A Friendly Reminder

The title really should read… ‘A friendly reminder for most, a not so friendly reminder for some.’

Over the last couple of months I have received several messages from other crocheters. They are letting me know that different people are using my photos for profit.

Especially this Hello Kitty one. I guess I’ll have to start using watermarks to prevent this, or locking the photos to prevent them from copying and saving.

 

So with this in mind, I’ve decided to spell out my policies regarding my patterns and photos.

I Do allow the sale of items made from patterns found here.

I Do require that you link back to me when selling an item made from my patterns.

I Do Not allow the use of any of my photos.

They are personal and it’s Illegal to use any photo for profit or personal use that is not your own.

I will start locking photos and using watermarks on some.

I will report anyone using my photos that do not remove them when asked.

I spend extra time to get good shots… So if that is why they are being stolen, I will give a few tips that I use…for those that may not know already.

If you want to get good shots for your site:

Never take photos at night
Do not use your flash…it ruins real color
Always use natural light, but not direct sunlight
Get rid of clutter in the background
Use neutral colors behind colorful items
Take your photos outside or in a room with lots of natural light
Good photos depend on the taker, not the camera (you can use a cell phone and get a good shot with enough light)
Again don’t use the flash

And of course only use your own photos…never steal photos or assume it is ok or the person will never see it because they always will.

Of course I don’t mind my photos being on social media sites as long as they are linked back to me and not someone else’s site.

Just a little FYI for anyone else, there is a person using my photo and at least 4 or 5 other crocheter/designers photos for her own profit. She refuses to take my photo down even after asking her four times. I have tried to be nice.

So head over to Looptyloopz to see if your photo is being used.

She also has a Facebook page called LooptyLoopz. She has deactivated it for now. My intention is not to prevent her from having a shop, just not to use everyone else’s hard work for her own profit.

There are several photos there that I recognized as being from other crocheters…The buttoned stripy mitts and Thing 1/ Thing 2 Hats…are two that I remember seeing there.

I did inform her twice that I would be doing a blog post about this and gave her several weeks to correct this issue (but she didn’t).

I hate posting negative stuff here, but I am not ok with this. I take a lot of time setting up my shots and do not appreciate people stealing because they don’t take time to take good photos.

Not cool