Wedding Blogs Allowing Watermarks on Photos

A few years ago I wrote an "Open Letter to Wedding Bloggers" on my personal blog about the allowance and usage of watermarks on images.  I felt like I did a great job of outlining the reasons why it's important for a watermark to appear on an image - both for the photographer needing copyright protection and for the image protection of the clients featured in the photo.  Yet, not much has changed in the wedding blogger world.

There was a suggestion put forward for me to create a blogger list of shame for those blogs that don't allow watermarks, but I don't think that's nearly as helpful as highlighting all of the amazing and gracious wedding blogs that DO allow watermarking of images on their site.  I find it's far better for everyone involved to feed advertising dollars and attention to bloggers who are doing the right thing for their audience and content providers.  

Below is a list of blogs that allow watermarks ON your images, so that when your images are pinned or shared elsewhere from the blog, they can continue to be protected for you and your clients.  It's by no means a complete list, so if you know of more, PLEASE share them in the comments so we can keep growing this list to make it a great resource for all!  Special thanks to our awesome wedding photography colleagues Zofia Crosby, Adam George, and Dina Douglass who helped me update these resources for you.

Submission Links to Wedding Blogs that Allow Watermarks:

• WEDDINGBEE - Self-Upload Gallery of Real Wedding Photos (non-exclusive use and publication means you can upload here and elsewhere)
• BRIDES - Condé Nast's Online Bridal Guide
• BRIDAL GUIDE - Destination & Local Wedding Guides
• OH LOVELY DAY - Real Wedding Detail Inspiration
• WEDBITS - Image Driven Wedding Planning Tips
• OFFBEAT BRIDE - Real Offbeat Wedding Submissions
• ROCK N ROLL BRIDE - Real Badass Wedding Submissions
• SOUTH ASIAN BRIDE MAGAZINE - Real Weddings with Indian/SA Cultural Details
• GRACE ORMOND'S WEDDING STYLE - Couture High End Real Weddings
• POLKA DOT BRIDE - Australia's Wedding Blog
• BRIDES UP NORTH - Europe's North of UK Wedding Blog
• MAHARANI WEDDINGS - Real South Asian Weddings

Anne Ruthmann is a lifestyle photographer in New York City. She spent 10 years practicing marketing & management in corporate and non-profit businesses before pursuing her passion for photography full-time in 2004 as an independent small business.  She loves helping others find creative and smart solutions to business problems.  Stay in touch on Instagram, Twitter, or Facebook.

How to Protect Your Images From Being Stolen

While there are definite downsides to all of these solutions, here are some things you can do to help protect your work from being stolen on the internet.   Keep in mind the only failsafe way to keep your images from being stolen is to keep your images completely offline but this doesn’t mean that your clients will also abstain from uploading them.

1.  Digimarc.  It’s definitely NOT a cheap solution but it’s the best way to digitally watermark your images to keep track of them online.  The watermark can’t be removed with editing.  Check out their website for the details and pricing information.

2.  Watermarking.  While it’s been proven that watermarking is definitely not fool proof it is a deterrent as it is an extra step to take to make your image their own.  If they are determined, they will persevere but they may move onto another image that is easier to make their own.  The harder your watermark is to remove, the harder it is for them to steal the image.  This also allows a potential client to easily find you if your image is found somewhere that isn’t your website (i.e. Pinterest or Facebook).  Keep in mind that if the watermark is small and in the corner it may be easily cropped out.

3.  Use Flash.  Of course, there are definite downsides to this method, but it is not as easy to steal images from flash websites because you cannot right click and flash based websites are not able to be crawled by Google meaning any images on your website will not make it into Google Images' databank.  Of course you can screen capture but again, it is a deterrent.

4. Don’t Allow Pinterest.  Pinterest is second only to Google Images as a place that thieves find work.  You can opt out of allowing Pinterest to source your webpage but of course, this doesn’t mean that someone won’t still pin an image there.

5.  Register Your Copyright.  For $35 per image or $65 per group (i.e. a wedding or portrait session) you can register your images with the US Government.  This won’t stop people from stealing your image online but if they are stolen you are entitled to higher damages should you chose to pursue it legally.   This comes into play when corporations resort to stealing images, which has begun to become a trend.

Corey Ann is a wedding & lifestyle photographer from North Canton, OH. She is a mix of everything - fashionista, travel nut, deal hound, photo theft evangelist (she runs Photo Stealers) and geek rolled into one. She's had a website online since 1997 and a blog since 1999. When not plotting world domination or her next trip, she can be found reading one of the 100+ books she reads a year. Follow her on Twitter.

Respecting Images of Our Clients

The debate over offering unwatermarked images to bloggers has continued in many different places online. Some are furious that bloggers are making money off of unwatermarked work, while others could care less about where their work ends up and how much credit they receive for it. Regardless of where you stand as a blogger or as a photographer, this post is for the consideration of the clients who hired you, for the guests who attended the private event, and for the other hired creatives that produced original work at that private event.

