Last week’s post Can You Stop Copyright Infringement drew some interesting responses, especially in some of the groups on LinkedIn.

There is a split between those that are old school and trying to sell based on emotions and those that get it. Even if you never post a single image anywhere online, be it your website,Facebook or Pinterest; even if you use film and never produce a digital image, somebody, somewhere is going to use a scanner and put it online. You must not underestimate how savvy people are today. I could go online right now and in a matter of minutes find a high enough res image of the Mona Lisa to print.

For photographers, many are doing business differently. They have changed their outlook to keep pace with the changes in the world around them. This comment from the WPPI group on Linked In says it best. (Printed with permission)

I have to agree with Chuck T. and Christine. With photoshop being taught in High School and lower the kids growing up today have all the skills to do it themselves. They like having the images to work with, and they have learned that working with negitives from their parents of their childhood and want to have that same control over their wedding prints.

*******  this does not mean I disagree with you or think what you said is anyway wrong, it’s just that with the programs out there now, even low resoulution does not protect the image and with the availabiltiy of high end scanners that cost low enough for the average photo junkie to own, there is no way to have complete control over the prints. If you can make a 4×6 / 4×5 print that looks good then the technology exist to be able to make at least 11×14 or even larger prints from that file, and this is not a big ticket software.

In today’s world, I think you need to protect yourself up front. Make your packages worth your time, your cost, and profit up front. Then if you get any additional sales your way in front of your income needs. This way, you take the worrry out of the sale, you do not have to go to an extra length to watermark, or worry about copying and it makes your sales time more productive. No more scheduling return visits to your studio, and no more sales time looking for more sales to make a profit.

This isn’t something that just effects photographers, it isn’t new and truthfully, it isn’t just about the internet. Shortly after I started getting my cakes published in magazines, I started getting phone calls from other bakers asking how I had done this or that on a cake. Yep, it kind of freaked me out. That is until I realized that there was a learning curve to much of my decorating skills and for them to recreate my work wasn’t going to be easy on their first go-round. I also realized that if brides wanted the real deal, they were still going to have to come to me because even with a picture in hand no other decorator was going to have my exact skill set. That didn’t make me better than anyone else, just different and unique.

From a marketing stand point, having your images out there can only increase your reputation. Sure, brides are going to show your images to cheaper competitors to try and get the same thing for less money. Just remember, as a creative, your are selling your skill. It isn’t about a 5 x 7 print, it is about your skill in capturing the image in the first place. Charge for your talent. The brides that value your particular talent are going to seek you out.

Bottom line, you cannot keep your images from being shared online, nor do I think you should. Re-post your images everywhere you can, but be smart about it. Watermark your images and always post them on your own website and re-post from there so the image always links back to your primary marketing tool.

Side note: The above cake was designed and created by Christine Boulton and photographed by David Wright. The interior was Vanilla pudding pound cake, double chocolate mocha cake, raspberry jam and vanilla bean buttercream. No that isn’t fabric, it is sugar paste. Damn I miss those days!