photos don't exist anywhere except on my computer and printed at my discretion doesn't it make them more valuable then if they are published online? then again i feel like if i dont have a portfolio online it may be hard to get noticed, seems like a catch 22. if someone can help me out on this that would be great. thanks everyone

If you think that certain pieces are worthy of showcasing in a gallery some time later, then maybe those are the ones you don't post. Yet you still want to showcase a few images online that give a sense of what you can do.

As for online posting, there are technologies available to inhibit people from being able to copy your images from online, such as Flash or built-in copy-protection (ala IMDB). However, even if you flat out said that your images were free for the taking, no one has the legal right to reproduce your images in any form without your written permission...technically. If they do, and you've registered the copyright of your images, then they're open to being sued.

 

[Roey]

I agree with "CrimsonFoxPhotography," but the reality is legal action is quite expensive and therefore, for most of us, is prohibitive. The better course of action might be an ounce of prevention. As you said, taking steps to minimize the risk of someone scamming your photos. One thing to do is to use the smallest file size that will get the job done. Another point that can help you move forward is your mindset. Maybe if you accept that a percentage of shots may get ripped-off, and think of it as, "cost of doing business" that may help you get on with making a living doing what you love - photography. (And keep the best ones off the internet! )

Peace,

Roey.

 

[LarissaPhotography]

Our website uses some basic techniques to slow down people from copying our images. It's not so much that we care about people "stealing" our images, but more about low quality work of ours floating around. We give our customers a cd, so we hope that they use quality work of ours to bring us more referrals.

 

[DRoberts]

You can also get a "No Right Click" application that will prevent someone from saving your photo off your site. you can even customize the messege that pops up when someone does try to right click on it. This is not 100% fullproof, but its usually not worth the effort to get around, and the average person won't know how.
Your other option is watermarks that are transparent enough to see the photo, but visible enough to make copying and printing undesirable.

 

[dcclark]

Ask yourself if you want to promote yourself (and your photos) online. If you do, then you'll have to put at least a few of your photos online -- and others here have given good advice about safety measures there. Promoting yourself online is often very valuable, so you should at least consider it.

In general, don't worry about people stealing your work just because you've posted it. Unless you are really seriously worried about loss of income (and if you're just starting with a blog, you probably aren't), you will probably be just fine.

 

[mrodgers]

Day by day the internet provides shocking news like pictures being stolen, copyright content being stolen, some sites getting hacked too. Its time to save your images by WATERMARKING IMAGES , which can be done easily for some few cents per pic

Watermark them in the corner or similar and it's useless, it can be easily cropped out. Watermark them all over the image and right in the middle to prevent someone from cropping it and you may as well not even bother uploading the image because it's useless having someone look at them with the distraction of the watermark.

 

[CrimsonFoxPhotography]

Watermark them in the corner or similar and it's useless, it can be easily cropped out. Watermark them all over the image and right in the middle to prevent someone from cropping it and you may as well not even bother uploading the image because it's useless having someone look at them with the distraction of the watermark.

And leave them unwatermarked and people will copy them. What's a photographer to do?