Since moving to the Northeast, I've had many more clients seeking a higher level of privacy with their wedding images. By watermarking my images (putting my logo or copyright statement directly on the image itself) and refusing to provide unwatermarked work to bloggers for content use, I reduce the chance that someone is going to take that photo and use it elsewhere online without permission, while also increasing the chance that brand management tools will be able to find it for me on the web so that I can resolve any improper or unapproved image use. Notice I did not say PREVENT, just reduce. Obviously, ignorant people and those who mean to do harm will do whatever they want and when we find them we will kick their ass ask them to cease and desist. I usually have to send at least two emails each year to some company whose website designer grabbed my work, cropped my logo out, and plastered it on their commercial site without my permission. Because my watermark was there- the web designer KNOWINGLY did something wrong. If the image has no mark, it's easier to assume it's free content that can easily be used to populate someone else's website.

So, even if you do not care about receiving credit for your own work- at least consider respecting your clients' likeness and the likeness of the original work created by the other event professionals, which can be grabbed easily and used elsewhere without permission when there are no deterrents in place, such as a watermark.

See also:
Why You Need to Watermark Your Work

Anne Ruthmann is a lifestyle & wedding photographer from Boston, MA. She spent 10 years practicing marketing & management in corporate and non-profit businesses before pursuing her passion for photography as an independent small business. She loves helping others find creative and low-cost solutions to business problems. Follow her on Twitter to see her daily adventures and thoughts.

Why You Need to Watermark Online Images

You would think this is common sense.

However, there are still people out there giving away their work and their rights to anyone who knows how to right click or screen capture. Some of it has stemmed from blogs who love publishing work from photographers, but insist on only publishing your images if you're willing to submit them without any logo, branding, or even copyright info on them. They promise crediting your work in the text and with a link, but that doesn't protect your work once it leaves the blog with the click of a reader who loved the photo and wants to store it elsewhere.

Please don't screw yourself over.

You deserve credit for your work! Anytime it appears online in an easy to grab format (flickr, smugmug, blogs, etc.) it really needs, at the very minimum, a reference name for the original creator somewhere on the image. If people go out of their way to crop your info out without your permission, than you have the ability to take action and charge them for the use of your work (especially if you've uploaded and linked to your image on flickr where it states the permission for use as a creative commons or copyright license.) However, if you never attach your name to a photo, than you are unintentionally giving up your online rights to claim that work. You could still take action against someone, however, it would be much more difficult for them to claim they KNOWINGLY did anything wrong if they didn't have a way to get in touch with you to credit the work properly.

- If putting your name into the "I'm feeling lucky" search on Google turns up your website on the first try, than you can totally get away with just your name on your images
- If you have a commmon name, use your website instead, for example © anneruthmann.com
- If you have a common website or business name, use your logo/branding to avoid confusion with other brands or similar website names

There are ways to include copyrights and logos without interrupting a visual aesthetic- it's really not that difficult to find a solution that works for the blogger and for the photographer. It's also GREAT marketing if people love your images so much that they are downloading them to their hard drives or using them on other websites! I'm all about making it easy to share my work, as long as I get credit for the work I've created!! After-all, it's some of the best free marketing available! So, fly free pretty photos, but make sure people have a way to find your creator no matter where you end up.

Anne Ruthmann is a lifestyle & wedding photographer from Boston, MA. She spent 10 years practicing marketing & management in corporate and non-profit businesses before pursuing her passion for photography as an independent small business. She loves helping others find creative and low-cost solutions to business problems. Follow her on Twitter or Facebook to see her daily adventures and thoughts.

How to Confront Someone Who Has Stolen Intellectual Property

If you used the tools that I posted a few days ago, some of you may have found some things that you didn't know were out there. I was recently alerted to another photographer who was using the wording from my website almost exactly as I had written it. When you discover someone using your content without your permission, I suggest taking the following steps:

1. Take a Screen Shot of Copied Content
Before doing anything else, get evidence by taking a screen shot of what you're seeing and make sure you include the complete context in which you're seeing it. For example, if it's on a website or blog- be sure to include the http address and title of the website as seen in your browser. Here are some instructions for taking a screen shot with >Windows< or >Mac<.

2. Take a Screen Shot of Original Content
Same as above, but now you need to capture where the original content appears on your website or blog, for proof that the two examples are either identical, or much too similar to be a derivative.

3. Take a Break
While you're probably infuriated at the thought of someone using your original content, it will be much easier to deal with after you've taken a break to get some fresh air, a hot bath or shower, a nap, a glass of wine, or just after doing something to help you relax and gain a little more perspective. You may have been the first person to see this content and you may not know exactly how long the content has been online- taking a moment to step back and gain control of your feelings will help you approach the situation with a little more control. The worst thing you can do is fly off the handle at someone you don't even know, who may be a huge fan of yours, or who might have made an honest mistake.

