New to photog at 52 years old! I need advice!! Help..

[Nikonuser]

First let me say I love this site!
Now, here's my problem. If you did want to place some of your better pics on a website for sell, how would you do it? How do you handle the copyright thing?
Don't get me wrong, I'm not great yet, but I have a few that I'm rather proud of.

Thanks everyone!

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[ajmall]

i learnt in a lecture at uni last week about copyrighting. in the uk at least, any photos you take that are legal (no spying on private property etc) are copyright to you automatically. there are thousands if not millions of websites that offer web space to place photos onto. if u are really serious about selling photos through the web i would adive you get yourself a dot.com and as much space as you require/can afford. i'm not too clued up on websites as i have only done basic ones but im sure other people will know on this forum.

what format do you shoot with?

 

[Jamie R]

"If you did want to place some of your better pics on a website for sell, how would you do it? How do you handle the copyright thing?"

There are many ways to handle this. Perhaps think about the music industry and put things into perspective firstly.

Ajmall's point is technically correct. This relies on the good faith of the public to respect copyright law. Enforcing copyright law is different; any images you make may be distorted, composited, manipulated by an Eskimo accessing the internet to your displeasure; it may not be possible to enforce with the penguin police in the Artic Tundra.

Alternatively, some webdesigners watermark their images. This leads to degradation of the image on the web. Even worse, it interferes with the viewing experience. It reflects poorly on the photographer who watermarks mediocrity with such precioiusness.

Again, it may be worthwhile bearing in mind that in reality, very few professional photographers manage to live off their website earnings; the amateur excels in this area, much behind the stock library.

 

[j_mcquillen]

I haven't got a clue how to do it, but I'm sure I've heard people talk about a way you can disable 'right-clicking' on a web page, stopping people from saving your pictures.

Like I say, no idea how to do it, or whether anyone could get around it if determined...

 

[Jamie R]

Mcquillen - sadly this doesn't work; use "copy" image instead.

Either the image is distorted via watermarked or name-marking on the image (which can also be photoshopped out) or the risk of internet piracy. Watermarking is limited in use to those who use watermarking tools to detect stolen images: most people do not have these tools to know whether an internet image is copied or stolen. Most 'pirates' don't care about the pecuniary aspect of images; it's the content of the image which interests them. 'Hotlinking' is more common than stealing images for manipulation.

Here's some ideas:

1. Upload low resolution small jpegs, max 500 pixels
2. Crop images to less than full frame before uploading
3. No more than 100kb or so for the internet - hence printed jpegs will be inferior in quality
4. Check your webstats for high bandwidth spikes frequently

 

[Anubis]

I like your ideas JamieR, especially 2 & 3.

Number 2 is how they detect fakes of paintings in cases of theft and fraud.

Got a point of my own to add...

When I was looking into copyright I read that you must use the correct format for the copyright notice, just using the copyright icon is not enough in some countries.

Bryan.

 

[Anubis]

I have another idea if you want to make money.

We have a photography store here called Jessops. They take submissions for their catalogue every issue. You can submit upto 4 photographs per issue and they pay out £100 (gift voucher) for every image they use. (If they use all four thats £400, you can buy a lot of good stuff with that).

They reserve the right to use your image in any promotional material they produce in the future, but I don't belive they keep the copyright.

I know you are across the pond, but i'd imagine there is a similar opertunity available over there.

Bryan.

www.jessops.com (I wonder if they accept international contributions, if so you could by online with your winnings)