The Do’s and Don’ts of Stealing Images From Your Photographer
I get asked a lot by both photographers and clients what my policy is on letting my clients post their images to their blogs and facebook account. I personally love it when my clients post their family pictures on their blogs, facebook, etc. It shows me that they truly love their images! I encourage my clients to “steal” their pictures from my blog to use on the internet. Here are a few do’s and don’ts that you should think about when reposting your images:
1) DO ask your photographer what their specific policy is on taking pictures off of their blogs. Some photographers encourage it and some don’t allow it. If this is important to you this is something you should ask BEFORE you hire your photographer!
2) DO include your photographer’s name and website under the images (a link would be super nice!). That’s just the polite thing to do 
3) DON’T crop out their logo. Unless you have paid for the digital negatives don’t alter the files in anyway. Most photographers use their blogs to advertise their work and do so as a courtesy to give their clients a sneak peek. If a client crops out the logo then how will other people know who took the picture?
4) DON’T edit the picture in any way. Taking the pictures is only half of a photographers job. The other half is editing. If you think you can do a better job or want to edit out some of your wrinkles or use selective coloring please don’t show and/or tell your photographer. That is super insulting. If you don’t like your photographers editing enough to want to edit it yourself than maybe you need to find another photographer next year.
5) DON’T try to print from the files on the blog. For me specifically I know that the files I upload to my blog are too small to be printed in a 4×6 size. It’s not cool to invest in a family session and then print the images off of the blog and not pay for prints. Make sure you know how much the prints cost before the session to avoid sticker shock. Same goes for scanning prints that you already bought. Not cool! Some of my family members are guilty of printing images off of my blog. It makes me cringe when I see them FRAMED in their homes with my logo still on there! To be fair, I’m also not great at emailing them the file when they ask for it
ETA: Please feel free to repost this on your blogs and facebook. Just please give a link and a shout out to Mom*tog
And because I don’t like to post without pictures, here’s one from a recent family session that I’ll be blogging soon. Sarah has her own blog and I’m excited for her to share these with her family and friends!
About DrewB
I’ve started this blog as a way to connect with other moms who love photography. Whether you are a professional photographer who is looking for advice on how to manage your own business and your family or if you are a mom who is looking for tips on how to take better pictures of your kids, I hope that you can find some good information and be inspired!
well said. well said! this is my post of the day for sure!
.-= Candice {The Beautiful Mess}´s last blog ..{Tip Of The Week} Spread The Love Tour =-.
Thanks for the helpful post. I had 2 seperate clients take my photos off my blog without my permission and posted on their facebook page even after posting on my blog clearly that they needed my persmission. Still, what can you do? I’m sad to say, that they never gave a link to my site or credit for my work. However, I politley commented on their FB page that I loved the photo and then gave a link to my website. A huge hint I guess…LOL!
So well said – thank you!
As a photographer, I loved this post! I will be posting it on my facebook wall for my clients, but also wanted to know if I could put it in a facebook note so it stays there fore clients to see… I would put a link to this site on there as well.
thank you again for this great post!
Heather
Your words hit the spot!! Nicely said!!!
So perfect Drew! And the photo at the end AMAZING!
This is FANTASTIC!!! Thanks soo much for posting this!!
This is a REALLY fabulous post!! Is there anyway to share it on my blog (asking!) and I would certainly provide a link & give credit where credit is due!!
Thanks for this fabulous post! It’s refreshing to see it so simply put!
Worded perfectly. Nice, but not too harsh. I’ll be adding it to my facebook today. Thanks for the permission to do so!
Very well said! Thanks for allowing us to share it as well.
Brilliant. Couldn’t have said it better!
I’m not a professional, but do respect the hard work that goes into working with a client. I know how long it takes me to take a semi-decent picture, upload and even share it with friends and family. I know that a pro does much more work than that, so i’d never steal or alter a pic. Great post!
I love the backlighting on the pic!
.-= elizabeth´s last blog ..Blah Blah Bedroom-Decorating Advice? =-.
Perfectly stated!
Hopping over from Barefoot photography and I love your site.
This was nicely stated and very timely for me (just starting out my business).
Amen
I reposted to my blog. You can find the repost at http://storysinc.blogspot.com/2009/11/stealing-from-your-photographer.html
well said!!
) xx
.-= Nicola´s last blog ..For 24 hours only!!! £30 session! =-.
I just posted your pics on my blog (with credit, of course) and couldn’t find enough good words to say about you – how could anyone not give you credit??? Thanks again for the fantastic session…I think I’ve looked at them at least three times every day
awesome!
