Copy & Pasting photo's really does put Photographers out of business

Thats a real shame! I have actually bought photos from that site! What I don't understand is why horsemart and various advertising sites continue to let it carry on, if they stopped it people would have to buy!
 
That's a real shame, it annoys me seeing copied and pasted photos even if they have watermarks on. It takes the **** - people don't stop and think they are mugging someone off - photographers take the time and buy the equiptment to take great photos of horses and people think they are just entitled to take it.
 
copyright is copyright, if it is music photos, film or anything else. Each of us does not work for nothing, we have 23 % taken off for tax, which is bad enough. what would you do if you had to work for 50% of your wages because that is what happen when you steal a image, film or music.
There is nothing which anyone can say which will change my view.
 
Were people able to copy pictures direct from his website? I bought a picture recently from another photographer, their website was locked so you couldn't do right click on them. I asked when buying the picture I wanted if there was anything extra to pay if I used it for advertising the horse for sale etc? They said no, once I'd purchased the photo I could use it as I wanted, but they would appreciate a credit to them if possible? So I don't understand this photographer shutting down because of this, as people have to pay for the photo to actually get it??????
 
Unfortunately when photographers put photos on line they then run the risk of copyright infringement. If they put a logo onto the photos on line then they at least reduce the desire of people to use the photos. It is possible to make the picture impossible to copy - not sure how it is done but it is possible. I've had photographers email the photo to me after receiving the money - leaving themselves wide open for the photo to be copied and used elsewhere.

The recession is biting everyone - people aren't buying photos like they used to. He's probebly just not making enough money to cover the expense of attending competitions. At least these days there is no longer the cost of developing the films.
 
Evelyn said:
It is possible to make the picture impossible to copy - not sure how it is done but it is possible.
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If you can display a photo on your screen you can copy it - no right click needed.


Education of the masses who think that it is acceptable to steal others' work is what is needed.
 
I used to be an equestrian (and wedding) photographer - even used to supply dressage photos to H&H many years ago. But with the advent of digital photography I decided to give it all up. Up to that point copiers had got better and better and I often saw my work used in a way that it would have been nice to be consulted first, my name mentioned at least - I knew it was pointless asking for a further payment!
In this day and age it is too easy to just click and drag a photo onto your desktop (I have a MAC) don't know how it happens with PCs as I don't use one. I am also quite adept at Photoshop - as I use it daily with my job as an artworker for a printer - so it is easy to do things with photos. The only real way to stop that is for the photographer to make the file size really small and then it is hardly worth dragging off and keeping. Don't think you can enlarge it once someone else has made it small.
I can sympathize with the photographer and I often think I do not envy anyone trying to make a living out of photography these days.
If I have photos taken of me and mine I usually get a cd made up of the photos BUT I also ask the photographer what I can and can't do with them first. They make great screen savers.
Anyway I bought myself a new horse instead of going digital and have not regretted a moment. I now only have a small digital camera but it does do a fairly good job - one of the pics won the Best Markings category of the Xmas Photo Competition and is also enlarged to A4 (without loss of quality) on a calendar, that's good enough for me.
 
I closed last year partly for this reason, even with a big fat watermark over the images people took them rather than buying and didnt see anything wrong with it, I think on the whole a lot dont understand.

If someone wants the photo they can easily get it, 'print screen' then chopping out the photo in paint for instance no software can stop that.

The only way to really do it would be either only sell on site or take proofs to the individual to choose from or get them to come to the studio, that doesnt really work, its a shame. I do think though its like alot of things, technology evolves and some professions just go down the loo with it.
 
Such a shame as he looks like a very accomplished, talented photographer. The event photography sector is suffering so badly at the moment, I know of several other photographers struggling to break even, and another 1 that has stopped that side of their business completely. Many people just don't understand how demoralising it is to see your photos being used without permission. I have spotted many of the photos I took whilst working at shows this summer on facebook, in adverts etc.

And to the person who said at least we don't have to pay for film processing- correct, but that cost has now been replaced by memory cards, on site printing and website costs.
 
