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.
Several crocheters trying to make money are taking this photo and putting it on their sites or in their online shops.
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
Shamelessly cashing in on your hard work - it's disgraceful! I have contacted her with my views and hope others do the same.
ReplyDeleteThank you very much, I think she took her sites down.
Deletesad... sorry to see this. thanks for the heads up and your great blog and patterns.
ReplyDeleteThank you, I think this worked. The site is down
DeleteI am so sorry your beautiful creations are being used by someone else, that is horrible. I hope she gets the message and everyone else does too.
ReplyDeleteHugs,
Meredith
Thanks Meredith, I don't want this blog to be about the negative, but I needed to get her attention. I messages her a total of 8 or 10 times... I think it worked
DeleteI'm glad you shared this because I noticed a pattern designed and photographed by another blogger I follow; this woman is selling the item and using the other blogger's photo of it! I have no idea what the other blogger's policies are but I went ahead and let her know. I'm sorry this is happening to you. I thought you should know that I originally found your blog through Ravelry when I was looking for a hat pattern and came across this one. I thought your photo was really beautiful but it's never okay to steal someone else's work. I hope that everyone gets the message.
ReplyDeleteI wonder if people think that the owner will never find out? I'm glad she got the message...thanks to everyone she took her site down.
DeleteGood for you! Exposing the wrong doers is the best way to get them to crawl off in a corner and stop stealing as that is really what it is. I do copy photos sometimes to point people to a great website with a link that I know they will love as much as me. I'm a "promoter" of the original not ever trying to take credit for someone else's hard work and creativity. I'm so sorry you've had to deal with this at all.
ReplyDeleteThank you, and the worst part is that I offer the pattern for free and that wasn't enough, I guess. I hate that she was making profit from a photo of my daughter. I love sharing other peoples creations and use others photos, but I always ask permission and link back to them.
DeleteI'm glad both the facebook site and the blog have been removed, there is an etiquette amongst us all that we respect others and thankfully most of us are honest and respectful of each other. Thank you for raising this issue as it needs to be aired for the minority that abuse our trust.
ReplyDeletebefore I leave here, I just need to ask how pininterest works as some of my photo's are showing on there and I did not put them there. When people have a pininterest account and they pin someone else's pics do the pics link back to the original link?
DeleteHi Linda, yes I'm pretty sure they do, oh! as long as they pinned it from your site and not someone else's (oh i just found a flaw in that) now I don't know. ahhhhhh it's so complicated
Deleteit's just laziness hey. Love your blog and patterns, just wish I had more time to sit and crochet. I live precariously through your beautiful work Liz. So much to create and so little time :-)
ReplyDeleteI am sorry to hear you are having these problems, it really sucks that some people don't have appreciation for someone elses work. I checked their website and it says 'Page Not Found' so I think this post has certainly worked!!
ReplyDeleteThis is a disgrace!! It really infuriates me when people can't respect people's hard work and respect the source! It seems she has now closed her blog/shop. Well said!! Xo
ReplyDeleteThank you for your blog post and also for sharing the photography tips. I think that a genuine trust and respect for other bloggers is important, linking back is such a great way to help eachother get more trafic and followers. With regards to Pinterest, I think that "eventually" the post gets back to the original owner of the picture, but I guess if we dont want it pinned then maybe we need to protect our photos from that too.... or simply adding a website on the picture so that a direct link back to the original owner is always available. Sometimes I search desperately for the original owner of a pattern on pinterest but because it was pinned soooo many times it is very time consuming. :) Anyway, thanks again for bringing this to everyones attention... very interesting topic.
ReplyDeleteGood for you! It's amazing how people will think that because it's on the internet it's open territory.
ReplyDeleteSorry to hear you are having troubles like this.
ReplyDeleteI'm so sorry this happened! I'm glad to see her site is down, but sad anything like this happened in the first place.
ReplyDeleteyeah, what -they- all said...lol. i hate to hear about this happening...people taking credit for other peoples' work, but GOOD ON YA for calling her out!! several years ago, i had a friend who was a plus-sized model, who modeled "club-kid" style fashions for a designer in NYC; friends from a chatroom found her pics being used by someone else, as personal photos for resumes, etc (the girl looked a -lot- like my friend), and after a LOT of hard work, she was able to get restitution for herself and the photog/designer, and the thief spent some time in prison for identity theft and copyright infringement! i saw this morning that Loopty is on artfire, but her other sites are down/gone, and HURRAY for that!!
ReplyDeleteBLESSINGS!!
I'm so sorry you have gone through this experience. As a barely fifty grandmother, I am truly enjoying all the internet has to offer the world of crafters. I'm in awe of the creativity and intelligence of all the bloggers out there who create and then generously share their patterns! Thanks to all of you, I've enjoyed creating for my grandbabies, for myself, and for friends and family! Bravo to you for handling this situation in such a classy manner. God bless you over and over!
ReplyDeleteThese tips are great...thanks so much.
ReplyDeleteThe Best Free Crochet Patterns On The Web!
Liz,
ReplyDeleteI saw a shop on Etsy one time that had the Hello Kitty hat pattern you created PLUS your photo of your daughter and I was horrified to find out that it was NOT you. I am not sure that this is the person in question, but I am glad you got the point across!!
I made the hat for my daughter last year using your pattern and I got a ton of compliments from it ... since then, i have opened my own little shop -- not for money, but just for the enjoyment of it -- and I got a request to make your hat.
I created my OWN pattern and used my OWN photos b/c I didn't want to infringe on you. My point is, there ARE people in the world with a conscience :). Too bad this person in question was not brought up that way.
I really enjoy your blog!!
I pinned your hat, as to link back to your site. I'd hate the idea of using it as to sell it. If I was going to sell I'd take a picture of my own! I hope it gets figured out soon!
ReplyDeleteLiz, thanks for sharing this experience.
ReplyDeleteI wanted to thank you for your lovely patterns...I have made them as gifts and always say where I found the patterns. I have made 4 sock monkey hats, one hello kitty hat and 4 panda hats... mostly for the babies I have helped looked after as a postpartum doula... thanks again ... suyindoula@gmail.com
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ReplyDeleteAs of 1/29/14 her Looptyloopz .net store u sited above is offline (404 page not found). I also want to thank u for u r pattern. I used it as a starting point for a hello kitty hooded scarf.
ReplyDeleteThat is so not nice. Hope they take it down. i love this hat and you did a great job with the pattern. I have a picture of my child wearing the hat on my site, but I do have it linked back to your blog.
ReplyDelete