Image Thieves and Non-Paying Clients

Beware of the image thief! Having your image swiped off your website or sending images to clients who then fail to pay is a pretty common event these days. Are there really that many people who will consiously rip off a photographer just because they can? Or it is more of an issue with an un-educated person who thinks anything on the net is free?  We are battling a mindset among the masses that photography has no value so why should it be paid for? Read on for more thoughts….Whatever the reason, there is an excellent post over on A Photo Editor by a photographer dealing with just these types of issues. There is also an excellent response from Attorney Carolyn Wright of Photo Attorney.com.

I have certainly had my share of difficulty getting paid over the years. Now however, I wont send an image by email or FTP without first getting paid. If you think about it, the whole internet e-commerce model is pay, then download (or receive in 5 days). Why can’t photographers use that approach?

That is exactly my business model now. Payment must be received by PayPal before the images is transferred, period.

So far nobody has refused this approach.

How do you handle these situations?  Leave a comment.

Link: http://www.aphotoeditor.com/2010/02/09/photographers-how-to-deal-with-infringements/#comments