DIY Photography

Your one stop shop for everything photo-video

  • News
  • Inspiration
  • Reviews
  • Tutorials
  • DIY
  • Gear
Search

Submit A Story

A photographer tries to buy a print of his own image from the person who stole it

Apr 19, 2016 by John Aldred 21 Comments

  • Share
  • Tweet
  • Flipboard
  • WhatsApp

13059897_10156892050735217_1053123551_n

It’s a fact of life these days for photographers that our work may be stolen if we post it online.  No matter what level of photography we’re at, if you post enough images to the web, it’s simply become an inevitable consequence of sharing out work with the masses.

Sometimes it’s an honest mistake, somebody loves your image, likes it enough to share it, and just doesn’t about copyright or crediting the auther.  Other times, the infractions are a little more serious, and the intent becomes obvious, as Australian photographer Steve Arklay discovered.

With around 400 million accounts as of January 2016, Instagram is a platform which many of us visit daily, and occasionally, some of us see our images posted by others.

When credit is given, it’s often usually fine in the eyes of the original creator.  For Steve, however, browsing Instagram one day led him to find this image posted by a user who shall remain nameless, completely without credit or permission.

The image in question is this photograph Steve shot at King Island and was featured on surfing website Swellnet’s “Wave of the Day”, with his permission, in July, 2015.

Rather than do the typical photographer thing of getting outraged and immediately commenting on the image to express their anger, Steve did some digging.

When he found the Facebook page of the person who’d used his image, he was more than a little surprised to discover that it had also been posted there.  The bigger surprise was that not only had this photographer lifted the image and reposted it without credit, but he’d also slapped his own watermark and copyright notice on it.

13046073_10156892050420217_1889236931_n

Having noted on the person’s Instagram profile that “All photos on this page are for sale”, Steve enquired about purchasing a print of his own photo.

conversation-001

While Instagram may have bumped the resolution of their images slightly in the last couple of years, and started offering formats other than square, they’re still not exactly the kind of quality you’d need to print huge.  Not even close.

So, Steve accepted a smaller size to continue the conversation to see how far it went.

conversation-002

This is where Steve was expected to hand over his details, and upon seeing his name, the “photographer” caught on and all the stolen images were removed.

Needless to say, the sale never went through.

Steve says that he wasn’t attempting to entrap this person by striking up a dialogue, and that professional curiosity was the driving factor.

While this ended with the result that Steve wanted, getting his stolen work removed, who knows how much this person might’ve already made from the image, and how much he may have made from other images on his page that could’ve also been stolen from hard working photographers.

Innocent infractions where people simply don’t know any better are often unlikely to see the photographer compensated for their use, and it’s usually easier to just speak to the person and have them take them down, or just file a DMCA notice if you’re not in a particularly chatty mood.

When it comes to profiting from the work of others without their permission, as well as claiming it as their own creation, the legal route is one that many photographers choose to take, and rightly so.

You can see more of Steve’s work and reach out to him through Facebook and Instagram, and the images & screenshots above were most definitely used with permission. :)

Have you had work stolen and used commercially without permission?  What did you do?  Let us know in the comments.

FIND THIS INTERESTING? SHARE IT WITH YOUR FRIENDS!

  • Share
  • Tweet
  • Flipboard
  • WhatsApp

Related posts:

I interviewed a person who stole my photos Arkansas Wants Every Person in Your Photos To Sign a Model Release. EVERY. SINGLE. PERSON. Photographer sets up a sting operation to catch the thief who stole his camera Photographer stole $15,000 worth of gear from his fellow photographers’ NYC studio

Filed Under: news Tagged With: copyright, King Island, Steve Arklay, stolen photography, surf

John Aldred: from diyphotography.net

About John Aldred

John Aldred is a photographer with over 20 years of experience in the portrait and commercial worlds. He is based in Scotland and has been an early adopter - and occasional beta tester - of almost every digital imaging technology in that time. As well as his creative visual work, John uses 3D printing, electronics and programming to create his own photography and filmmaking tools and consults for a number of brands across the industry.

« How to take ghosted portraits using a mix of gelled lights and strobes
Atomos releases an update for their recorder monitors adding HDR Video support for free »

Submit A Story

Get our FREE Lighting Book

DIYP lighting book cover

* download requires newsletter signup
DIYPhotography

Recent Comments

Free Resources

Advanced lighting book

Recent Posts

  • Here’s a bullet time video booth you can build yourself
  • Ricoh has discontinued the HD PENTAX-DA 21mm F3.2AL Limited silver lens
  • This “stellar flower” unravels the twilight’s evolution in 360 degrees
  • Strobes vs Continuous LEDs – Which is right for you?
  • Wave goodbye to Apple’s My Photo Stream next month

Udi Tirosh: from diyphotography.netUdi Tirosh is an entrepreneur, photography inventor, journalist, educator, and writer based in Israel. With over 25 years of experience in the photo-video industry, Udi has built and sold several photography-related brands. Udi has a double degree in mass media communications and computer science.

Alex Baker: from diyphotography.netAlex Baker is a portrait and lifestyle driven photographer based in Valencia, Spain. She works on a range of projects from commercial to fine art and has had work featured in publications such as The Daily Mail, Conde Nast Traveller and El Mundo, and has exhibited work across Europe

David Williams: from diyphotography.netDave Williams is an accomplished travel photographer, writer, and best-selling author from the UK. He is also a photography educator and published Aurora expert. Dave has traveled extensively in recent years, capturing stunning images from around the world in a modified van. His work has been featured in various publications and he has worked with notable brands such as Skoda, EE, Boeing, Huawei, Microsoft, BMW, Conde Nast, Electronic Arts, Discovery, BBC, The Guardian, ESPN, NBC, and many others.

John Aldred: from diyphotography.netJohn Aldred is a photographer with over 20 years of experience in the portrait and commercial worlds. He is based in Scotland and has been an early adopter - and occasional beta tester - of almost every digital imaging technology in that time. As well as his creative visual work, John uses 3D printing, electronics and programming to create his own photography and filmmaking tools and consults for a number of brands across the industry.

Dunja Djudjic: from diyphotography.netDunja Djudjic is a multi-talented artist based in Novi Sad, Serbia. With 15 years of experience as a photographer, she specializes in capturing the beauty of nature, travel, and fine art. In addition to her photography, Dunja also expresses her creativity through writing, embroidery, and jewelry making.

Copyright © DIYPhotography 2006 - 2023 | About | Contact | Advertise | Write for DIYP | Full Disclosure | Privacy Policy