4. Evaluate Your Claim
Visit the Copyright Website FAQ: http://www.copyright.gov/help/faq/ to see if your claim falls within the guidelines of US Copyright Law. If someone has copied a unique pose, post-production method, or style, than they have not violated any copyright laws - they have simply been "inspired" by your work. However, if someone has directly taken content that was created by you and claims it as their own, than you may have rights within the system. Before you can know for sure, visit the website above and then seek a second opinion from people you trust to help you evaluate whether or not you're making a fair claim.

5. Contact the Copycat
Only after you've calmed down and determined that this is a direct infringement on your intellectual property, should you think about contacting the person who has copied your work. The best possible outcome is that they feel embarrassed and apologize for what they've done. The worst possible outcome is that they feel vindictive and seek other ways to harm you. Approach this the right way and you'll avoid the worst possible outcome. I suggest first contacting someone via email- that way you have a written and time-stamped record of the point at which you sought to remedy the situation. Simply state the facts that you have found their screen shot #1 to be either a direct copy or much too similar to your screen shot #2.

To make it super nice, I would let them know that I'm flattered they like my content, but that they needed to ask permission before using it. I would then ask that the copied content be removed within 24-48 hours, in an attempt to resolve the situation quickly and peacefully. Let them know that you will check back to make sure the content has been removed. Most people will feel incredibly embarrassed at this point and will want to deal with the situation without ever making an apology or admission for what they've done. If they really have made an honest mistake, they might apologize to you, but remember that the goal here is to simply have your content removed from their site. Anything above and beyond that is just a warm fuzzy for your ego.

6. Follow Up
After the time you've specified (give at least 24 hours) follow up to see that your content has been removed from their site. If it has been removed and/or replaced, I suggest following up with a thank you for their consideration in dealing with the matter promptly- even if you never received an admission or apology from them. This step of recognition and thanks is key to making sure the copycat is acknowledged for the correction so that they will be less likely to perform further damage to your personal brand or content. Remember, this person could very well be your biggest fan, and tell everyone how wonderful you are, so make sure you treat them respectfully. You still have a business to run, and every person who has an experience with you is developing an idea of what your brand means in their mind. Creating a positive impression even in the midst of a bad situation, will help keep your name and reputation clean.

7. Report if No Action Is Taken
If the person infringing on your copyright has not taken action after being contacted, you have a couple options for getting the content removed.  Consider whether you'd like to send a Cease & Desist Letter before taking further action, so that you have documentation of asking the person to remove the content before going further, or if you just want to head straight to a third party who may be able to speed up the removal process.

• On Social Media - Most social media platforms have Terms of Use language around how things can be used and shared.  If the content is found on a Social Media platform, start with reading the Terms of Use around copyrighted material and then follow steps to report the account with all the documentation of your original work and a link to the unauthorized sharing as it appear on the social media platform.  Send a screenshot if you can, just in case. 
• On Other Websites - If the website is a third party, contact the owner of the website through whatever contact form is available to report the misuse of copyright content.  Show evidence of original content anywhere it may have been found on your site or feeds and then a link and screen capture to where the copyrighted content shows up on the website.
• On A Personal Website - If the work shows up on the website of the person who seems to be abusing it, you have the option to Send a DCMA Takedown Notice to the Internet Service Provider. << That link will provide helpful steps and an automatic form you can work with.  In some cases, a 

Anne Ruthmann is a lifestyle & wedding photographer from Boston, MA. She spent 10 years in the corporate & non-profit world before pursuing her passion for photography. When not behind the computer or camera, she can be found exploring the world with her husband. Follow her on Twitter.

Protect Your Rights when Giving Files

As it becomes more and more common for photographers to offer high resolution files and digital negatives, it also seems to become more common that photographers are willing to completely give up their rights to their own images! You should never give away your copyright to your own work - unless you're selling it for a very hefty price and it's work that you don't need to be recognized for (as is the case with some stock or commercial work). In the case of portrait and wedding work, which you may want to include on your website or in your portfolio, you need to maintain your copyright protection on your images if for no other reason than to prevent others from claiming your work as their own.

One of the easiest ways to protect your rights is to include a Creative Commons License on the disk with your images. There are several different levels of the creative commons license which are customizable for different situations. My preferred license looks like this: Attribution-NonCommercial-ShareAlike. By providing this license instead of a full copyright release, I am able to protect my own rights to the image, while still allowing my clients the ability to print and display the images for personal use. As an added level of protection, you can easily embed your copyright information in the metadata for each image upon import or export with programs like Bridge or Lightroom.

