Courtesy of Mom*tog

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 copy 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. 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 photographer’s 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. That is super insulting. If you don’t like your photographer’s 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 (and illegal)! 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

*used and edited with the permission of the author*

Ok so now you ask what exactly are your policies on this?
I have no problem with you copying the images from my blog to use on Facebook, MySpace, your family blog, etc. In fact if you ask I will even email you the watermarked copies of the blog pictures and any that you order. BUT you are not allowed to edit them in ANY way. Do not crop out the logo (or really even crop at all) and give credit to the photographer (please tag me if we are Facebook friends). If you would like I will post them on Facebook and tag you in the photos so that you can share them without having to worry about it. You are in no way allowed to edit your photos-I edit them in my style which is what you hired me for. The photos are a representation of my work-I do not want my work associated with your bad edit. Do not print these photos either, they are a low resolution to protect me from theft and you from unscrupulous people stealing them and using your image for a purpose you may not like (think advertising for a disturbing product, it’s happened to many people). If you have any other questions on what you can and can not do with your photos, please ask me. You don’t want to accidentally break a copyright law that could cost you a lot.

If you have any ideas for future posts please let me know!
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