There’s nothing better than getting home from an event and jumping online to check out what photos have been snapped of you! We all love having professional quality photos to put on our wall in a frame or share on Facebook (or send to EQ Life to go in your blog!). But what about those who aren’t buying photos, but just copying the watermarked photo directly to their facebook page, or worse, uploading to sell a horse! 

I have heard a few of these people tell me ‘The photographer doesn’t mind, because it’s good publicity...’ Is this really the case? Are professional photographers willing to overlook these copyright breeches to get their name out there? 

I contacted a few professional photographers and overwhelmingly, the answer is NO! They do not appreciate the publicity. Narelle Wockner (Narelle Wockner Photography nwpstudio.com.au) said it was the biggest issue with the equestrian photography industry. When I asked her if she appreciated the publicity she said; "Would you go into a clothing store, steal an outfit, wear it and then tell your friends which store it came from?" 

“A photo does not just happen to be stored in a viewers’ computer without them taking deliberate steps to make that happen. It is not ‘accidental’. I do believe that most people over 18 realise this...”

– Peter Orr 31/07/2013

When I spoke with Paul Smith (Paul Smith Photography paulsmithphotography.com.au) he was very clear in his disposition. “Copyright on my images means the image cannot be copied or printed or downloaded. People who use the watermarked images on Facebook etc are doing so illegally...”

Victorian based photographer Derek O’Leary (Derek O’Leary Photography derekoleary.com.au) has been known to go so far as prosecuting repeat offenders and will continue to do so to make a stand on the topic. Derek assured me that he does not need people using his watermarked photos illegally for exposure as he gets, around 4 million hits per month on his website alone. 

which would you prefer?

As far as Peter Orr is concerned (Main Event Photography maineventphotography.com.au) sharing an illegal image on facebook or emailing to your friends is one thing, but using it to advertise a horse for sale, just doesn’t make sense. “Why you would use such a poor image to sell a horse for often $10K or more is another question when for just $35, I will turn the ‘as taken’ low res proof shot into a really striking high quality hi res image.”

Legal issues aside, it is very tacky to use a watermarked image, especially as a facebook profile picture and is “...the most obvious display of disrespect for our craft possible.” according to Narelle. Many people have begun ‘dobbing’ when they see copyrighted images being used and the photography community are all looking out for each other in this respect as well. 

Julie Wilson (Julie Wilson Equestrian Photography http://www.jwep.net/) had a different view on the matter, at least where facebook use is concerned. “These days it is easy and cheap to promote the proofs and we do not restrict the use of proofs on Facebook but do try and control the use of proofs for any other use.” In the days before the internet proofs had to be mailed out to customers which was time consuming and expensive. As far as Julie is concerned, the lost revenue from a few stolen photos is just the price to pay for the convenience of using the internet in her business. 

Peter Orr believes that Microsoft deserves some of the blame for this epidemic as well. In the early days of Windows 98, it only took a few lines of code to have the right-click function disabled which effectively protected images. As Windows has advanced they have made it progressively easier to copy images. 

The big picture is, we pay our farrier every month, we pay our vets and, we pay the saddler. These are all suppliers of services we use and appreciate as they are necessary parts of what we do. You’d never consider not paying your farrier because if you did he’d simply stop coming. So as a community, let’s stop stealing from our much loved photographers and respect and reward them for what they do so they keep coming to events! 

“The ability to do something does not make it right, nor does the fact that other people are doing it. We are simply relying on our customer’s integrity for them not to take the images.”                                  

-Earle Teirney 31/07/2013 (Oz Shotz www.ozshotz.com.au) 

I’m not asking you to buy every photo that is taken of you, (especially the one that makes your butt look big in your white breeches!) just the photos you think worthy of showcasing the horse you have for sale, or uploading as your new facebook profile. 

Copyright means it’s not your right to copy...

Until next time,

Emma