A note about copyrights

Why is it important to credit your references when posting other people's images on facebook or other places on the internet?  I found this from Carine Armstrong, Editor-in-Chief of Fashion & Fame Magazine and it pretty much sums up how I've been feeling about seeing my work (and other artist's work) on the internet with no credit (I'm going to paraphrase and add my own words as well)

• Put it this way: When you grab an image off of someone's facebook page, etc. and publish it on your own, with no reference to the creator, someone else comes along and sees that image and does the same thing. This can continue for quite a long time until the image is all over the place but no-one knows where it came from.  In the end, you find yourself seeing a photograph you shot appearing in places that you were never told about, with no reference to yourself or anything! In some cases, you don't even want to see the picture in the place it ends up.  The trouble is- that just isn't fair. Not only that, but there are laws protecting the creators from just these cases! This is also called: Plagiarism.  This is part of the reason I add a logo or references straight onto the images I post online, but when someone crops an image and removes that logo/reference, credit is gone.  


• In some cases, the permission includes a specific request that credit is given where it's due (I always provide credit even when folks don't specify that it's required, simply because I think this is the right thing to do).  For example, I ask that when one of my images is used on facebook a link to my facebook page is provided underneath the image.  


• If you want to print the pictures for personal use (like for your bedroom wall,or whatever), this is ok. Infact, if you want to use my pictures for your computer desktop and stuff like that it's fine with me too.  However, I DO NOT enjoy seeing my images cropped (especially when the logo is cropped out) or color changed /edited in any way except the way I originally edited it.  As an artist, this is how I felt the image looked best and when it's changed by someone else it's now not how I originally saw the image looking, yet my name is still attached to the work and it's misrepresenting me as an artist.  
You should be aware that technically, even though it's not printed in a book or on paper, all webpages are considered publications!  


• It is probably true that around 90% of all the pirated images on the web were not taken with the intent to upset the creators, but please keep in mind that just as you probably wouldn't want your stuff spread around the world without any credit to you, others who have taken these photographs were gracious enough to share them with the rest of us, deserve to be credited for their efforts and work! If we all bear this in mind when publishing the pictures of others, the web can stay a friendly place and people will still feel like it's worthwhile to share their work with the rest of the world on the Internet. Otherwise, we'll end up getting stuck looking at the same pictures because no one trusts anyone enough to ever share anything. 




I had to share this because, I have come across this several times, not just with my work but other artist's work as well.  I know the intent is good, in fact, I encourage people to share my work, but in the proper manner.  The point is to get my name out there, but with no credit, it just doesn't do that.  I encourage you to give credit to anyones work you share, it's the right thing to do!