While all original work is automatically protected by copyright laws upon creation, there may be times when it is necessary to register your copyright. For example, when submitting your work for publication, or when photographing a celebrity or historical event in which your work may end up being widely distributed or highly sought after.

It would also be nice if we, as a community of photographers, could agree on some common language when referring to these different types of files made available to the client. In an effort to establish some kind of consistency, here are my proposed definitions along with some benefits and drawbacks to offering each to your clients:

Digital Negatives - these files are straight-from-camera files, exactly as they were captured, with no color correction, editing, or cropping. If files were captured in RAW, they are delivered in RAW. If files were captured in JPG, they are the original files as captured in sequence. By providing this type of file to your client, you are providing an unfinished work which can be both good and bad. On one hand, a client may realize that they are unable to process and print the images on their own (as could be the case with RAW files) and will need your assistance before creating any prints, on the other hand a client may take your unprocessed images and present them to others as a final work, which may in turn degrade the overall perception of your work.

High Resolution Files - generally considered to be at or above a resolution of 1200x1800 pixels, these files may be color-corrected, toned, cropped, etc. and are saved in a print-ready format such as JPG, GIF, or TIFF. Since these images are print-ready, there's a lesser chance of them being altered in an unfavorable way, however you still cannot control the calibration of the monitors or printers that your client is using to view or print the images.

If you're going to offer either of the above options to your clients, it is very important to educate your customers about the differences that can result when printing from uncalibrated monitors and printers, as well as the difference in quality between the products you provide and the products that they may purchase on their own. I highly suggest making sure that your clients are receiving finished prints or an album BEFORE receiving their files. This ensures that you've had a chance to print a product to your expectations before your client produces something on their own that may be a substandard product. You work hard to create your art and it is up to you to make sure it is being presented in the best possible way.

How to Get Published in Magazines

To help me put together some advice on getting published, I turned to someone who has been published many times in more publications than I can keep track of: Joe Photo. Click play to see what he has to say!


Joe also has a great blog called "Cup of Joe", which he updates daily with inspirations and photos.

Amy Squires also gave me some great advice:
• Send the magazine editor a link to one of your best events to get them interested
• Make sure the event has great details and is fashionable
• Send a CD with a selection of images- but not too many
• Make sure the images are already corrected to your tastes
• Include a printed proof sheet of the images with reference numbers
• There's no money in submitting images to magazines

Granted, both of the photographers above are speaking of wedding publications, but there are some basic principals that can be applied to almost any publication. I've also learned a few things along the way from my mother who is a former editor, copywriter, and still acts as a publicist in her current position.
• Think about the type of person you want to attract and what publications that person would be most likely to buy and read
• Think like an editor and take a close look at the magazine you're interested in and the types of images that are being chosen by the editors for publication
• Submit current work and avoid anything older than 1 year
• Include contact information for the bride & groom as well as any other relevant details
• Include your business card and make sure your name and phone number are on the actual CD
• Make sure photos are 300 dpi, at least 5x7 resolution
• Choose the publication wisely and do not submit the same images to multiple publications
• It may take up to a year before your images are published
• Local magazines will have less competition for publication versus national magazines
• Photographers who advertise with the magazine are more likely to be published with that magazine
• Show them something they've never seen before
• Make it a habit to submit your work regularly

Now that you have lots of great information about what to submit for publication, the how should be pretty easy to find. Most magazines list their submission guidelines somewhere in their publication or on their website. In magazines, check near the table of contents or in the rear index. It's often in very small print with little more than an email address. If an email address is all you get- make sure that your first impression has plenty of positive impact and concisely requests any release forms neccessary. When you're looking on a website, look near the bottom of the page for a "contact us" link or an "advertise with us" link. Then look for submission guidelines.

Once your work has been accepted, make sure that you read release forms very carefully. You may not want to agree to all of the terms a publication puts in place. If you find something that you don't agree to, simply cross that part out when you send the release back. For example, consider the following:
• Will you be given credit by name for the work you're providing for free?
• How long will the publication have the rights to publish your images? (advice: make sure it's a year or less- especially in case of a divorce!)
• Are you giving the publication the rights to use your images in their own advertising?
• Are you positive that you will be maintaining the copyright and not transferring it?
• Are there any terms about exclusivity and not using the images elsewhere?

While submitting images from one entire wedding seems like the most logical thing to do, also consider creating a type of editorial out of images with a common theme. Perhaps there's a very inventive florist in your town who you would like to team up with and produce commercial images for, which you could then submit for publication. Think like an editor and create a compelling story with images that would appeal to both your ideal client and the publications they would read.

If you use the advice mentioned here and end up getting published, please leave a comment with a link to your published work so that we can celebrate your success!! Likewise, if you have any additional advice to add, please share it in the comments as well!! If you're a member of the following forum, you can also use the following link to view more throughts on this topic: DWF