That's such a shame, I didn't realise it was such a widespread problem tbh.
I am always thrilled when there is a photgrapher at an event I'm competing in. If they get a nice pic then I always buy it. So lovely to have a gorgeous pic as a reminder of the day. As many of the posts here remind us, horses aren't here forever, so if there is a good pic then I always like to get it as you can't rely on there being a next time.
I can't believe so many people are happy to steal pics, it should be incredibly easy to police by the horse sales websites - if a submitted advert has a watermarked pic then they shouldn't accept it. Should be very easy to do surely?
 
Thats such a shame, they took lovely pics. I have a gorgeous one of my Meg who sadly passed away last June, it is such a beautiful picture, a real snapshot in time & she looks so happy & well I really treasure it. Its terrible that this photographer has been driven to close down because of theft...
 
Whilst its unfortunate that the photographer has had to close, it is not likely to be the copying and pasting that puts them out of business. Its people not buying enough photos that puts them out.
It really makes no difference to them from a business perspective whether someone who was unwilling to pay for their work leaves it on the photographer's site and never looks at it again, or takes a copy and displays it illegally. Irritating for the photographer and illegal yes, but IMO not likely to be a cause for the photographer going out of business.
If the option was genuinely pay or dont use at all, I would expect 99% of the "illegal" photos out there would not be used at all, not that this photographer would suddenly receive £20 for every copy out there. In my experience, people who can afford to pay and like it enough to buy it aren't the ones taking it for free.

Saturation of the market (the massive boom in show photography in recent years meaning that people are now more selective about how many photos of their horse they want to pay for) and a poor economy, along with what appear to me to be unsustainably high prices from a number of suppliers within those market conditions would seem to me to be a much more likely cause of photography business failure than the people who copy and paste.

N.b. I do not have any illegally copied professional photographs, and am not condoning it ethically. I just dont think it has much impact on the finances of the business.
 
Such a shame he is closing, they are really lovely people who produce absolutely fantastic pics. They have always done the pictures at the happy hack I organise.




Toddles off to find a new photographer ...............
 
gnubee said:
If the option was genuinely pay or dont use at all, I would expect 99% of the "illegal" photos out there would not be used at all, not that this photographer would suddenly receive £20 for every copy out there. In my experience, people who can afford to pay and like it enough to buy it aren't the ones taking it for free.
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I don't suppose he would have received £20 for every copy out there - but if even 10% of the copies out there had been paid for, that would still be a significant chunk. Those being used for adverts, for example, its probably worth £20 to the vendor to get a decent performance photo of the horse.

I for one, would have loved to buy more event photographs, but found them cost-prohibitive a lot of the time. I would certainly have liked electronic copies, to be able to post on facebook etc, but at £20 a pop I'm not suprised people do copy and paste instead. I'm sure many people don't put much value on the skill of the photographer and the cost of his equipment, and just think its not costing them anything if they do steal it.

Perhaps what needs to happen is an overhaul of the industry - a bit like is being suggested for the music industry. Maybe someone could develop software which prevents copying - or use for illegal purposes. Maybe they could somehow add value in a different way, or find a way to provide electronic copies for those who just want them on facebook and their own laptops to be able to be purchased for less. or "leased" somehow - i don't know the answer but I suspect copying is here to stay, and just not having the photographs available electronically is not the answer, since so many must be purchased online after the event. Maybe better watermarks? or simply only uploading very low size/resolution pics - that's the most effective type of protection I've ever seen.
 
Our local events used to use Andrew a lot but they have been replaced by amateur photographers who quite frankly may be cheaper but take some bl**dy awful photographs and certainly do not have any idea about the technical side. Like they choose a dark shadowy area or a poor background.

Quite often they also do not seem to know what sort of picture the rider actually likes i.e. one where the horse is in suspension or in an upward movement and in a nice round outline not the one where it has its head stuck in the air or is in the downward movement so it looks hollow or choose the crappiest jump on the course.

It seems anyone with a digital camera can set themselves up as a professional photographer no matter how rubbish they are.
 
It is a shame, my OH is a photographer and although business is not bad at the moment he has experienced people taking and using his photos for advertising purposes without permission or recognition. He does take precautions but loves his work too much to give up.

Yes these days everyone can take pictures but photographers that have a passion and talent for this art will always be there for your convenience, even thou they don't make much out if it.
 
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