Stealing Other Photographers' Photos, Why Do You Do It?

Saturday 18 June 2022, 13:31 by Elja Trum | 4,456 views | 12 comments

This article was translated from Dutch with the help of AI. Read the original.

As a photographer, it's great to show your work somewhere and receive positive reactions. Usually, though, you would post your own photo. Today I came across someone who posts other photographers' work as if it were his own.

This morning I received a message from a photographer who also blogs here on Photofacts. He said that his work had been posted on Facebook by a photographer, and that he thought he had also seen my photos on his profile.

That did indeed turn out to be the case. I saw model photos I had taken, and even photos of my children, on his profile as if they were his work. He had posted them not only on Facebook, but also on his Flickr account.

I immediately wonder what goes on in the mind of someone like that. You can't be proud of yourself, surely? What's the fun in using other people's photos like this?

I also recognised work by several other photographers on his profile, who I informed as well. I posted a comment under the photo saying that it was indeed a nice photo, but that it was mine.

The photographer who had pointed this out to me had also sent the photographer in question a message. The photos were then removed, but there was no response from Fred.

At least, not a message. Apparently Fred thinks it's fun to try to log in to your Facebook account in response to your complaint. Both the photographer who informed me and I received emails about requested recovery codes for the Facebook account.

I don't usually make a fuss about third parties using my photos, as long as it's done properly. I would never simply send an invoice. As a photographer, you can of course do that if your photo is used in this way.

Personally, I always think it's more decent to get in touch first and sort things out. Perhaps Fred needs a bit more...

Share: WhatsApp Facebook

About the author

Elja Trum is the founder of Photofacts and online photography course website Photofacts Academy. He has been writing about photography since 2006. Elja is also the author of (Dutch) books on composition, black-and-white photography, flash photography and portrait photography.

Glasses with built-in camera from Facebook and Ray-Ban
by Elja Trum
Why do some photos go viral and others don't?
by Rob IJsselstein
Tip: How to Make Social Media Photos Stand Out More?
by Huub Keulers
Looking back on 20+ years of photography
by Yljas Roeper
Meta's AI pulls photos straight from your head
by Elja Trum
It is impossible to protect photos online
by Nando Harmsen

Show every article in Personal

home

12 comments

ErikvanRosmalen wrote on Saturday 18 June 2022 at 21:36 | reply
I still find it somewhat miraculous. An old product photo of mine is still widely used (illegally) on all kinds of Chinese webshops. I can understand that one a little. But presenting other people's photos as your own photography portfolio, then you’re surely going to be exposed, right?
Translated from Dutch.

Fred (nee, geintje) wrote on Tuesday 21 June 2022 at 11:02 | reply
Just publish his full name. Only through shaming can you end those practices.
Translated from Dutch.

Donald Willemsen wrote on Tuesday 21 June 2022 at 11:10 | reply
Years ago I also had something like that happen. I found photos that I had posted on National Geografic on Hives, on someone else's account. I put a copyright with my name on every photo, but they had all been cropped off on Hives. I then contacted the Hives administrators and they removed the entire account of the person in question. I continued searching and also found photos of mine on Flickr. Here too, it turned out to be the same person. After I informed the Flickr administrators, they also removed the entire account.
I myself did not approach the 'thief' via email or in any other way. So I contacted the administrators of the media concerned directly. It takes a while for them to respond, but it does help. Whether facebook also takes measures against 'photo thieves', I very much doubt. After all, photos that you post on facebook are a revenue model for facebook itself.
Translated from Dutch.

Nando wrote on Tuesday 21 June 2022 at 11:49 | reply
@Donald Willemsen:
Yes, photos of mine had also been stolen by this person.
I reported a copyright infringement to Facebook. The next day, the images had been removed by Facebook and the person in question had received a report for it.
I expect that in the event of repeated infringement, Facebook will block the account.
Facebook is very meticulous about that. Sometimes even too meticulous.
Translated from Dutch.

Donald Willemsen wrote on Tuesday 21 June 2022 at 12:32 | reply
@Nando, I'm glad that fb took care of it for you. Quite a few things have changed in European legislation in recent years, which means that fb is also obliged to comply with it. But that's a good thing too, I think. Now, you are a professional photographer and your income depends on the sale of your photos or rights. I'm only an amateur; maybe that's a difference. On the other hand, fb's terms also state that they claim ownership of everything you post on fb.
In any case, I find depriving someone of their livelihood inappropriate, and I find publishing other people's photos as your own work just as bad. Especially if you also crop the copyright off the photo.
Translated from Dutch.

