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. Â I personally love it when my clients post their family pictures on their blogs, facebook, etc. Â It shows me that they truly love their images! Â I encourage my clients to “steal” their pictures from my blog to use on the internet. Â Here are a few do’s and don’ts that you should think about when reposting your images:
1) Â DO ask your photographer what their specific policy is on taking pictures off of their blogs. Â Some photographers encourage it and some don’t allow it. Â If this is important to you this is something you should ask BEFORE you hire your photographer!
2) Â DO include your photographer’s name and website under the images (a link would be super nice!). Â That’s just the polite thing to do 
3) Â DON’T crop out their logo. Â Unless you have paid for the digital negatives don’t alter the files in anyway. Â Most photographers use their blogs to advertise their work and do so as a courtesy to give their clients a sneak peek. Â If a client crops out the logo then how will other people know who took the picture?
4) Â DON’T edit the picture in any way. Â Taking the pictures is only half of a photographers job. Â The other half is editing. Â 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. Â That is super insulting. Â 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) Â DON’T try to print from the files on the blog. Â For me specifically I know that the files I upload to my blog are too small to be printed in a 4×6 size. Â It’s not cool to invest in a family session and then print the images off of the blog and not pay for prints. Â Make sure you know how much the prints cost before the session to avoid sticker shock. Â Same goes for scanning prints that you already bought. Â Not cool! Â Some of my family members are guilty of printing images off of my blog. Â It makes me cringe when I see them FRAMED in their homes with my logo still on there! Â To be fair, I’m also not great at emailing them the file when they ask for it
ETA: Â Please feel free to repost this on your blogs and facebook. Â 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. Â Sarah has her own blog and I’m excited for her to share these with her family and friends!
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