Thanks so much! I posted to my blog and sent everyone over to momtog.com b/c I {heart} you!!
Awesome! I m going to posting this on my facebook fan page!! Thank you!!:)
Thank you so much for posting this! I am just starting out and have two separate clients ( family and close friends) not give credit to my images or alter them and then post them to Facebook. Not sure how to say anything, but it kinda chapped me, ya know? Anyway, thanks a lot for posting this… I am just going to have to be more careful, I guess!
.-= Rachel´s last blog ..Sickly =-.
thank you for this!!!!!!! My pal Anna Page Photography facebooked this link and your words are so helpful!!! It is hard to explain this to clients!!! so thank-you!
Truly truly make sense!!!
Thanks for sharing..will repost on my page laterz to share too!
Perfectly said:) Thank you!
.-= christy´s last blog .."Best of 2009" =-.
Very well put. I just found this blog and am now adding it to my Google Reader! Thanks!
Thanks so much for this information. I passed it along to my blog and linked to you as well. It is so super helpful in this day in age where some people pick up a camera, find a photographer’s blog, copy the photos, crop the logo and call it theirs on their own blog/site. So this is very helpful!
Thanks so much!
.-= Photography By Teresa´s last blog ..Do’s and Don’ts of Using Images from my Blog =-.
Love, love, love this site! and love this post. I just started a photog business in September 2009…still in its baby phase. *Rowen Photography* its got a long way to go but I love doing it when I can.
But again…I love this site!
Hey,
I see haven’t checked out your entire site, as I was linked to this specific part of the blog by a link on facebook, but when I DID go to check out more, the first thing I see is “Run, Drew! Run!”, where you have displayed a professional photo of a modest swimsuit, without giving credit where credit is due…
just saying…
If you click on the link to the photo it takes you to the website where the photo was taken from… just saying… You might want to do a little research before you’re so quick to post a comment.
Hey Drew! I just re-posted this post on my blog and linked back to your sites. Thanks again for saying everything so eloquently.
Thank you so much for this article! I shared it on my site… with credit given to you
It was very timely information for me to share!!
I just posted this on my blog (and linked it!) – I have never visited Mom*tog until today, and I love it, thanks for this post (and all the rest), and I look forward to reading this blog regularly!!!
.-= Mindy´s last blog ..Fair Sharing =-.
Just posted this to my facebook fansite!!!!! Have had 3 other photogs ask to share it already! Thanks for writing a great article! I saw it on Mindy’s page! Here is where i posted it! http://www.facebook.com/profile.php?id=760379443#!/note.php?note_id=399166758073&id=24869851345&ref=nf Thanks so much for your hard work! Can’t wait to keep reading your blog!
I also posted it here!!! http://staceyclackphotography.com/blog/?p=72
What great advice!
.-= killlashandra´s last blog ..Fun for DIY Dad’s =-.
Thank you for this. Well said ; )
Well said & Thank you so much for posting this:)
I blogged about it today! http://hilarymercer.com/2010/08/the-do%E2%80%99s-and-don%E2%80%99ts-of-stealing-images-from-your-photographer/#more-944
.-= Hilary Mercer´s last blog ..April & Josh Engaged in San Diego =-.
LOVE this, I was just asked this the other day!! I am going to ass it to my policy and will credit you! THANKS!
Thanks for the info! I posted it with credit to you! thanks!
I was told and warned that Facebook has the rights to your photo’s when they are posted?Have you heard this??
great post. especially the “don’t edit the photos.” i like when people post on facebook, but when they have their friend/sister whatever do some ghastly editing and say, “look we photoshopped it!” it generally just looks awful and I want no credit for that creation.
Great post! I will post link for others to view! Nicely put!
Lovely post Drew.
this is so good! i always want to post the pics on my blog because i get excited…besides, isn’t that the best form of advertising? word of mouth? “look how AMAZING my pics are! you should use this chick!” i was sad when my last photog had all of her blog images copy protected and wouldn’t give me the okay. to me, it was a lost opportunity.
jeannett´s last [type] ..Christmas Party…a little late
Very good article Thank you for sharing! I shared on my blog too!
Fantastic advice! I’ll definitely be sharing this post with my clients.
Kristin´s last [type] ..Kristina & Chris Married Padua Hills Claremont Wedding Photographer
Awesome information! The one thing that I would add is that, if someone wants some additional editing done, just ASK. Don’t do it yourself and then mess up the photo, AND keep my name on it! Then I get credit for the horrible editing that I didn’t do.
Just ask me, talk to me, and we can work something out!