Sharing Photos Online (THEFT)

[vince]

As most know, I been lurking here for a while and just decided to start speeking out. I've goten several requests for me to post photos, but reamin nervous to follow through. I'm really worried about theft! So far I have withheld from posting any of my pics online, but since I've joined I really want to post a few recent pics (after I find a way to scan them). Is there a way I can watermark these images or mask them in a way to keep them from been used, is this a real issue? I know it is very unlikly anyone will ever even notice one of my images, much less steal it, but it is a concern. Anyone found a way around this yet.... Probably wont be a problem as long as I keep the images less than 400x400 anyway....

[PerPlunk]

It's hard to say that's theft. By posting a digital representation of the picture it's about the same as selling a print to be displayed in public and then someone taking a snapshot of that print. By the very nature of the web, everything you see on a web page is first downloaded to your computer and then the web browser determines how to represent that information... So really, there is no way to stop it, nor should it be stopped. Of course the preferred method would be to post a small low resolution copy, this makes it impossible(even using advanced interpolation) to print an exact copy of the photo at any decent size without looking like crap. Plus small sized digital images help in viewing as a full sized one is tedious to download and view.

[vince]

I agree with this. I really don't know where my mind was, lol. My worries are gone. I'll see if I can post a few pics in the next few days

[megan]

I always try to put my copyright somewhere in the live area that's inobstrusively obstrusive

And like everyone above, try to keep the resolution at a level that you can get a good idea of the actual photo, without being hi-res enough for a good download. I use jpg as well and hope that some of that jpg junk will get in the way too

Megan

[paulnj]

It's hard to say that's theft. By posting a digital representation of the picture it's about the same as selling a print to be displayed in public and then someone taking a snapshot of that print. By the very nature of the web, everything you see on a web page is first downloaded to your computer and then the web browser determines how to represent that information... .

are you saying that downloading an image and TRYING to sell it isn't theft???

the end result of your responce was basicly that a 100kb file can make a 4x6 at best and not to worry(my wording). that I TOTALLY AGREE WITH.

[another view]

are you saying that downloading an image and TRYING to sell it isn't theft???

the end result of your responce was basicly that a 100kb file can make a 4x6 at best and not to worry(my wording). that I TOTALLY AGREE WITH.

4x6 for someone with low standards. I usually post a size of 400x600, it's easy to see the shot but not too big. Jpegs are compressed files - I usually set the compression to "8" on a scale of "12". This makes the file size smaller but still looks fine on screen. You can type copyright info right on the image too but I've rarely done that myself.

[Lava Lamp]

As most know, I been lurking here for a while and just decided to start speeking out. I've goten several requests for me to post photos, but reamin nervous to follow through. I'm really worried about theft! So far I have withheld from posting any of my pics online, but since I've joined I really want to post a few recent pics (after I find a way to scan them). Is there a way I can watermark these images or mask them in a way to keep them from been used, is this a real issue? I know it is very unlikly anyone will ever even notice one of my images, much less steal it, but it is a concern. Anyone found a way around this yet.... Probably wont be a problem as long as I keep the images less than 400x400 anyway....

Good question. One the one hand, I think it's a bit silly for amateurs (like me) to worry about image theft. I've given a few images away to non-profit web sites and I think that I have a few more that are pro-caliber and sellable. In general, though, I think it's hubris and (even delusional) to think that big business is busy stealing images from non-pros (again, like me.)

One the other hand, I had someone use one of my internet images once to produce a poster for a college theater production. The "thief" told me about it after the fact, belatedly asking permission. If you make your living from photography, I think you should take steps to protect yourself. I'd also recommend against posting pictures that mean something to you.

Finally, from a practical standpoint, I don't know that I'd worry about somebody stiffing me on a small stock photo fee and distributing my images -- especially when some of the stuff I post here gets maybe two or three dozen views in total.

[JerryLi]

Easy to work out a solution if you have Photoshop.
Use some of the filters (Canvas, etc.) to rough-up a portion or all of your image: plus save the file as a .jpg image with a 'density' of 1 or 2. The lo-res file is pretty much not good for anything but viewing on the Internet.

As most know, I been lurking here for a while and just decided to start speeking out. I've goten several requests for me to post photos, but reamin nervous to follow through. I'm really worried about theft! So far I have withheld from posting any of my pics online, but since I've joined I really want to post a few recent pics (after I find a way to scan them). Is there a way I can watermark these images or mask them in a way to keep them from been used, is this a real issue? I know it is very unlikly anyone will ever even notice one of my images, much less steal it, but it is a concern. Anyone found a way around this yet.... Probably wont be a problem as long as I keep the images less than 400x400 anyway....

[PerPlunk]

Paulnj:

Well, a 100kb file can not make a 4"x6" print that looks decent. A 100KB file can. That said, a 100KB image file is more then necessary for a good web posting. And you know, the youth of today just don't care if we are stealing others works and printing 4"x6" snapshot quality prints, we are the Nintendo generation! Don't worry, I'm mostly just playing with you, and yes, I am going to completly sidestep what I said earlier.