Just wanted to take a moment and talk about “copyright infringement” and the protection of art work among artists, including photographers.

#1 –  I have been involved in photography for a long time, and realize that sometimes it takes a long time for artists to go through the hard knocks of life to get to the certain skill to take the quality of pictures that they take.

#2 –  I also realize that every photographer has the right to put a copyright or get credit for the photos that they put out there in the world. 

#3-  When a photo is put out there on Facebook and Twitter and Pinterest, and Instagram, somehow the name of the original artist seems to get lost.

#4 – Many people post these pictures as if they took the photo, and seem to get credit for these pictures. 

#5-  My feelings on posting pictures on my blog are to always give credit to the photographer, assuming I go to all the steps to make sure I know who the photographer is. 

#6 –  Now, as I do photos of the week, I spend time congratulating the photographer for the photo that they take, and make sure they are the one who took the photo.  I have done a lot more into making sure I have the photo associated with the photographer. 

#7-  If I ever see a photo with the Copyright symbol on it, I am going to assume that the photographer does not want me to publish this photo, or anyone else, because they are probably selling this photo for a profit, and I do not want to take away from their earnings.

#8 – I am assuming that most photographers that post their photos on Facebook, Twitter, Instagram, etc, want their photos to be shared, as long as the photographer gets credit for their work.  So, I will always do that if I can make sure I have the photographers name associated with the photo.

#9 –  Occasionally, I may post a photo that is tagged as taken by a certain photographer, but was posted incorrectly.  And for that, I can only assume in sharing it throughout the Facebook world, the name got lost.  I am so grateful if the photographer finds his photo and lets me know that his or her photo was published with the wrong name, and gives me a chance to correct it.  At that time, I will re-post that photo and give the photographer his proper credit. 

#10-  I will continue to take steps to make sure that the photos I put in my blog, are properly tagged with the right photographers name on them.  If they are on Facebook, Twitter, Instagram, Pinterest, etc., I will assume that they would love to have their photos shared with the rest of the world.  For that is a natural thing that happens when any photo is posted on social media.  That is the agreement you take when posting pictures on those social medial sites. 

THANK YOU FOR READING THROUGH THIS, AND I HOPE THAT CLARIFIES HOW COPYRIGHT WORK SHOULD PROCEED WITH MY BLOG.  AND I HOPE ALL PHOTOGRAPHERS KNOW, I AM OUT TO PROTECT YOUR WORK AS MUCH AS POSSIBLE, AND ALSO TO PROMOTE YOUR WORK AND “MAKE YOU FAMOUS” AT THE SAME TIME.