Wednesday, May 27, 2009
Rules of Engagement
I received an e-mail this morning from a photographer whose photo I had used in a post on this blog. It was nice enough, but very clear on the fact that they wanted to grant permission before any photo was used. I had not changed the photo in any way. I also gave a direct link to the site from which I got the photo and the artists name. I thought that I had done things correctly, but now I feel like I've been smacked on the hand. What am I missing here? There are tons of great pics out there on the web that are locked and can't be copied. And then there are the ones that just seem to be floating around waiting to be picked up. Bloggers always seem more than happy to share photos. And I always assumed that artists would appreciate any exposure that they could get. I know that I would, personally. So what do you think should be the general rules on this matter for small time bloggers like myself? I do not want to offend anyone or make anyone think that I am stealing their art. Yet, I love running across awesome stuff and being able to share it with others. Let's hear some feedback.
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3 comments:
yes i feel really confused about this too. i got a similar email recently from a blogger who doesn't like her photography being shared without getting her permission first. but i always thought it was fine to use photos if you credited back to the source. i did start only linking to flickr photos that are in creative commons instead of just any flickr photos because it felt weird to be posting someone's random photo. i dunno. i wish there were clear cut rules!
Really? How odd! First of all - welcome back! Second... how weird. I would think that it is fine to link to anything and post pics as long as they are attributed. Hmmm. It's difficult though if people think that counts as stealing, I would think it just counts as free advertising. Especially since we are just little blogs pointing out pretty things! I would have thought it would have been completely acceptable to post... But am happy to hear other opinions!
Thank you, ladies, for the input. I kinda look at this the same way as the warning at the beginning of a rented movie. You know, the one that says no sharing for the sake of making money? Well, I am not making any money from this blog, so I figured it was all cool.
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