This is the 2nd unpleasant blog post I have had to write. It is that time of the year when this seems to happen the most.
Did you know that all work created by photographers are copyrighted? The moment they click the shutter, they own that image.
Did you know that if you edit that image you are committing illegal acts? Editing the image means - any edits, including cropping, screen prints that crop off the image, adding text, clip art, removing photographers watermark. (This includes those tacky clip art images in Facebook stories - the image is defaced)
Did you know that when you signed your contract with me, it states that the watermark must remain on the image at all times? Sandra Ferguson Photography owns the copyright to every photo that I take.
Did you know in your contract it states images may not be used without the photographers permission?
It is easy to pick up an image and share on social media. It is easy to make that image look like you took the image. But it is illegal! Photographers have and keep records of all of the images. We have contracts, we have invoices, we have signatures, we have raw images, edited images, and we have EXIF Data of those images.
There are copyright laws that protect every photographer. Respect the work and time of every professional photographer. Or you could find yourself with fines up to $150,000.
I am a member of Professional Photographers of America and they provide us with the resources to be proactive in protecting our work and our business.
