One common part of our job is to develop photographic material and images that will be used for commerciallity purposes and shared on the internet. A good source for the raw material that we will process can either be our own photographs or the world wide web.

However, the photographs circulating over the Internet may not be free. It has occured to us to listen to people arguing that that since a photo is on the internet or in public display its also fully available to be used, edited, reproduced, copied, manipulated etc… But this is not a safe conclusion and no-one should run into that unless there has been some research involved.

It is very important to stress that we strongly believe in professionalism and serving the copyrights is of high value to us. Be respectful to the photographic material that is NOT yours.

You own only what you buy (with receipt) or what you’ve captured with your own equipment (camera, phone).

  • We should not download photos from the internet, and adding them on our website without making sure that it is allowed is both illegal and immoral. If the photographs are accompanied by Creative Commons licence without the non-commercial attribute, this means that you are allowed to use them.
  • If you want to use photos of a partner of yours , it is important that you keep your relationships at very good levels. Ask politely if your partner allows you to use his/her photographic material, and assure him that you will use it for a particular purpose .
  •  So, you get sympathy, you create a harmonious environment and you help to improve your personality  in your workplace .
  • In the case you buy stock photos, make sure that you read their license. For example , some images have a specific number of allowable use .

Of course these are not done almost never by anyone , but the truth is that as professionals we are in our work, the more professional we will look to our partners, and our customers.

Proposal: Name your Photos

So as to ” lock ” intelligently your photos and show it to other internet users that the photos are intended only for your own use, you can “name” them, giving users understand that you own them, or that they belong exclusively to your site.

Example:

If you upload a picture on the site abcdefg.gr and name it username_abcdefg.gr_filename.jpg

It means that the picture is mine and I allow the use only for www.abcdefg.gr