Recently I’ve had a lot of question, and confusion about photos that do or do not have watermarks. A fellow professional photographer summarizes this perfectly. They say,
“I am just here to explain to everyone why it is very important not to crop an image with a watermark. Some people do not understand why photographers use such large watermarks on their images they post online, but no worries I hope this post can clear it up so that everyone can understand.
First, you are probably being allowed to use the photos for free. Second, if you’re allowed to use the image, then it is like an advertisement for the photographer and their art. Lastly it is to protect the image from copyright infringement.
As a professional photographer, I believe when people crop or even edit a watermark it is extremely disrespectful to the photographer. A photographer will make their watermark larger and larger until they finally feel safe to post their photos once more without the worry of someone stealing them.
Now of course, I know what you are probably saying, “If you are so concerned about your photos being stolen, then why even post them online?” Well, if we did not post our photos online, we could not get the word out about our business for one, and two we post these photos to show our talents and views to people. Photographers view their photos as their artwork. We do not take photos just to keep them for our eyes only!
When you crop a photo, it can truly destroy the image. You not only take away its security, but you ruin the composition. Not only does it throw off the image, but when you take a photo and post it all over the web without the photographer’s watermark there is no telling where that image might end up. If a photographer has a watermark and is nice enough to allow people to “use” the image, please be kind enough to leave their watermark intact.
So folks, what did we learn today? DO NOT crop an image that is NOT yours, and especially do not crop out a photographers watermark!
Section 1202 of the U.S. Copyright Act makes it illegal for someone to remove the watermark from your photo. The fines start at $2,500 and go to $25,000 in addition to attorneys’ fees and any damages for the infringement.”
Now this is not meant to scare you- please feel free to post the photos I send you and tag @TaraTPhotogrpahy in social media. If you buy a session with Tara T Photography, you are paying for my time and talent, as well as the copyright to use the photos. If you do a session with me and do not pay for anything, I usually give you some free photos with my watermark on them. If you want to use images with out these watermarks, they can be purchased through Tara T Photography.
Word of mouth is key in the photography industry, I love and appreciate when clients give me a shout out and tag Tara T Photography in their Social Media posts; keep up the good work guys!! Thank you for reading and respecting my work- I truly have the best clients!
❤︎ Tara T