hello there my friends, how are you? it’s friday lovelies, it’s friday! we are having a good day here, mr twiggs is going to sierra nevada again, and i will be with mr kobe rocking the house together! well, today i wanted to write a different post from what i usually write on fridays. if you follow some blogs you may have been noticing some movement around crediting photos properly. well, today i wanted to make my point on that. and by this, i may have to apologize too for maybe doing some mistakes when crediting photos in the most correct way.
chelsea from {frolic} wrote this {post} about this matter. and it has created somehow a revolution in blogland. in fact, i am quite new to blogging, when compared with some huge blogs that i admire. blogging rules are not quite defined or wrote somewhere, but let’s face it, if you look for it, you will find something about it. it’s called blogging etiquette. it’s called common sense. it’s called respect. it’s called decency.
asides from ideas and inspiration, a matter to which i will get back later, there is a main concern when you blog, which is photography. where do you get your photos to post on your blog? are those yours? if so, happy to hear that. if not, did you asked for permission to the photographer? did you credited properly for those pictures? i may be a little guilty here and for that i am really sorry. i apologize for not asking for permission sometimes. i credit those photos and i always think that by that the photographer will appreciate and not feel some unfairness. but on the other hand, maybe this is not that simple and maybe he will feel that unfairness by not being properly asked first, it’s an act of honesty and integrity for someone’s work.
now, i have a point and shoot, a lomo camera and a film camera. i sell my work on etsy. i like to think that i am a photographer, but in true i have a hard time in saying that out loud, though it’s in my signature, because i want to stand up like a photography. that is my passion. i feel happy with a camera on my hands. and i would love to see my work respected. a photographer with training or a self-taught photographer, either way i demand to see some respect for my work. and by that, i demand to see some crediting when someone uses my photos. and i would like to see an email when someone decides to use my work on their blogs. so credit your photos properly, and by this i mean look for the original sourse of that photo you wish to post. pinterest, tumblr, google, flickr (unless if you have the name of the account), we heart it are not original sources, these are places in which we gather the inspirational photos we find. therefore look for the original source beyond these websites. i also apologize because sometimes when i look for inspirational photos on pinterest, i click on the image to find where it came from, but don’t look beyond that. and this may mean that that blog may just have reblogged that image. therefore, it’s not theirs as well. so i am sorry.
concerning re-blogging… well, sometimes when i talk to some friends of mine, that don’t have blogs nor read blogs, they have no clue whatsoever about the work involved in writing a blog. writing a blog, at least if you care for it, if you wish for someone to read it, you need to take it seriously and by that, i mean that write your own material. if you write something because you found it somewhere, then credit that blogger. just imagine that someone would do that to you, if someone stole your post, your idea, your inspiration and made it its own. would you like it? no, right? so why do that to others? share your inspirational sources. it’s so simple. i may follow your blog and that other blog, from which you found that idea, and it will be that easy for me to realize you just stole it. so… not a good thing!
and this was it. this is really an important thing to be said and to be respected. please, make your work worth more by doing the right thing. be respectful. be honest with others. be true to yourself. still, you could read chelsea’s {post} on this matter, as it is inspirational for itself!
Sanda says
Totally agree Miss. Twiggs!!! I think this is not just an issue of blog world but of real life also. Respect and be respected…
twiggs says
exactly sanda, you are right! it’s a matter of real life as well!! we should be very carefull and always think about our actions!
Mervi says
Chelsea’s post seems to be very good. Crediting is a bit of a problem, because some people don’t seem to even care about crediting or bother on checking how the content (whether it’s photos or text) should be credited. I must also say some people are a bit too jealous about their content and don’t want them to be used on blogs and such even with the credit. Obviously that’s their choice, but I’m not so sure if it’s the best choice… Sometimes those who are themselves miscrediting or not crediting the source at all (or even plain stealing other’s works) are the worst about it when someone else then uses their content.
This is all why I use the Creative Commons licensing on my stuff, cause it gives an easy way to tell how my stuff should be used. That doesn’t mean it’ll always be used correctly, but I try not to be too strict about little mistakes. I know all these rules are complexed and there are different laws in different countries (yeah, there are), which makes it even more complicated.
