When making a layout or surfing for a photo you most likely will come across the subject of crediting, you may have never heard of it or you may have divulged in the subject once or twice. Well, I am here to clear the path for you so you can know the facts.
Crediting can be confusing and may even appear worthless in your opinion. But trust me, knowing and practicing credit can save you in the long run. I am quite the no-credit to credit converter, I originally made my layout with search engine images and didn't think twice about digging for the owner. And I'm so happy I stopped!
So what's the big deal with credit, why is there so much hate on search engines, and how do I credit properly?
Keep on reading for the scoop!
Why is credit so important?
First and foremost you need to know why we credit.
Let’s say you take a really nice image of daisy field, the sun was casting a golden glow, the breeze was blowing just enough, the daisies seemed to dance in the picture, and the sky was as blue as a robin’s egg. You post it on your blog, Facebook, Instagram, or some place on the interweb to share with fellow friends. Next thing you know you come across another blog, or social media account that has your picture, but there is a catch. They claim they took the photo! You’d be upset right? Of course. But it doesn’t stop there, before you can put the person in their place 5 more people have the image then 10 more then 20, it keeps growing until no one knows who that daisy field photo belongs to except you. As an artist and the creator of such a magnificent image you are pretty upset, how will anyone believe it’s your photo? Even if they do, you can’t take down thousands of copies of your photo in a snap. So you decide to 1: Never upload your images again or 2: Put a big obnoxious water mark on each and every photo to tell those people who it belongs to.
Now back to being a normal human being. Take my story for an example, you wouldn’t want that to happen to your photos, would you? No. So why do it to others?
Hopefully you were able to pin point why we credit from story example, but if not here it is in a nutshell. Crediting allows proper redirection to the original artist, keeps you from getting into legal trouble just in case, and helps the artist to keep uploading their free to use images, (with credit of course).
Anyone could take credit for the picture and have as much evidence as the real person who created it. And, trust me, using an image you aren't supposed to use can get you into a LOT of illegal trouble. That’s why you read stock labels and image descriptions. It’s better to be safe than sorry.
As an extra measure of safety, I always try to give links to the owners of the so said image where it is being used on howrse, or such sites. The happier you make the artist and the more you show them your utmost respects the more likely they are to let you use what you need as you please.
Let’s say you take a really nice image of daisy field, the sun was casting a golden glow, the breeze was blowing just enough, the daisies seemed to dance in the picture, and the sky was as blue as a robin’s egg. You post it on your blog, Facebook, Instagram, or some place on the interweb to share with fellow friends. Next thing you know you come across another blog, or social media account that has your picture, but there is a catch. They claim they took the photo! You’d be upset right? Of course. But it doesn’t stop there, before you can put the person in their place 5 more people have the image then 10 more then 20, it keeps growing until no one knows who that daisy field photo belongs to except you. As an artist and the creator of such a magnificent image you are pretty upset, how will anyone believe it’s your photo? Even if they do, you can’t take down thousands of copies of your photo in a snap. So you decide to 1: Never upload your images again or 2: Put a big obnoxious water mark on each and every photo to tell those people who it belongs to.
Now back to being a normal human being. Take my story for an example, you wouldn’t want that to happen to your photos, would you? No. So why do it to others?
Hopefully you were able to pin point why we credit from story example, but if not here it is in a nutshell. Crediting allows proper redirection to the original artist, keeps you from getting into legal trouble just in case, and helps the artist to keep uploading their free to use images, (with credit of course).
Anyone could take credit for the picture and have as much evidence as the real person who created it. And, trust me, using an image you aren't supposed to use can get you into a LOT of illegal trouble. That’s why you read stock labels and image descriptions. It’s better to be safe than sorry.
As an extra measure of safety, I always try to give links to the owners of the so said image where it is being used on howrse, or such sites. The happier you make the artist and the more you show them your utmost respects the more likely they are to let you use what you need as you please.
Credit Q&A
Let’s follow this story up with a Q&A.
Q: Can you credit pictures from bing or google?
A: Bing is the same as google, a search engine. You *CANNOT* credit search engines.
Q: Why can’t you credit search engines?
A: The thing about Search Engines is that they do not own what you are taking from the web. You simply type in what you want and it brings up things relative to the statement that it has found across the web. If you noticed, google now puts in little writing next tothe images that you open "This image may be subject to copyright laws." Which means they are not responsible for anything that happens and they do not claim ownership over anything you take. They also post whomever pays them the most at the top of the search lists, which means the easier you find images the more money those people have and the more likely they are to get you into trouble for taking their image without proper credits or permission to use said products.
Q: In Google, Bing, Yahoo, etc. They give you a link to where the image originated from. Is it possible to credit that link?
