Image Thieves Beware 

Do not use my images without approval.

2 min read

Substantial investment goes into photography productions. Image publication takes personal and financial commitment, recovering some of the outlay helps ensure the publishing program can continue. People generally put restrictions on a picture to acknowledge the creator or because the owner doesn't want the image to be altered or used without permission. In my case, sometimes all I’m looking for is simple recognition, with an acknowledged credit linking back to the image location or main site, other times I will expect a little more.

I'll try to put this in a fun but far-reaching way, and hopefully you get the idea.

Thieves

I don't know who you are, I don't know what you want. If you are looking for a free photo, I can tell you I don't have funds available to just give images away. But what I do have are a very particular set of skills; skills I have acquired over a very concentrated career. Skills that make me ruthless when dealing with people like you. If you delete my photo from your blog or website now, that'll be the end of it. I will not look for you; I will not track you down. But if you don't, I will look for you, I can and will find you, and I will bill you. Reverse image search for copyright infringement is a profitable tool, that's something worth remembering.

I’m not in favour of giving stuff away for free, I make no apologies, the truth is, free doesn’t make any sales or gain links to my work. I often disregard beseeching requests as it simply pushes me back from reaching my full potential, it’s that simple.

Respect image copyright, respect the photographer.

Graphic design, digital art, and photography are valuable skills that the photographer should be recognised and compensated for. If you want to use someone else's work, it’s only courteous to ask permission.