Life’s Sweet Ordinary — through my lens

"books" Copyright © Diane Schuller

As many of you know, once you put your images online, you risk having them stolen by people who seem to think they are free. Some of these people help themselves to our photos for their blogs or websites and others are making money from them. We need to know how to protect our images.

Thanks to Roberta of Uncommon Depth, she has shared information for those posting at Flickr who are concerned about people who help themselves to our photos. It’s such important and helpful information, I too am passing along this helpful article on protecting your images.

That article by Greg Cope spells out specific ways to protect your images and I encourage you to read it and take steps for protecting your images from theft. You’ll notice that I have begun adding a watermark and, in some photos, I include both a watermark and a copyright notice. Sure someone can still steal the image. With the small copyright notice on the bottom corner that many people use, it’s so easy for anyone to clip that off and use the photo. The watermark is a bit more difficult to remove but people can do it — if they want the photo badly enough. My hope is that most who steal photos will be discouraged when they encounter my photos with a big watermark (or two of them) appearing on the photo.

I’ve also begun to make the photos smaller in [resolution] size but have not figured out how to add the right-click feature so it can’t be downloaded to start with.

This past week I deleted a bunch of my photos over at Flickr because they are real easy to steal plus Flickr is a hotbed for photo theft. No doubt you too have heard many stories of those who have experienced photo theft. I’ve actually had people tell me to my face that if they need a photo for their blog, website, (and a teacher who uses them for teaching tools) or other purpose the first place they go is Flickr! And you can bet your bottom dollar they don’t ask the artist for permission either. That is theft, pure and simple. So, I have decided that in the next month I will be removing a bunch more of my images from Flickr and the ones I plan to leave there will be replacing them with a duplicate that has my watermark plastered prominently in the image.

It has always astounded me that a person might see a neighbour’s tools in the backyard but they’d ask permission to borrow them yet the same person won’t think twice about helping themselves to a photographer’s photos (or a writer’s writings) and then slip away in the night.

If you’re on the other end however, as a person who is interested in using images found on the web, there IS a proper and legal way of doing so:

• If you see an image you are interested in using for your own blog or website, check the person’s website/blog or photo sharing site (such as Flickr) for information on their copyright or copyright policy. You’ll usually find this information on a page or sidebar such as the “about”, “copyright”, “permissions”, “profile”, or similar page/area.
• If the copyright notice indicates “All Rights Reserved” — they are definitely not yours for the taking.
• Now you need to contact that person (and that information is usually always available as well) to request permission to use their image. Don’t be afraid to do this; some people are flattered and will grant you permission. Some will ask for compensation. Don’t take it personally if they choose not to provide permission. After all, it does belong to them.
• If you don’t get permission and are really in need of a particular type of photo for your blog or website, use your search engine using keywords, “creative commons + [keyword for type of image you need]“. There are some people who have images available under licence as creative commons. Those are images where permissions will be granted for your use, yet you likely will be required to provide attribution (give credit to the specific owner). Flickr has a listing of their members who provide creative commons images as well as a simple explanation in the sidebar on what the particular type of creative commons entails.
• Not so difficult, right? And this way it’s legal.

Jenn and Karina over at Tiny Choices blog are a great example of the correct way to use other’s photos and how to give proper attribution. (Note that they use photos from Flickr that fall under “creative commons” and that they correctly provide attribution & a link directly to the individual; it is not correct to give attribution to Flickr because Flickr does not own the photos.)

I hope this is helpful in providing information on how to protect your images online. On the opposite hand, if you know of someone who may benefit from learning about the legal way of using online images, please share the link to this particular post. You are also welcome to link to this post from your own blog or website to share with others.

“If we know better, we do better.” ~ Maya Angelou

PS: After receiving some comments, I want to re-emphasize reading that article noted & linked to at the beginning of this post (the one by Greg Cope). My post is an effort to begin the conversation and to offer some tips and suggestions. Mr. Cope’s article is much more indepth and provides very specific how-to information in this regard.

