Am I being petty?

[dlalonde]

Here is a quick question on something that seems to nag at me...

When I post some shots, usually on flickr, I'll send the link to those I think would be interested, usually family. I have found, on occasion, that some copy and re-post my photos on their websites or facebook pages without asking me or giving me credit. Now I am no pro and have yet to make any money off of my work but I do like to consider myself above the average snapshot shooter.

Should I be feeling peeved about this? How would you handle it? So far the only time I have said anything is when a bunch of folks swiped my nephews wedding photos and re-posted and/or emailed them to others without giving credit. I said please credit me on these.

Thanks for listening and I look forward to hearing how others feel about this.

Dave

[knixpix]

I recently went to burlesque (lucky me), and am freinds with one of the performers, I took a lot of pictures of her act, which I then published on my facebook,so she could see them, then to find that she had republished some of them, on her website, with no credit to me and I was mightily peeved.

I am covered with a creative commons license and have always been, and so was put out that she hadnt given me credit at all.

I think as serious albeit in my case an 'amateur' photographer's out there, photography gains reputation through word of mouth (especially as in my case I do sell some of my shots). So to not have someone credit it is not in my opinion petty. Hope that makes sense, as it did in my head lol

[WPCatfish]

Never cared when it was family shots shared by family. Everyone pretty much knows who took the shots anyway. Besides, I don't want to be the reason there's hate and discontent at the next family gathering (OK, well I don't want my photos to be the reason.)

I did think it was nice that an artist acquaintance of the Mrs asked permission before printing and framing a shot I took for personal use though, even though the only reason I got the shot was that she let us use her sailboat. Fair trade!

[dakwegmo]

I shoot "snapshots" at family gatherings all the time and give away the shots to anyone in my family who wants them. I post these on a photosharing site my family uses. Anything there they know they can use for prints, or scrapbooking, on their own websites, facebook, etc. I've never had issue with this, and usually they let me know, or ask permission first before doing anything with them. And if I don't want them to use it, I don't post it to that site. This makes it pretty obvious that there's some stuff I just don't want them using.

[Niresangwa]

Perhaps it's time to start placing your signature on the shot? Not an obnoxious watermark across the whole thing, but down in the corner? That way you get credit for it and do yourself a favour...

...and if they take the photo and crop it off, well then you definately have something to be PO'd about because they're going out of their way to cut you out of the picture, both figuratively and literally.

[OsmosisStudios]

Originally Posted by Niresangwa

Perhaps it's time to start placing your signature on the shot? Not an obnoxious watermark across the whole thing, but down in the corner? That way you get credit for it and do yourself a favour...

...and if they take the photo and crop it off, well then you definately have something to be PO'd about because they're going out of their way to cut you out of the picture, both figuratively and literally.

Bingo. See if you cant give people "newer, updated" versions of the files theyre already using and ask that, in the future, they ask first.

[dlalonde]

I'll probably start with the signature on the photos. It's not the family event snapshots that bother me, but the ones I put the thought and effort into.

Thanks all...

[Niresangwa]

Depending on how au fait you are with Facebook, and how important this is to you, you can also tag yourself in the pictures that have been lifted. At least it will show them indirectly, and non-confrontationally, that you want credit for your work. It's definitely not easy, no matter how close you are to family and friends to broach something like this... at least for me it isn't.

[beltal]

Many people don't realize that they are doing anything wrong by taking your photos. I am not condoning the behavior, but that is how it tends to be. If you never asked them to give you credit and you are not a professional then I am not surprised that they have stolen your work. If I were you I would ask nicely to be given credit for the photos you have taken. If your friends and family are the ones using them, then I doubt they will have a problem crediting you.

I would also look into adding a watermark.

[Jim Bryant]

Most folks either don't know or even care about copyright violations. It's up to the photographer to make clients sign a contract prior to the shoot.