I’m Flattered

by Steve Eshom on August 6, 2007

At lunch today while I was snooping around the web and looking at rail excursions in the northwest. I happened along one site that is advertising excursions in the northwest and around the world. I clicked one excursion of particular interest and the banner image caught my eye. “That looks like one of my photos“, I thought to myself. After verifying with another person I determined it and another were certainly my photos.

I’m flattered that this website thought my photos were a good tool to sell their product. In fact I thought their treatment of them was pretty good. That’s where my compliments stop. Unfortunately they blatantly stole these images from dogcaught.com without permission. Its too bad they did that because I might have been able to dig up some quality images that would suit their needs better. I’m even quite certain we could have come to a price agreement that was amenable to both parties. Hey, I like train rides as much as the next railfan :-) .

After a phone call the images were removed, so despite their earlier indiscretion they were good about fixing the issue. That said I still wonder about the other images on the site. Since I have no information about the others I won’t suggest anything else is wrong. I will say they have lost my trust though.

We have copyright laws in the U.S. to protect original works. All I ask is that anyone wanting to use an original work contact the copyright holder to negotiate use. For the most part in the amateur arena that is a simple process that involves a few emails and phone calls. So even if an image appears in a Google image search someone, somewhere, took it. If you want to use it ask for permission.

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  • Steve Eshom
    Since we live in a free market economy a photographer can charge what the market will bear. I say that to show that what a photographer charges a client for a photograph varies based on numerous factors. It is best to know what your client's business is and how it works, how much you think the photograph is worth to them, and the client's potential uses. Those in my mind are just the easy factors, there are more and they vary from situation to situation.

    Keep in mind the demand of for the style of photography we do as railfans is not the hottest commodity. Because of that the prices paid in general are not on par with those of a photographer who sells to corporations or sells fine art. Bottom line is you won't get rich selling railfan style photos, in fact many general photographers don't get rich either since the market is becoming more saturated with digital photos.

    There is a software package you can purchase (I believe $99, but don't quote me) that you can enter factors into and it will calculate what you should charge. Its not perfect because it only knows what you tell it but it could work as a guideline. Search the forums on Fred Miranda if you want more information.
  • So how does one determine what to charge for the use of a photo? That's entirely new territory for me. Not like I can take great pix like that Stampede Pass shot, but you never know...

    First time visitor to Dogcaught by the way. Great blog.

    Kurt
  • It all boils down to a little honesty and integrity. Regardless of the law, it's super easy to ask a photographer and generally an artist or photographer will let you use their work without remuneration, pending you aren't gonna make a ton of cash yourself.

    I've talked to at least 15 artists and photographers over the years for various things I've just pointed to on my blogs, I just consider it good practice and honest. The last thing I ever want to do, is even be remotely associated with the idea of theft.
  • Aaron Hockley
    Tom, you should do some reading on what is copyright, and how it works. Every image is copyrighted from the moment it is created. It does not need to be registered, and doesn't need a copyright notice. The over-simplified guideline is that if you didn't take the photo, or explicitly receive permission from the person who did, it's inappropriate for you to use it.

    It's only "open game" for those who want to steal another's work. The fact that you let folks steal your work and it doesn't bother you does not change the fact that what they're doing is illegal.
  • Tom Horstmann
    The issue most people are missing is that the web is open platform, and unless images include copywrite, they are open game. My recommendation for those who don't want their works exploited would be to copywrite it. That will not stop all unauthorized use of web images, but it would cut down on abuse. That said, I shoot commercial grade photographs that are used by railroads throughout the World, often without consent or compensation. But that doesn't bother me, and never has. I take pride in my photos being viewed and enjoyed by many.

    Otherwise, what is the point of photographing trains in the first place.

    Sincerely,

    Tom
  • Same thing happened to me two years ago. Why pay for something you can steal, eh? I ended up getting a nice train ride out of it.
  • Steve Eshom
    Thanks for pointing that out! In that case King County contacted me about the use of the photograph and ended up purchasing the right to use it in any of their promotions related to the project. The use of that photo is completely legitimate.
  • nwrails
    You might be interested in taking a look at this link, if you haven't given KC permission to use your photos also.

    http://www.metrokc.gov/exec/connections/pass.aspx
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