Protecting images to clients

[kirbinster]

From time to time I have seen the question about how do you give clients proofs yet protect your work. I saw a program called pictures-to-exe that I believe will do that. Details can be found at WnSoft PicturesToExe Deluxe - Slideshow for PC, DVD, YouTube, Vimeo. Photo slideshow software. I have never used and have nothing to gain by providing this information --"the disclaimer"


Here is one of the claims they make:

In the Protection of Presentation options you can make some settings to protect your
slideshow. They are Password, Enabling time limited usage and not allowing to copy
pictures with the Printscreen button. You may also show the logo of your company and
customize its position, size and opacity, if you wish.

[acedrew]

Why not just use an online service like Smugmug or Zenfolio?

Andrew Rodgers
Perfected Perspectives -- Photography by Andrew Rodgers | Andrew Rodgers (acedrew) on Twitter | Login | Facebook

[wamplers]

Originally Posted by acedrew

Why not just use an online service like Smugmug or Zenfolio?

Andrew Rodgers
Perfected Perspectives -- Photography by Andrew Rodgers | Andrew Rodgers (acedrew) on Twitter | Login | Facebook

Because you can still copy them.

[acedrew]

With a huge watermark, who cares, and if someone wants to steal them that bad, you won't stop them with DRM, ask the movie and music industry, DRM almost killed them, don't let it do that to you. Create experiences that people love, and they will gladly pay for your pictures. If you have to use tech to force your customers to buy your product, it probably isn't worth anything in the first place.

Andrew Rodgers
Perfected Perspectives -- Photography by Andrew Rodgers | Andrew Rodgers (acedrew) on Twitter | Login | Facebook

[acedrew]

Originally Posted by wamplers

Because you can still copy them.

Hey Steve, do you use DPP for noise reduction?

Andrew Rodgers
Perfected Perspectives -- Photography by Andrew Rodgers | Andrew Rodgers (acedrew) on Twitter | Login | Facebook

[wamplers]

Originally Posted by acedrew

Hey Steve, do you use DPP for noise reduction?

Andrew Rodgers

For my sports stuff I shoot in jpeg with in-camera noise reduction and use mostly Lightroom. For non-sports stuff, if I end up with a high ISO RAW file, then DPP works the best, excluding external NR like Dfine.

[Xposurepro]

you never give them access to anything that can produce or be re-copied to produce a printable image. As for people getting worthless copies that could never be printed with any real detail, there will always be idiots who find a way. I even know one photographer who said the couple asked if they could talk privately while picking out a package .. he walks back in the sales room to check on them and they have a cell phone out snapping away at the projection .. sometimes you can't beat stupidity.
If you are using online proofing either watermark them or use a shopping cart that converts images to flash before displaying .. or a combination of both. This will weed out the lazy idiots.
Never present printed samples or proofs and if you still think it's a good idea and do it anyway never ever let them take them home to think it over.
Some photographers are making custom photo books as proofing tools because they think it looks fancy and is something cool that not many photographers are doing .. the reason the don't is because it's an extremely poor sales practice that creates unnecessary overhead and opens the door for copyright violations.
The best practice is to never send anything home with them. You want them to buy now not later. The more time you give them to buy the less they will end up buying because it gives them too much time to think about their other bills.