Well, Why Not. Boulder, Colorado, 2014
Many photographers do indeed sprout gray follicles about this. So, they…
…watermark their images (but, watermarks can be cropped or cloned out in many cases–and they distract from the image)
…copyright their images (but, the simple act of creation creates the copyright–however, it does make a lawsuit much easier)
…load up very low resolution files to the web (but, they look like crap and people steal them anyway for web use)
…don’t show their work on the web at all (but, think of the exposure that is lost when you don’t)
So what’s a pensive person to do to have peace of mind out there on the wily Wild West of the web?
Well, one good option, in my mind anyway, is to adopt Trey Ratcliff’s philosophy: just don’t worry about it! Trey has a very popular website, Stuck in Customs, and his article, Why I Don’t Use Watermarks, lists eight major points about why he doesn’t worry his fool head off about the whole mess.
Here are two of his key points (my translation):
–If you worry about “bottom feeders” stealing your work, then you get stuck in the awful cycle of suspicion-fear-anger-hate-suffering, and that is no way to live your online life (or your real world life, for that matter!).
–A bit of stealing here and there is the cost of doing business (like Tic-Tac thefts at the 7-11 Mart, he says). In other words, it is the cost of building good karma–and a good following–on the internet.
You can read the entire article HERE–and I’d certainly recommend his website for your “Favorites” tab.
By the way, if you are curious to see if any of your images have actually been stolen and reused on the web, you can try this:
1) Go to Google Search by Image.
2) Click on the little camera icon.
3) Click on “Upload an image”.
4) Click on “Browse”.
5) Locate your image and click on it.
Google will then find where that image is displayed on the web and display those links. Don’t think this is a perfect image locator, though. I’m sure the search engine, as sophisticated as it is, will still miss some remote and dusty corners of the internet. But, it is a good start.
A random search with a few of my better images showed exactly zero thefts. (Alas, I’m not popular enough for people to steal from me–yet!) Maybe the case is different with you, though, so go give it a try!
Me? I’ll not worry too much about it. I think I’ll follow the path through the calm sea of karmic tranquility instead.
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