Fraud

what sort of fraud?

you can't prevent the small images from being downloaded, the large ones are protected some place. beyond that you'll have to be more specific.

---Mike Savad
MikeSavad.com

I guess the better question is should I be worried about someone stealing my photos

Yes and no. I mean you can add a watermark, only post small versions with a watermark on social media and hope those that are honest will remain so and the ones that aren't so much perhaps it will deter them and for the ones that are right out dishonest will be that way.

it can easily happen. if your on the net, then people can take the small one. people who take wouldn't have bought. you can't worry about the small one. nothing the site can do to prevent anyone from taking it. there is a right click protect and save as is disabled, but google can still make a copy. you can watermark, but its easily removed, and it detracts from sales.


---Mike Savad
MikeSavad.com

Hi Connor.. Absolutely love the color and visual power of the waves in your images..... but, the horizon lines aren't straight. That's always been a pet peeve of mine. Just my $.02.

Hahaha thanks Sarah I'll correct that now on 😊😉

This is becoming once a day.... FAA needs to get some sort FAQ deal going or something.

Use the search on the top of the threads home page. That are about 50,000 post addressing this already.

EDIT: search term watermark or copyright

Conner,

I don't mind the tilted horizon...It indicates that you are right there being battered around in the waves...

This marvelous image definitely should NOT be straightened.

Thank you roger! I just do not know what to do. My family thinks someone will steal my photos and I'm just trying to figure out what I should do to protect them.

The only real way to prevent theft is to hide them away where no one can see them. Sad..but true.

It's a sad world!

Connor the only way you can be sure no one ever steals your images is to keep them off the internet. There is absolutely nothing you can do to ensure they are not stolen. There are many discussions about this in the forum. It is a risk every artist takes when posting there work online.

Of coarse if you do not show your work online you will not sell it online either.

You could register your images with the copyright office. Instructions for how you do that are on www.copyright.gov

Registering your images with the Copyright Office doesn't keep people from "ripping" your photos off the internet... but it could make it much easier for you to enforce your copyright if you feel that becomes necessary.

Registering your images with the Copyright Office also might help your family feel more comfortable about you posting your photos on the internet.

Disclaimer: As always, not legal advice, just my opinion.

You can't sell what you don't show. Are you worried that these will be the last photos you will ever produce?

I agree...I love the "curve" of this image.

You cannot protect your work from theft if you put it online. But there are some things you can do when you find theft.

I have been pursuing copyright infringements for the past 3 weeks and I have brought in a large sum of money. Infringers have included a large university, a major retail distributor, large architectural firm and the list goes on... Right now I am getting them to pay on threats of legal action, but in reality those threats have no real muscle, because my work was not registered with the U.S. Copyright office. I have just been lucky at getting them to pay. And I am really good at letter writing.

I sat down last week with a local copyright attorney for a FREE consultation. It was very eye opening!

So I have now registered ALL of my works that are on FAA with the U.S. Copyright office. It can take 6 - 8 months to get your certificate, but even a copyright "pending" status holds more weight in most states. Once I have the certificate, I can go for larger sums of money when I find infringers....It goes up to 150K for willful infringement. I can handle the little ones myself and send the big ones to my new lawyer. So far it has been soooooo worth it!

I spend about 30 minutes each morning using "Google image search" and "TinEye" and "ImageRights.com" looking for infringements. When I find them, I make screen prints and then send a letter and an invoice to their email address (when I can find one). I also send the letter to their image host. Working great.

You can't stop the theft, but you are NOT helpless once it happens! Good luck!

BTW...I always thought you had to register each individual piece with the U.S. Copyright office....Not so. The attorney told me what to do. I registered all 1294 images on FAA as 'The Collective Works Of Artist Sharon Cummings 2003 - 2015" all under one certificate. I just uploaded screen prints of pages with multiple images on each page. He said the FAA thumbnails were large enough for the copyright office.

I told him I was very prolific...He said, to register all new work every three months. Make a folder for new work and then register those quarterly. All of those new ones under one certificate. It is only 55.00 for one certificate.

Put it on the internet and you invite fraud. Might as well leave your work on a park bench. If someone uses your art, you can tell them to cease and desist. If they do, good for you. If they don;t, then be prepared to hand an attorney thousands of dollars and your file from the US Copyright Office showing that you have a legitimate copyright. Wait four or five years until your case is heard or you run out of money. Serving people court papers in a foreign country is a hit or miss situation. Even the long arm of the law doesn't work in many cases. Even if you do win, who is going to enforce the court's ruling?

Don't put your work on the internet for everyone to use. Put your originals in shows and galleries. Play safe

I am not an attorney.

"I guess the better question is should I be worried about someone stealing my photos"

If they are going to do it, chances are, there is nothing you can do to stop them.

Very interesting, Sharon. Thank you.

I don't get where all this paranoia is coming from.

There are millions and millions of artists selling art on the Internet. Did they all get it wrong? How bad can it be, considering that thousands and thousands of artist probably start selling on the Internet everyday?

Looks like you're 17 years old and may be getting advice from your folks. Out of curiosity, do they do any banking online? Do they ever make online hotel reservations? Or a last minute gift online? Do they have a Facebook page or small business website?

Doing anything online is fraught with the chance of something inforeseen happening. In your case, worst case scenario is someone uses a 900 pixel wide version of your image on their web site. If that happens, do what Sharon and others including myself does. Meanwhile, if you don't have stuff online, no one can buy your stuff either

Floyd I understand that. But I am try to have my work stay my work.

Yeah, Connor, no one else here wants to keep their work as their work. SMH

That there makes me question other people's work 😐