It’s great you are willing to say you have made mistakes and you are sorry. As I mentioned above, not everyone sees it this way. And I’m happy to see the awareness of this subject raising at the moment.
twiggs says
hello mervi!! thank you so much for your concern and also for taking the time in writing this comment. it is really a huge deal, and some people just don’t care… or are jealous to share. sharing sometimes is not an easy thing to do for some. i have heard about the Creative Commons, have read about it, but haven’t done anything about that too in order to protect my work as well. i wish you good luck for you and your work, i wish that none of us feel other’s unfair judges on this point! have a great friday!!!
MissLilly says
I have to agree with you. Sometimes I was quoting something inoffensively and I forgot to mention the source. Regarding pictures, because of that, I always try to use my own.
Even though we are on internet, we should always respect other people thoughts and property (photos, quotes), because that’s what we expect in return.
Have to say I always enjoy reading your posts. You always care for everything, including beautiful photos, the texts are always beautiful and you also make references to other’s people work. I believe they’re really happy in having such an honour to be on your posts and blog.
Wish you a great weekend, with great weather and good photos :)
twiggs says
hello miss lilly! thank you so much for your comment and compliments1 i am so glad that you like coming here and reading what i write!!! yes, we need to be aware of other’s work and effort to produce something… and crediting is a huge deal!!!! have a great weekend, my dear!!!
chelsea fuss says
Thanks for this!!
Raspberry essence says
Gostei bastante deste post Claúdia! é verdade que às vezes podemos ser injustos para com o trabalho que os outros tiveram, mas também acredito que muitas vezes não seja intencional mas sim falta de informação. Tenho a certeza que este post vai elucidar muitas mais pessoas para este assunto importante de creditar as fotos correctamente. Eu ao início também não percebia praticamente nada do assunto até que houve alguém que me explicou a importância de dar o reconhecimento a quem o merece.
beijinhos e bom fim-de-semana!
Kristy Life n Reflection Photography says
Love these balloon shots! So joyful!
Marta Schmidt says
Aside from the problem regarding crediting photos, I just wanted to say that I do understand how you feel about saying out loud that you are a photographer. I felt the same way, it was as if I was giving myself a compliment or as if I was trying to fool people. I promised myself that when I got paid for my first photo or shoot, I would then call myself a photographer and never look back. And that is what I did. So I suggeest you to say out loud that you are a photographer, and I add, and a good one too! ;-)
Jess says
Thank you for sharing your own thoughts and experiences on blogging and using other people’s photographs. Sometimes it is all too easy to have relative morality on this topic when there are millions of blogs, content and photography swimming the internet at an Olympic pace. Other people, with bigger readerships, seem as if they are not taking the time to ask permission ahead of time to use an image or worse, not linking to the original source and so those with smaller readerships, sometimes think, well who am I hurting if I blog an image without asking?
I have really made an effort on my own, non-sponsored, small blog, to adhere to the All Rights Reserved on photos that I love. If I don’t have time to ask, I generally simply won’t use the image. Sometimes, I have cheated, and blogged a Flickr photo with credit, but without permission. But I felt enormously guilty afterwards. I definitely have not practiced that level of diligence with product photography from Etsy to big-name companies (asking ahead of time for permission).
There is always room for improvement. :)
I’m rambling. I really wanted to add a bit to your conversation
Laura Gaskill says
Thank you for this post! I often get questions about this from new bloggers, and now I have 2 great posts to point them to. I think it does come down to respect and common courtesy. I have the utmost respect for the photographers, stylists, designers, etsy shop owners, etc., that I feature on my own blog, and always do my best to credit their work clearly & link to any online presence they may have. That said, there are times I have “skipped a step” by just crediting the blog I found the photo on rather than digging to find the original source, and shame on me for that! This was a great reminder to really be vigilant and take that extra minute or two to credit properly.
Plus, as an added incentive to any bloggers out there who might not want to take the time to email the person whose work you are featuring or even feel a bit shy about contacting them – just do it! I don’t always do it, but 99% of the time when I do, I get the sweetest emails back, sometimes even resulting in a new online friend, a link exchange, or even getting written up on their blog as well! Whew, sorry for rambling! This is just such an important topic. Thanks again for the post! xo Laura