Digital Photography

Online photo communities — sites where photographers post their images for anyone to view and critique — are great sources of inspiration and a fun way to share your love of the art with others. Unfortunately, they’ve also become happy hunting grounds for lowlife prowlers who don’t want to pay for pictures they use on their own web sites, blogs, or other marketing materials. Hey, why should they pay the photographer when all they need to do is find an image they like, download it, and scurry back to their cyber-hideout?

Don’t think this issue is just a problem for people who earn a living from their photography, either. Do a Web search on the phrase “photos used without permission,” and you’ll find countless reports from casual photo buffs who’ve had their images used illegally. And you’ll find more than a couple of stories about photos that wound up on sites that are, shall we say, “less than wholesome,” which creates a concern that goes way beyond proper compensation for the photographer.

Personally, I share my photos only through sites that enable me to password protect my galleries and restrict people unknown to me from accessing them. But let’s say that you do want to join a photo-sharing group — again, they’re great fun, and you can get a lot of good feedback to help you improve your pictures. You can take a number of steps to help protect the integrity of your pictures, and I’ll explain those in my next missive.