:burn::burn::burn:I was just browsing through some pressure washing sites not even in the same state as me when I stumbled upon a website that had photos of MY work on it in their gallery. Got to say I'm a little ticked off at that. What should I be doing to protect my photos from having people using them as their own? Have a logo shadowed over it?:smad:
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Check out this this free event.
Someone stole my photos!!!!
- Thread starter clearview
- Start date
CaroliProWash
New Member
We have started "branding" our photos. If you want to give me a call tomorrow - or now, since obviously we're both up & on the computer, I can tell you better how to do it than try to type instructions 
Celeste
Celeste
CaroliProWash
New Member
That's exactly what I was thinking. I wrote the guy a polite but a little annoyed email letting him know I caught him. Not sure if it's worth trying to get him to take one before and after down since he's a state away from me. My sister does my graphic design. If she doesn't know how to brand the photos like that, then I'll be giving you a call. Thanks!
CaroliProWash
New Member
You should ABSOLUTELY demand that he take them down, one state over or 10! He did not bother to ask permission. That is so rude. I cannot understand why people think that they won't get caught swiping pictures!
You should have a copywrite put on your site too - if you don't - truthfully, I didn't look! I'm in all day - it's COLD!
Celeste
Mark
Moderator / Sponsor
Clear View there are numerous different watermark software
programs available out there.
Try googling watermark software, or better yet, I suspect the
Google adwords section to the left of this page will show some
possibilities.
(The Google adwords software automatically shows
relevant ads for the thread..sometimes.........)
What software do you use Celeste?
programs available out there.
Try googling watermark software, or better yet, I suspect the
Google adwords section to the left of this page will show some
possibilities.
(The Google adwords software automatically shows
relevant ads for the thread..sometimes.........)
What software do you use Celeste?
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CaroliProWash
New Member
I actually put all of my photos through my Fireworks program - they're always too huge to use so I figure while I'm resizing, I just add the watermark as well
There is a cool software out there but I prefer free
There is a cool software out there but I prefer free
acmepowerwash
New Member
Similar Situation...
We had a similar experience where we found a company in another state that blatantly plagiarized our website and used one of our before/after photos. We politely called him up and asked him to remove it. It took him a couple weeks, but he finally removed it. We were about to send him a bill for using copyrighted material, thinking that might have prompted quicker action...
Watermarking your artwork/photos is definitely a good idea, we have started to do that with many of our larger images. It won't prevent all theft, but it will definitely help. I would recommend including website, email, and/or phone number information in the watermark. That way, no matter where it ends up on the internet, it always links back to your business. If you are really concerned about photo theft, you can talk to your webmaster about disabling right-click and other methods to program your site to not allow copying/downloading. Depending on how savvy of an internet user they are, this will only slow them down, but if they are lazy they will just move on to the next website to steal material.
Also, be wary of third-party web-designers, graphic designers, and copywriting companies; make sure they are reputable and legit. We had a mailer designed by an outside company only to find out (based on our own research) copy was stolen from a competitor's website, and we were never informed of their source. Luckily we found out before having the mailer printed and were able to avoid plagiarizing another company's website ourselves. This is another reason to politely ask a company to remove the material, the company's owner/s may not even be aware of the image's copyright status. Maybe they were just trying to save a buck by hiring their 14 year old nephew to build a website... Maybe you can sell them the rights to use your material... $$$.
We had a similar experience where we found a company in another state that blatantly plagiarized our website and used one of our before/after photos. We politely called him up and asked him to remove it. It took him a couple weeks, but he finally removed it. We were about to send him a bill for using copyrighted material, thinking that might have prompted quicker action...
Watermarking your artwork/photos is definitely a good idea, we have started to do that with many of our larger images. It won't prevent all theft, but it will definitely help. I would recommend including website, email, and/or phone number information in the watermark. That way, no matter where it ends up on the internet, it always links back to your business. If you are really concerned about photo theft, you can talk to your webmaster about disabling right-click and other methods to program your site to not allow copying/downloading. Depending on how savvy of an internet user they are, this will only slow them down, but if they are lazy they will just move on to the next website to steal material.
Also, be wary of third-party web-designers, graphic designers, and copywriting companies; make sure they are reputable and legit. We had a mailer designed by an outside company only to find out (based on our own research) copy was stolen from a competitor's website, and we were never informed of their source. Luckily we found out before having the mailer printed and were able to avoid plagiarizing another company's website ourselves. This is another reason to politely ask a company to remove the material, the company's owner/s may not even be aware of the image's copyright status. Maybe they were just trying to save a buck by hiring their 14 year old nephew to build a website... Maybe you can sell them the rights to use your material... $$$.
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