Do You Protect Your Online Photos?
By La de Boheme
@LaDeBoheme (2004)
United States
April 6, 2013 1:48pm CST
We automatically own the copyright to any photo or image we have created. That being said, has anyone ever had their copyrighted photo(s) 'stolen' after posting it online? If so, have you done anything about it? Like contact the perp?
Do you do anything to 'protect' your photos before revealing them to millions on the internet, since it is easy enough for anyone to save a file to their computer? I always watermark my photos. Sometimes I even add comments to the properties. Depending on the site, I might also downsize them to make them impractical for most uses except viewing. In most cases, I have had people contact me for permission to use a photo and I usually don't have any problem. In all cases (even though I haven't requested it), I have been given credit.
1 person likes this
6 responses
@cupkitties (7421)
• United States
6 Apr 13
Nope. If someone wants to take my pictures, the only ones they have are those I've uploaded to the public. Its gonna be very hard for them to prove that they are me.
@LaDeBoheme (2004)
• United States
7 Apr 13
"Its gonna be very hard for them to prove that they are me."
That's why I watermark them, put comments in the properties and never upload the full file size. I am not going to make it easy.
@LaDeBoheme (2004)
• United States
11 Apr 13
I am not talking about the EXIF data, but my own comments added to the property of the photo. I know that embedded info is not necessarily going to stop theft and that any savvy user can erase them, but like I said, I am not going to make it easy.
@Torunn (8607)
• Norway
13 Apr 13
Happens all the time :-) It depends a bit on what kind of photos I post, but for sports photography I watermark them and post in quite files so that the resolution isn't good enough for printing small prints.
I don't mind when people post them again as the give me credit as the photographer, but some don't stop at re-posting one or two but re-post 100 pictures. If I find them I usually tell them to take them down and link instead, or take their own pictures :-) Not sure on how many pictures I'd draw the line though.
@LaDeBoheme (2004)
• United States
13 Apr 13
I do exactly the same thing. Watermark. Small resolution sizes.
I know it is hard to prevent 'stealing', it's the nature of the internet, but I am not going to throw out a welcome mat. I do let the offender(s) know that I appreciate the interest in my photo(s), but I would appreciate it more if they would properly credit it or remove it.
But I have also found that the people who do take photos are usually uninformed as to copyright laws and ownership rules. Many of them think anything on the internet is free for the taking. A little reminder never hurts.
@LaDeBoheme (2004)
• United States
11 Apr 13
When you are in the business of selling photos, absolutely I agree with going big and going bold in protecting the merchandise. Smaller sizes will render a photo useless for most things other than viewing and a copyright/watermark plainly visible across the center of the photo makes it very hard to remove without sacrificing some of the integrity of the image.
I sell photos on a casual basis, but I do it through microstock sites. They do the same thing.
@alberello (4752)
• Italy
6 Apr 13
Well, my photos online, can be found only posted on my Facebook acount.
However, I would not have put any copyright, how little I care if the photos are disseminated by third parties and stored on a separate computer.
However, I can understand that many, like you, do not see it with my own perspective and then do our best to protect your data (with the majority for those sensitive).
I do not know if you, as well as Facebook have posted other photos online.
@LaDeBoheme (2004)
• United States
7 Apr 13
"However, I would not have put any copyright..."
We automatically own the copyright to any photos we create, alberello. However you can choose to put no restrictions on its use and make it public domain.
I don't do Facebook and I usually don't care about personal photos. However, my hard-to-get, one-of-a-kind photos I do tend to get protective about.
@heaytheblogger (2876)
• Philippines
15 Apr 13
I always keep in mind on my photo uploads on social networking sites like Facebook and the alike to put restrictions with the people who will view my content.
I only limit my media views from my friends and relatives, in addition, I don’t normally add people who are not affiliated with me in my social network hence, and this helps in protecting the contents that I am putting on social media streams.
On photo sharing sites, which I am registered with such as flickr and deviantart, I always keep in mind to put watermark on my photography content so that other will not infringe my works… I also keep photos secure and lock them to those who view them only.
@LaDeBoheme (2004)
• United States
15 Apr 13
Good ideas. 
I post on Flickr too and use watermarks. Most photo sharing sites do mark all pictures as copyrighted.
I post on Flickr too and use watermarks. Most photo sharing sites do mark all pictures as copyrighted.
@dagami (1158)
• Rome, Italy
6 Apr 13
i only post photos on FB and i've set my privacy settings so that only my friends can view them. i trust my friends enough that if they ever download these they will never use it for commercial purposes. since i am not a professional photographer, i don't see the need to copyright these. anyway, the photos that i post would interest only my friends and family.
@LaDeBoheme (2004)
• United States
7 Apr 13
I don't do Facebook, but I do upload photos because I like to share or they accompany some article. If you want to use it, all I request is you ask permission. Nothing irks me more than to see a photo I took posted by someone else as if it were their own. I don't mind 'lending' it out, just don't 'steal' it. I am not necessarily possessive about all my photos; I don't usually get anal about photos that would only interest my family and friends either.
"...i don't see the need to copyright these."
You already automatically own the copyright, dagami.