Partly because I have finally found the ideal site for posting a-photo-a-day photoblog but also because I have so many other responsibilities (not to mention several dog walks each day ), I’m falling behind.

I’ll be unavailable all day tomorrow and, as usual, I seldom go on the computer over the weekend. So I wanted to wish everyone an enjoyable weekend. May you have fun times with family and friends and may you be rejuvenated in whatever you do.

For those who have asked, my new photoblog is going to be a permanent installment but I must admit it’s much easier than blogging because I can post several photos in advance and it automatically posts them without me even being on the computer — talk about convenience! So, I will continue with this blog though my time spent blogging may be less than it has been. (I’ve also had a lot of Internet problems lately — very slow and lots of crashes.)

Enjoy your weekend everyone!

PS: For those who are interested in checking out this great photoblog community or perhaps in starting your own photoblog, visit Aminus3. I love the format and that it has specifically been created to showcase photographs.

Today is all about organizing and clean up. 

I have finally found a suitable online showcase for my photos. I’ve mentioned before how limiting this blog is in terms of size of photo that is allowed. When the photos are compressed to such a small size, so much detail is lost. For anyone who visits here especially to view my photos, I have just registered for a new Photoblog. At the new photoblog, my photos most days will not be accompanied by words, except for the occasional quote. You will notice the photos themselves at the photoblog are larger in format so won’t be as flat as they appear here. Unlike this one, the photoblog will feature a single new photo each day.

Some of you are already aware of my online gallery at my website. I’ve been adding to that gallery and changing things around a bit lately. If you wish to visit my website gallery, for best viewing each time you enter a ‘room’ (category) I highly recommend you click the “Slideshow” button located at the bottom of your screen. You’ll see a great difference by viewing them that way rather than by the small thumbnails.

Whether visiting here, the new Photoblog, or my website gallery, each one has simple one-click availability to subscribe to updates through RSS (whether in your reader or direct to your email). I’ve recently learned how to use RSS to subscribe to blogs (I know, must be the dinosaur in me!) and what a great convenience.

I’ve been doing a lot of reorganization lately and that includes my home office. It feels so good to have completely revamped my office and get things off the floor and up where they’re accessible! Have you been organizing, reorganizing, or do you have general organization tips you’d like to share?

{PS: This is post 1 of 2 for today. With the Presidential Inauguration today down in the USA, I can’t possibly let that historical day go by without a second post dedicated to this momentous occasion in history.}

Pure, simple winter eye candy.

I just learned and am so grateful to have been included in David McMahon’s “Post of the Day”. David is a journalist and internationally-published photographer. He is also the author of the novel Vegemite Vindaloo.

If you pay his blog a visit you’ll quickly learn why his photos are published internationally. It’s for that reason, I am particularly honoured he chose to include my post Ordinary Miracles as one of his picks for Post of the Day. Thanks David!

And since David is sharing the blog love, here’s a trio of blog posts I’m going to share with you:

Deborah Carr’s “What if we were all perfectly coloured and shaped?”

Shutter Sisters (all the posts) for all you ladies with a passion for photography.

Elizabeth Harper’s “Washed away”

Enjoy! If you have a blog post that has touched you in a special way or that you would like to share with others, please post it here for all of us to visit! See you there.

Diane Schuller’s photoblog is opening soon. Stay tuned for candid images of everything from nature, gardens, pets, working animals, to people and places within the province of Alberta.

All Images are Copyright © Diane M. Schuller. It is illegal to copy or download any of these images. All Rights Reserved.

I’m a pleasant person, so if you wish to use one of my images please simply send me an e-mail. Then we’ll see what we can work out okay? In the meantime, thank you for respecting my copyright and for doing the right thing.

If you’re looking for some special prints for your home or office, or perhaps would like me to take some photos of you and your family/pets, please contact me and we’ll work something out that is just right for you!