Stealing!?

Ok, the title probably got your attention, but I just wanted to put up a quick post about image theft. Theft may seem like a strong word to some, but at the end of the day, it really isn't that different than shoplifting from a local store. When we post images to a website or to a blog, we are sharing our work with the world, but we are not giving the world our work. Any images on the website, blog or in the shopping cart are protected by federal copyright law. If you take images off a website (or scan any hardcopy images) without permission, you are not only breaking the law, but you are actually stealing from the photographer.

I want all of our clients to enjoy their images and be able to use them in the thousands of different image applications there are out there, but they need to be done in the right way. All of our wedding packages now include digital files at the end of the contract. Most of our portrait sessions allow the option of purchasing a single digital file. So, if you want to use your images for your wedding favors, your Christmas cards, your wallpaper, whatever, there is a legal way to do it.

To thank my clients for following those rules, I do allow the use of blog images for personal websites such as Facebook or MySpace. The only thing that is required to use a blog image on another website is that the Long's Photography logo remain intact. Cropping or otherwise altering our logo will negate that permission.

Sorry for the mini-lecture, its just helps to make sure our policies are out there and that our clients are as informed as possible!!

www.LongsPhotography.com