Can I blog others' photos?

rolii · December 19, 2007

Can I? Can I?
(Of course, I'm talking about blogging other smuggers' photos)

rolii · December 19, 2007

Ok, maybe if I ask nicely...
Hello dear fellow smugmuggers:

I would very much appreciate it if anyone here would be so kind as to advising on how acceptable it is to post photos from other smugmug users to one's blog.

Yours truly,

DavidTO · December 19, 2007

I would think that the rule of thumb is that you don't post images without express permission of the owner.

You could link images, however, I would think.

But getting permission, talking to the owner, and establishing a relationship is the best course of action, IMO.

JenGrace · December 19, 2007

I agree with David.

Sheaf · December 19, 2007

And don't forget that if you simply hotlink the image, it could very well backfire.

http://www.techcrunch.com/2007/03/27/john-mccains-myspace-page-hacked/

rolii · December 20, 2007

But...
Many of the photos I've browsed through have the "share" button on top, though (which will allow for posting on forums and blogs, as well as emailing). Would I still need to contact the owner of the photo before I can post it, say to my photoblog?

denisegoldberg · December 20, 2007

rolii wrote:

Many of the photos I've browsed through have the "share" button on top, though (which will allow for posting on forums and blogs, as well as emailing). Would I still need to contact the owner of the photo before I can post it, say to my photoblog?

My take on it would be that yes, you should still contact the owner of the photo before you post it to your blog. And I hope that you honor the wishes of the owner.

If it were my photo, my answer would be no, you can't post my photo on your blog. I definitely have a problem with someone embedding my photo within their own blog.

I have removed the share button from my galleries, but I'm very aware that the URL is still sitting up in the title bar...

--- Denise

rolii · December 20, 2007

That "share" button...
What's it there for, then? I thought all photos displaying the share option were public in some way. My understanding was, you don't want your photos downloaded or posted to blogs, then you remove the share option.

Is there anyway SmugMug or we as users can police what takes place with all those photos with the share option?

Thank you all for putting up with my ignorance on this issue...

Sheaf · December 20, 2007

Part of the issue is that many SmugMug users don't understand all the privacy and security options we have. Whether that is our fault for not making the features more clear or not, I don't know.

We allow customers to block external links and prevent it entirely. But we do occasionally get irate people contacting us because they found their photos linked elsewhere without their express permission.

The polite thing would be to contact them and ask, if possible.

DavidTO · December 20, 2007

Sheaf wrote:

The polite thing would be to contact them and ask, if possible.

Yup. No harm in asking.

presence · December 20, 2007

If there's a share/blog button, I'd use it but I'd also include in my blog post...
- this photo belongs to xyz (with a link)
- I like it because....
- Check out the rest of his/her work at _website link_
- I'd almost certainly include the statement, (c) belongs to xyz...(with a link)
- After I'd posted the blogpost, I'd click the link(s) so my blogpost would show up in his/her website stats (thereby giving him/her the chance to object).

I wouldn't just post the photo without attribution and maybe imply that I took the photo.

rolii · December 20, 2007

presence wrote:

If there's a share/blog button, I'd use it but I'd also include in my blog post...
- this photo belongs to xyz (with a link)
- I like it because....
- Check out the rest of his/her work at _website link_
- I'd almost certainly include the statement, (c) belongs to xyz...(with a link)
- After I'd posted the blogpost, I'd click the link(s) so my blogpost would show up in his/her website stats (thereby giving him/her the chance to object).

I wouldn't just post the photo without attribution and maybe imply that I took the photo.

Thank you presence, this sounds like something I might try on this photoblog I'm thinking about.

Ann McRae · December 20, 2007

Boy, I really disagree with this - other's work is not there for your taking, referenced or not, without their express permission. Asking first isn't just polite, it is down right necessary.

'Don't do it, Len.....'

rolii · December 20, 2007

Either that or ask for the photographers' permission to use their photos, as others have suggested here.

That might turn out to be a little time-consuming, though. Sending out requests, waiting for replies and so forth. I don't know, man; I might just as well scratch the whole photoblog idea, or do it only with photos from flickr. (Before anyone starts hollering that I should also ask for their permission over there, here's this from their FAQ: "you can blog any public photo you see on Flickr").

rolii · December 20, 2007

Ann McRae wrote:

Boy, I really disagree with this - other's work is not there for your taking, referenced or not, without their express permission. Asking first isn't just polite, it is down right necessary.

'Don't do it, Len.....'

That darn internet!

presence · December 20, 2007

rolii wrote:

Thank you presence, this sounds like something I might try on this photoblog I'm thinking about.

Don't misunderstand me. I have a flickr account as well that is a big more personal. But I'm surprised where those flickr photos turn up - I think the programs are called scrapers - and, strictly speaking, the photos do point back to my flickr account. I'm probably going to quit flickr, tbh.

I prefer smugmug's option where my watermark is on the photo and if you want to blog them, fine, but my copyright notice is all over them...

My question is how else do you get your photo's out to a wider audience...you can't cold-call everyone in the world? If a blogger wants to 'promote' my photos with a watermarked, small-sized photo, I'm not going to complain.

denisegoldberg · December 20, 2007

presence wrote:

...If a blogger wants to 'promote' my photos with a watermarked, small-sized photo, I'm not going to complain.

But - I don't think you can assume that most bloggers will provide a link back to your photo gallery, and without that it's pretty much useless to you as a "promote my photos".

rolii wrote:

...I don't know, man; I might just as well scratch the whole photoblog idea, or do it only with photos from flickr. (Before anyone starts hollering that I should also ask for their permission over there, here's this from their FAQ: "you can blog any public photo you see on Flickr").

