Quote:
Originally Posted by Majik_Imaje
Copy rights don't mean squat on the internet or even in real life. I know I have had too many of my images stolen by big name companies here in Alaska.
you have to spend a fortune to go after them, and often that person doesn't have anything. for gonig up against big compaines.. lawyers then become bigger crooks than the ones your after.
the best way to sell images is start out by making postcards and notecards, this you can do at home. There are always places to put them. A post card or note card rack that will hold 64 different photos (10 of each in each of the 64 pockets ) is only about 75 bux.
Myron Rosenberg is perhaps the best well knonw photographer in the whole state. His works are everywhere in all formats and sizes.
Learning how to market your images is the tricky part. what you think is great the public might not think the same manner.. Make a; portfolio and learn to take it everywhere and show people and talk photography as much as possible.
Long before I ever came to Alaska I became quite successful at selling my images. that is the best part of it all. Creatng them is fun, editing post process is fun. but getting Ben Franklin to smile @ you on a daily basis is the biggest high I have ever experienced in photography, when people pay you for your images. That is the best part of it all.
I suggest you get a book called Photographers market book. companies like Adobe, Corel, Hallmark and too many others purchase or lease photos from photograhers. Learn the basics of photo marketing. the internet is not the way to sell your images.
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Technically, once you release the shutter, you have a copyrighted image...thanks to the Berne Convention of 1989. However, if shooting an image of wildlife, nature or the like, while the photo is copyrighted, the concept is not...there can be many similar photos to the one you've just taken.
And when shooting humans, one must have a release signed, even with known individuals - that can come back to haunt you. Not only is it for legality purposes, it is just common courtesy.
Majik...while I don't doubt your sincerity, there is something about your tone I do not agree with. I have read several of yon posts and one I have even taken to task. There is a distinct difference between you and I, a vast one. I do not have the obsession of the 'all mighty dollar' when I sell my images - hells, I've been known to give one or two away if someone just asks. I shoot an image to share what I have seen - not to milk the masses. I have had showings, sold prints, and if I was aggressive - which I believe you are - I could do more financially with the images, but that isn't in me. It is my passion to shoot images, it is my passion to share them. I have sold images to authors for their novel covers, but I have also given them images as a gift. Is this naive? Perhaps to some. If one day I become financially successful through my photography - good on me. If no, but a person or two finds enjoyment and contentment with my images, then I will feel more than successful.
That being said - yes, copyrighting has its ups and downs. The internet is not necessarily fair, but there are methods of determent , i.e. watermarking, copyrighting, etc. Then it only costs $45 to register work through the US. Copyright Office:
U.S. Copyright Office or their beta system for electronic filing - $35:
https://eco.copyright.gov/copyright/...tus/index.html
One can submit many images on a cd and only pay the one fee - and a cd can hold hundreds of thumbnail sized images. While this is no guarantee of anything with regards to copyright infringement, it gives a greater leg to stand on - more often than not the offending party has to cover the legal fees, etc. If it comes to that point. There are times - often in fact - that a cease and desist letter is all that is needed.
Even images that you sell as notecards and the like are fair game...it isn't anything for a less than honest person to take your photo they've purchased and have copies made, say at Walmart and turn around to sell them for self-profit.
The internet has opened a broad range of possibilities for photographers - it does get their work OUT there. There are tools that can be utilized for the internet - disabling right click, not posting full-sized images, water marking, lowering resolution...but to each their own. Xa'at, I noticed that Photoshop utilizes Digimarc...it may be something you would like to look into. I use them and for the price - $79 for the beginning package - they will embed a watermark and track your images online.
There is also the 'poor man's copyright' - enclosing your materials in a manila envelope and sending it to yourself, either through first-class shipping or even registered mail, then leaving it unopened. I do not know if it is even plausible enough to hold up in a lawsuit, but it is a beginning, I suppose. I did it long ago with some music I've written...but my images are entirely a separate matter.
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05-08-2008, 10:15 AM
Now the tough question, which lenses should I bring?
Linear Mode