Nando wrote on Tuesday 21 June 2022 at 12:50 | reply
@Donald Willemsen:
Facebook does not claim ownership rights. That hoax has been stubbornly doing the rounds for years.
But this is not about Facebook's policy, it is about stealing other people's images. Whether it is from a professional or an amateur is irrelevant. Whether you crop off a name or little logo is irrelevant too. It is simply not allowed.
Translated from Dutch.

Stefanie wrote on Tuesday 21 June 2022 at 13:34 | reply
That's exactly why I 'sign' my work, not fail-safe but for most of these kinds of thieves it's just one action too many to have to cut it off. On one of the photography FB pages such a profile was also brought up recently (not Fred, by the way) which was full of stolen photos, after a number of reports FB removed the profile (the poster didn't respond to anything or anyone), but these kinds of nutters just create a new profile and on they go ...
Translated from Dutch.

Donald Willemsen wrote on Tuesday 21 June 2022 at 14:11 | reply
Nando, it indeed isn't allowed but combating it is also almost impossible. Not publishing on the internet is then the only remedy. Now you do want to show your work to others as well, so that they can enjoy it too. In the hope, of course, that someone will want to buy a photo from you or, if you are a professional photographer, that you will get more assignments. Publishing on the internet also gives you name recognition.
Nando, now I would like your opinion on the following: To protect your work against theft, it might be useful to remove pixels (or groups of pixels) here and there from the photo at pixel level, or make them white or black, so that it is of no use to anyone to enlarge the photo without it being visible, but so that you do not see that adjustment at a small size. After all, it is at pixel level. But if you want to project/print it large, holes will then appear in the image.
It might perhaps be an idea to protect your work. What do you think?
Translated from Dutch.

Nando wrote on Tuesday 21 June 2022 at 14:29 | reply
@Donald Willemsen:
Your suggestion makes no sense whatsoever.
If you absolutely don't want to take any risks, then you shouldn't put anything on the internet, publish in books, or show it on TV, give no presentations...
Translated from Dutch.

Lauran wrote on Wednesday 22 June 2022 at 08:44 | reply
You don't steal photos, but let's also be honest: isn't that actually precisely the problem with amateur photographers? The majority aren't even worth stealing.

It's more of a problem for professional photographers, but they have already been paid for them anyway. If you nevertheless suffer damage from it, then surely the proper course of action is to file a police report, hire a lawyer and, if necessary, go to court and make a claim.

Once again, of course it's not right. Let there be no misunderstanding about that.
Translated from Dutch.

Donald Willemsen wrote on Wednesday 22 June 2022 at 10:17 | reply
@Lauran, just try taking a photo thief from the backwaters of Bumfuckistan to court. The costs are not proportionate to the damage suffered as a result of the theft.
The conclusion that a professional photographer has already received his money for the photo anyway is not always true. A professional photographer does not only take photos on commission.
I agree with you that most photos are not worth stealing. But we shouldn't give a photo thief carte blanche.
Translated from Dutch.

M.Kuivenhoven wrote on Wednesday 22 June 2022 at 11:05 | reply
The people (I deliberately don't call them photographers) who seek attention through other people's work lack creativity themselves. A pity, but you can learn that too. With some effort you can also make beautiful things yourself and enjoy doing so. Start by looking, then you'll automatically learn to SEE.
Translated from Dutch.

Have your say

Please note: Articles older than a week can only be commented on by signed-in visitors.
Would you still like to comment? sign in or create a free account.

Become a better photographer every week

A practical photography tip in your inbox every week.
39,079 photography enthusiasts already receive the tips! More about the weekly mail. Or keep up to date via Facebook. Sign-up secured with Google reCaptcha.

Elja Trum

Photofacts; everything to do with photography!

Would you like to take better photos and keep up with what is happening in photography? Photofacts publishes articles that teach you something about photography — from a product announcement to a practical shooting tip or a look at a website. Photofacts covers photography every day and is a hobby project of Elja Trum's that got out of hand. The articles are written by a team of volunteer authors. If you would enjoy writing one or more articles for Photofacts, do get in touch.More about Photofacts

Photofacts is made possible in part by