Why is it that you are focused on creating a blog with other photographer's photos? Don't you want to highlight your own work?

--- Denise

presence · December 20, 2007

Using the links in your signature....

http://rolii.smugmug.com/popular/1/228421404#228421404 I can't share/blog this smugmug photo of your children (I picked a random photo) while this flickr photo is all-rights-reserved...
http://www.flickr.com/photo_zoom.gne?id=2113095563&size=t

I'm a bit confused. You want to blog other people's photos but not your own?

presence · December 20, 2007

denisegoldberg wrote:

But - I don't think you can assume that most bloggers will provide a link back to your photo gallery, and without that it's pretty much useless to you as a "promote my photos".

Why is it that you are focused on creating a blog with other photographer's photos? Don't you want to highlight your own work?

--- Denise

Sadly, I'm not famous enough but if 1,000,000, or 1,000, or 100 photos turned up on the internet with (c) Presence Photography in the exact centre of the photo, I'd be happy. You want to get rid of the (c) statement, what's your credit card number!!!

The more famous I get (I wish!!), the more prominent the watermark gets.

presence · December 20, 2007

@ Denise

But - I don't think you can assume that most bloggers will provide a link back to your photo gallery, and without that it's pretty much useless to you as a "promote my photos".

You're probably right that most bloggers won't link back to my site.

I don't want to seem as if I'm siding with Rolii but I think it's a good thing if there's a million photo's out there with the logo (c) Presence Photography smack-bang in the middle of my photos.

And if a commerical website used my (c)-labelled photo's without my permission, it's a slam dunk.

Edit: added 'without my permission' to the sentence - And if a commerical website used my (c)-labelled photo's without my permission, it's a slam dunk.

DavidTO · December 20, 2007

rolii wrote:

FAQ: "you can blog any public photo you see on Flickr").

One of the reasons that I won't use Flickr, and why the very fabric of our society is being torn apart.

JenGrace · December 20, 2007

Some people are very cavalier about their photos, but some of us are more protective. We put thought and work into them. For the record, I have external links turned on for forum posting, but I do NOT have easy-share turned on. I also have a copyright notice at the bottom of my page. I know there's no real way to stop people taking your images from the internet if they really want to take them, but at least I've done a small amount to try to prevent more scrupulous people from doing so.

Rolii, whether or not it's time-consuming, I think you should take everyone's advice and ask permission. It's the polite thing to do. I think many people would like to be featured as long as their permission has been granted and their website link given.

:

aktse · December 20, 2007

rolii wrote:

Either that or ask for the photographers' permission to use their photos, as others have suggested here.

That might turn out to be a little time-consuming, though. Sending out requests, waiting for replies and so forth. I don't know, man; I might just as well scratch the whole photoblog idea, or do it only with photos from flickr. (Before anyone starts hollering that I should also ask for their permission over there, here's this from their FAQ: "you can blog any public photo you see on Flickr").

Actually, there is more to the you can blog any public photo you see on Flickr than what is just posted on the FAQ.

It really just depends on the permissions/license of the photos and it doesn't matter if the photo the "blog this" button above. it.

From Stewart himself.

You still may need permission from the user.

If the photo is posted with "All Rights Reserved" -- that's exactly what it means. All rights. Are reserved, even if they have the "blog this" button up.

And all photos that are on smugmug are posted with "All Rights Reserved". Smugmug doens't deal with the various forms of Creative Commons (i think).

caroline · December 21, 2007

Can someone explain please ?

presence wrote:

And if a commerical website used my (c)-labelled photo's without my permission, it's a slam dunk.

What on earth does

it's a slam dunk

mean ?

Caroline

wellman · December 21, 2007

caroline wrote:

What on earth does mean ?

Caroline

I would interpret that to mean he could sue the ever-living pants off them.

DavidTO · December 21, 2007

slam dunk

wellman · December 21, 2007

rolii wrote:

That might turn out to be a little time-consuming, though. Sending out requests, waiting for replies and so forth.

Most SmugMuggers would say they put a lot of time into their photos (capturing, choosing, processing, uploading), and that asking permission for use is the proper thing to do.

That said, I thank you for at least posing the question. Many would just take without so much as a thought.

rolii · December 21, 2007

First of all, sorry everyone for staying away from the thread for a while, but it's been a busy last couple of days.

I can't share/blog this smugmug photo of your children (I picked a random photo)

Presence, you can see the share button for that picture if you see it within its original gallery; there's a link there somewhere that says "see photo in gallery" or something like that. Once you've made it there you'll realize you can post any of my pictures on blogs, forums, etc. About my flickr photos, I guess that all rigts reserved status is the default setting they'll give to whatever photo one uploads there. (You can still grab the embed code or the photo URL, though)

Bottom line is I've decided based on everyones's advise and opinions here that it would be incorrect for me to be blogging other photographers work without their consent.

One thing I'd also like to exlain, is the fact that this whole photography deal is completely new to me and that I never thought I'd be coming across so many real, professional photographers here on this forum or at samugmug. (By, the way, congrats on all the gorgeous photos you guys keep here). I just take photos of my children, which I'm the first to admit are not all that good, and share them with family and friends, that's all. That should explain why I was so

focused on creating a blog with other photographer's photos

To all, thanks for your answers and interest on this subject.

W.W. Webster · December 22, 2007

rolii wrote:

Can I blog others' photos?

Why would you want to?

DavidTO · December 22, 2007

W.W. Webster wrote:

Why would you want to?

I think it would be really cool to draw attention to other photographers by blogging. I can think of lots of reasons why one would want to.

W.W. Webster · December 22, 2007

DavidTO wrote:

I can think of lots of reasons why one would want to.

But by actually reproducing their images without consent?

Can I blog others' photos?

Comments