An increase in image sharing followed the introduction of social media. A social media site’s image is downloaded to a local computer before being reposted on another social media platform. This practice creates a serious problem for the owner of the original image and the 3rd or 4th generation “right-clicker.”
As a professional photographer and designer of book formats, I frequently spot pictures in a body of work that belong to photographers. When I inquire about the license for the image, I often get, “I downloaded it from the Internet, why can’t I use it?”
Many people are aware of how simple it is to right-click on a photo on the Internet, download it to your computer, and then print it. The image that is saved cannot be used in a book or any other product that can be sold again.
It is prohibited to use the image for commercial purposes without purchasing it directly from the photographer. It is permissible to use an image in a published work if it is in the public domain or the Creative Commons.
The quality of right-clicking is yet another issue. Most online images are of low resolution, which yields a subpar finished product.
You could write books, blogs, or create media for your brand-new small business. You might decide that adding photographs will improve the materials you produce.
I want to encourage you to look around the countless photography websites that offer high quality images that are allowed for commercial use before you right-click on an image you find online.
Imaging is produced by photographers. Photographers use light and color to create images on digital media in a similar way to how you create and put words on a page. Photographers and their agencies own the images and when you “borrow” them for your product the photographer is not recognized, appreciated or given any compensation. You should not engage in this risky behavior because it might end up costing you more than just the price of the photo.
Lawyers have fought for compensation for images used without the proper license from the organizations that represent the photographers and issue usage rights licenses. Frequently, the owner or agency will receive a sizable financial reward. As the image’s owner, the agency is authorized to demand payment.
In the form of metadata, photographs have digital signatures that can be used to identify the owner and photographer.
The price of photographs sold by stock photo agencies and public domain microstock websites is extremely low. More than just money is exchanged when you buy an image from the agency. It also encourages the photographers’ creativity. The photographer who took the photo receives a portion of every image sale made at an agency.
I recommend Pixabay and Public Domain Pictures to my clients when they want access to free and inexpensive public domain images.
My personal go-to sources for product stock photography are Dreamstime, Adobe Stock, and Shutterstock.
As a photographer, I have a vested interest in the practice of “right-click.” Pixabay, PublicDomainPictures, Dreamstime, Twenty20, and EyeEm are just a few of the sites to which I have submitted my photographs. For book covers and even clothing products, some of my images have been sold to clients. If people knew how simple and cheap it is to get authentic, authorized photography, I think I would sell more of my products.