By Susan and Willian Brinson. Photography by Willian Brinson for The House of Brinson.

Copyright law is confusing! Once you think you have an understanding, a new situation presents itself. The changing media landscape we are in provides a lot of challenges. Blogs are quickly changing as well. Today, blogs are not much different from traditional media publishers. Blogs are funded, having advertising and sponsors. As a blogger, I prefer the term publisher. Since that is essentially what we are doing; publishing content online for an audience (I really liked this article on Man Repeller discussing this topic).

Why is all of this relevant to photography copyright? Photographers are noticing the change as well. Blogs are publishers, and will be treated like publishers in traditional media when it comes to using photography. Here are some resource links and some interesting facts that apply to blogs:

By Susan and Willian Brinson. Photography by Willian Brinson for The House of Brinson.

Your photography is a valuable asset that represents your brand. The importance of great photography in media is proven by the success of websites like Pinterest and other similar platforms beginning to emerge. When I first started blogging, I was shocked that others would use our images without asking–essentially breaking copyright laws. Since then, I have learned more about blogging and come to understand the culture. Blogging and social media have a very unique culture of sharing, different from traditional forms of media.

I would hate to see a blogger get sued over photography, and say, “I wish I would have known.” Topics like this are becoming critical, especially if you have advertising on your blog. From the eyes of a photographer, it makes the blogger with advertising no different that the magazine with advertising. I fully believe brands are going to get smart and begin protecting their brand assets (photography) in the coming years. With the advancement of image based search engines, finding copyright violations is becoming very easy.

To determine your comfort zone for your blog and your brand, let’s look at this topic from two points of view – a blogger using the photography of others, and a blogger creating original photography:

A BLOGGER USING THE PHOTOGRAPHY OF OTHERS

If you use an image without written permission from the copyright owner, you can be sued. Consider this heavily when writing your policy. As we go though the steps on what to ask and consider when creating your photography policy, put yourself in the shoes of the individual that created the image. This will help you make better decisions for your brand and the creative community as a whole.

By Sara Urquhart. Vintage print illustration posted by Do You Remember.

The Alt Channel was born out of repeated emails I received from people who couldn’t come to Alt for a number of reasons: their kids were too young, they couldn’t get the time off work, or they weren’t ready for the financial investment. I understand all those obstacles and wondered how we could meet more needs. When I realized we could create this conference-type experience in an inexpensive way, year round, without anyone having to leave home, I was thrilled.

Our first significant investment in this experiment was time. We spent 6 months doing research, finding the right platform, building the code, and fine-tuning features so those same opportunities for connection and networking that happen at Alt could take place in our online classes. We were able to establish a low price point ($15 or sometimes free!), and we’re especially proud of our roster of expert teachers.

Keep in mind, that just like Alt in real life, what you bring to Alt Channel classes determines in large part what you get out of them.

By Susan and Willian Brinson. Photography by Willian Brinson for The House of Brinson.

Three years ago, when I first started blogging, I recall telling my seasoned blogging friend (in a horrified tone of voice), “Can you believe someone just took one of our pictures and used it on their blog?!?!??” She responded with, “Yeah, so?” I couldn’t wrap my head around how that was possible and why someone would do that!

Let me explain: I come from the advertising world, where we would never in a million years consider using a photograph without written permission, not to mention purchasing it. When we do use a photo we have to make sure the photograph is used within the correct licensing type for the project. When you add in the reality that I am married to a photographer, you can see why I was really confused when someone used our picture without asking.

After becoming involved in the blogging community and speaking with bloggers, I realized many bloggers don’t understand copyright law.