A: No. It tells you who uploaded the image, but that is not necessarily who owns the photo, it's not necessarily the original source of the photo. Back to my story example. If I used my super good DSLR camera to take a picture of that daisy field and I put it on my blog, someone else could just as easily download my daisy picture and re-upload it pretending it’s theirs. So now, when you search for my daisy field picture, there are 2 different sites. Who is the person you credit?
What I’m trying to get through is that search engines hardly ever give you the correct source for stocks. It could show you tons of pictures, but it won't tell you who the picture belongs to because everyone does what I said in my story examples.
Basically if you have no idea where the picture came from or who to credit, I would just be safe and find another picture to use.
Q: What websites should I use then?
A: I suggest DA and Flickr, because you know exactly who the picture belongs to. I limit my sources to Deviant Art and flickr only, as most of that stuff is free to use so long as you credit back to the original provider and whomever cut it out if it was cut out. Everything outside is often times not allowed to be used for anything, without exception, so I just stay safe and hang around those two sites. They both have quite a wide range of stock, too, so long as you know who and what to look for.
Web’ster’s Tip!
If you can, try getting in touch with a professional photography and asking them a series of questions. A lot of my photo knowledge came from doing just that and I am so happy I did. It helps to get a word of confirmation from a pro when dealing with such delicate matters.
Q: Can you credit pictures from bing or google?
A: Bing is the same as google, a search engine. You *CANNOT* credit search engines.
Q: Why can’t you credit search engines?
A: The thing about Search Engines is that they do not own what you are taking from the web. You simply type in what you want and it brings up things relative to the statement that it has found across the web. If you noticed, google now puts in little writing next tothe images that you open "This image may be subject to copyright laws." Which means they are not responsible for anything that happens and they do not claim ownership over anything you take. They also post whomever pays them the most at the top of the search lists, which means the easier you find images the more money those people have and the more likely they are to get you into trouble for taking their image without proper credits or permission to use said products.
Q: In Google, Bing, Yahoo, etc. They give you a link to where the image originated from. Is it possible to credit that link?
A: No. It tells you who uploaded the image, but that is not necessarily who owns the photo, it's not necessarily the original source of the photo. Back to my story example. If I used my super good DSLR camera to take a picture of that daisy field and I put it on my blog, someone else could just as easily download my daisy picture and re-upload it pretending it’s theirs. So now, when you search for my daisy field picture, there are 2 different sites. Who is the person you credit?
What I’m trying to get through is that search engines hardly ever give you the correct source for stocks. It could show you tons of pictures, but it won't tell you who the picture belongs to because everyone does what I said in my story examples.
Basically if you have no idea where the picture came from or who to credit, I would just be safe and find another picture to use.
Q: What websites should I use then?
A: I suggest DA and Flickr, because you know exactly who the picture belongs to. I limit my sources to Deviant Art and flickr only, as most of that stuff is free to use so long as you credit back to the original provider and whomever cut it out if it was cut out. Everything outside is often times not allowed to be used for anything, without exception, so I just stay safe and hang around those two sites. They both have quite a wide range of stock, too, so long as you know who and what to look for.
Web’ster’s Tip!
If you can, try getting in touch with a professional photography and asking them a series of questions. A lot of my photo knowledge came from doing just that and I am so happy I did. It helps to get a word of confirmation from a pro when dealing with such delicate matters.
How to credit
It’s immensely easy! Takes a couple minutes max, and can actually add a touch of professionalism to your layouts if done correctly.
Whatever image or photo you find on DA or Flickr, the owner of it will usually write in the description exactly what you need to do in order to have permission to use the picture. So first follow that as a guideline.
When it comes to physically putting their claims on the layout I use this.
As I have mentioned countless times before, I get most of my stock from deviantArt or flickr. With that I usually credit them like this: "[Image-horse-edit-ect]:[username]@DA” (or deviantart, whatever you prefer) or if I am using a Flickr image then I will do, "[Image-horse-edit-ect]:[username]@Flikr”. If it's not from dA then I credit the photographer's name if I can find it, or the website.
Example Credit: Image: VallendRose@DA or if I was making a manipulation layout and was using a horse pre-cut I would do Horse pre-cute:VallendRose@DA
You have to keep in mind though to credit everything you get. Including a background, image, pre-cut(s), or other fancy edits. Especially when you put together a manip.
What did I tell you?! Not that hard, you just need to be
armed with enough knowledge and the right resources. I encourage you to not
stop here and keep searching different techniques and ways to find creditable
images and how to use credit. Like I said before, reaching out to a professional
even a lawyer if you know one could help you immensely on your journey.
I hope you found this chat helpful, come back soon and Good Luck!
_Rose
I hope you found this chat helpful, come back soon and Good Luck!
_Rose
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