What people don't understand about pictures over the internet. From a photographer/ makeup artist perspective.

As technological as we have become we still struggling with people who deliver counterfeit work.  It is sad. Everyone know it. Lack of creativity, lack of knowledge many reasons can be the underlying fact behind the use of copyright work.  Even if it is not copyright work. If it was not done by you. It is not yours.  I know there is a humongous group of people who believe that if you don't have a copyright logo on something it is public domain. Recently I was looking on the internet and I visit this page on facebook called ... 

Maquillaje paso a paso (makeup step by step)   it was interesting for me because as a makeup artist and a photographer I spend many years not taking pictures of my own work. So I went there and notice they have 6,964,952 likes  which is impressive for a makeup tutorial page.  But I did like to see how they took the pictures of their makeup to make their tutorials. When I start noticing some of the pictures I have seen them before. In the pages of other serious makeup artist. This is terrible because even if you report this Facebook aint going to do nothing about it.

When you click on the tutorials it opens to their website which is a website based on pictures taken from the internet. /http://fotos.soymoda.net/  Some of the pictures are from other people blogs. Some have the credit on it because the picture have the watermark name on it.  Some other doesn't.  They are receiving millions of clicks on sales from advertisements, people and clicks.  Some people would say this is like pinterest.  No is not.  Pinterest is a depository of images.  People only make archives of the images they like.  They just have folders with images.  Is not the same to have a site to make folders with pictures that you like than write blogs with advertisements using pictures that have copy right. Go to this link and tell me if I am right or wrong? http://fotos.soymoda.net/paso-a-paso-para-alargar-y-darle-volumen-a-las-pestanas/

This is only one example. God know how many websites are out there doing this. It is really irritating how they can take the work of someone for granted. Mine included.  Some of the pictures of a tutorial I did for the page http:lovethediva.com were used in that website.  It is insulting that my name is not even remotely mention.  Is not about money. Is about integrity.  From now on I watermark my work. Big lesson to learn. 

Copyright is an automatic right and does not require the author to file special paperwork, as is the case for trademark and patent. Registration is required to enforce the rights, but as a matter of right, an author is not required to register anything to get the right to use the “circle c,” showing the work is copyrighted. As soon as you type words, click the shutter on your camera (or, for many of you, hit the home button on your iPhone), apply paint to canvas or paper or lay down tracks for your next hit, you’ve got a copyright.



Stock photo services: Is a  depository of pictures licensed for specific uses. They can be purchased and delivered online. The pictures are professional pictures taken by professional photographers in studio using models or people posing as different stereotyped characters.  You pay a small fee and use the pictures depending of contracted copy righted material. 

Creative commons licenses: A good example of this is https://www.flickr.com. Is a site where people who have copyrights of their pictures share their pictures to get more exposure and you don't have to pay them for their pictures. But you do have to obey the rules they post in the site in order to use their work. If you get caught using their work out of those rules you can be legally sued.  The rules are as simple as... 

• Place the name of the photographer under the picture once you use the picture. (fair enough don't you think) Specially if you know is someone who is doing the job. This is called Attribution.  
•  You can share the picture with some changes with the authorization of the author. This is called Share-Alike. He took the picture. You are going to use. Don't change it unless the author know about it! You don't like something... Guess what. Look for another picture or another photographer. 
• Don't use my picture if you are going to make money out of it. This is called NON COMMERCIAL this include and is not limited to bloggers who are paid for people who click like in their website. Bloggers who have advertisements in their page and the picture is going to be showing up next to those advertisements.  Bloggers who write and add as part of the blog words that link to an advertisement in which they get paid. If your blog is already commercialized you cannot use this kind of pictures unless the author have agree to it.  Send them an email. Tell them how many people see your page and how much exposure they will have. But do not use copyright work without the proper authorization. 
• Do not edit the photograph by all means. No crops or photoshop. Use the work as it is. This is called No derivative work. 
• From this categories you can mix them and match them. You can create a Share-Alike/Non Commercial.  Attribution/Non Commercial.  No Commercial/ No derivate Work... etc The options are many depending on what kind of control and limitations you want to set in your pictures once they are shared. 

***REMEMBER

• Stock photo services require you to pay for a license
• Creative commons licenses confer the right to use an image under certain circumstances
• Public domain images are not subject to copyright in the first place.

So in what moment a person can just copy a photo and use for a blog, news or anything just because it is in the net? NEVER.