Grab a seat kids, this is gonna be fun. There seems to be something extremely difficult about whether or not you can post a picture on your fetlife account or not. Here are a few simple tips to help you figure out if an image is OK to post!
Question 1: "Did you take this photograph?"
If the answer is YES, you CAN post it! The cool thing about copyright is that as soon as you snap a picture (in any format) you own the copyright to that image! How fucking cool! Generally you want to get permission from the people (assuming there are any people ) in the photograph before posting it. You can use something called a model release if it's some kind of photoshoot, but I'll let you google that term yourself. You're smart, I believe in you.
Question 2: "Are you in this picture?"
If the answer is YES, then you CAN post it! How fucking cool! Generally, during a photoshoot (assuming we're talking about pictures of people here) the model may receive copies of the set shoot to post to their portfolio. I'd recommend getting permission from the photographer, but if they have released the pictures to you, generally you can post 'em where you wish. Don't forget to credit your photographer.
Question 3: "Are the things in the picture my things?"
If the answer is YES, then you can post it! SCORE!
Question 4: "Is the image of a meme or popular pop culture reference?"
If the answer is YES, than usually you can post them. Memes fall under a general free use category because they are assumed to belong to the internet. Memes tend to fall under emote images or emogees. They can rarely if ever be credited and are used heavily on almost all parts of the internet.
Question 5: "Does the picture contain artwork, like illustrations or paintings?"
If you created the artwork, you're good to go. If you didn't, this can become more difficult. It is ALWAYS recommended that you *credit the artist or photographer* if you are posting someone else's work. It's the polite thing to do and it acknowledges their creative force and ownership of the material. Someone else worked hard to make that, please give them credit. A simple "artwork by Tammy" or "RTN photography" or a link back to their website is usually sufficient. That said, if you do this and someone asks you to remove the piece, please do what they say, especially if it's the original artist or photographer.
Question 6: "Hey, this picture has a warning on it, "Do not redistribute or repost", What do I do?"
That's SO easy. You follow the warning. If someone has submitted content to (websiteA) and you found it somewhere else (like websiteB), please don't exacerbate the problem by reposting that image somewhere else (like websiteC). If you have permission to post the picture, ask the person giving you permission to supply you with a differently watermarked image.
There you have it. 6 easy questions you can ask to see whether or not you can take a picture from the internet and put it in another place.
Have additional questions? Feel free to ask.
I'm a photographer, artist and designer by trade. My work is part of my livelihood. This issue is a HUGE pet peeve of mine and the fact that people think they can swipe shit off of google image search because it's "on the internet and therefor free" will never cease to piss me off.
Caveat: It's 11pm and I'm tired. This is more meant to be tongue in cheek but seriously, stop grabbing shit off of google searches and thinking you're an internet copyright expert. You're not. Do not pas go. Do not collect $200.
Question 1: "Did you take this photograph?"
If the answer is YES, you CAN post it! The cool thing about copyright is that as soon as you snap a picture (in any format) you own the copyright to that image! How fucking cool! Generally you want to get permission from the people (assuming there are any people ) in the photograph before posting it. You can use something called a model release if it's some kind of photoshoot, but I'll let you google that term yourself. You're smart, I believe in you.
Question 2: "Are you in this picture?"
If the answer is YES, then you CAN post it! How fucking cool! Generally, during a photoshoot (assuming we're talking about pictures of people here) the model may receive copies of the set shoot to post to their portfolio. I'd recommend getting permission from the photographer, but if they have released the pictures to you, generally you can post 'em where you wish. Don't forget to credit your photographer.
Question 3: "Are the things in the picture my things?"
If the answer is YES, then you can post it! SCORE!
Question 4: "Is the image of a meme or popular pop culture reference?"
If the answer is YES, than usually you can post them. Memes fall under a general free use category because they are assumed to belong to the internet. Memes tend to fall under emote images or emogees. They can rarely if ever be credited and are used heavily on almost all parts of the internet.
Question 5: "Does the picture contain artwork, like illustrations or paintings?"
If you created the artwork, you're good to go. If you didn't, this can become more difficult. It is ALWAYS recommended that you *credit the artist or photographer* if you are posting someone else's work. It's the polite thing to do and it acknowledges their creative force and ownership of the material. Someone else worked hard to make that, please give them credit. A simple "artwork by Tammy" or "RTN photography" or a link back to their website is usually sufficient. That said, if you do this and someone asks you to remove the piece, please do what they say, especially if it's the original artist or photographer.
Question 6: "Hey, this picture has a warning on it, "Do not redistribute or repost", What do I do?"
That's SO easy. You follow the warning. If someone has submitted content to (websiteA) and you found it somewhere else (like websiteB), please don't exacerbate the problem by reposting that image somewhere else (like websiteC). If you have permission to post the picture, ask the person giving you permission to supply you with a differently watermarked image.
There you have it. 6 easy questions you can ask to see whether or not you can take a picture from the internet and put it in another place.
Have additional questions? Feel free to ask.
I'm a photographer, artist and designer by trade. My work is part of my livelihood. This issue is a HUGE pet peeve of mine and the fact that people think they can swipe shit off of google image search because it's "on the internet and therefor free" will never cease to piss me off.
Caveat: It's 11pm and I'm tired. This is more meant to be tongue in cheek but seriously, stop grabbing shit off of google searches and thinking you're an internet copyright expert. You're not. Do not pas go. Do not collect $200.
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