# Flickr to post or not your best shots?



## Wheels47130 (Aug 21, 2010)

I'm kind of confused about how to use Flickr. I know it gives good exposure however I also hear about how images there are stolen all the time. I have had my pics used on things without permission before so I am extra careful. I was wondering what others do, or what their thoughts on this is? It is such a catch 22 on getting exposure and having pictures stolen when posting to websites.


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## Josh66 (Aug 21, 2010)

I pretty much just dump everything there.

I have the 'pro' account, so everything is unlimited.  I try to make use of the unlimited storage space.  

(As far as I know, the only limit of any kind is that all pictures must be under 20MB.)


I _don't think_ I've had anything stolen from there...


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## bahandi (Aug 21, 2010)

maybe resize your photos before posting?


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## 786soul (Aug 21, 2010)

I resize and watermark just to make things harder for people. I don't think my photos are that great though so I'm not worried yet haha.


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## Flash Harry (Aug 22, 2010)

If your worried about people/business stealing shots from the web/flickr don't upload any. simple. H


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## LaFoto (Aug 22, 2010)

I believe that professionals whose income depends on definitely not getting their photos stolen by any one in any way just don't make them public on a site like Flickr! They either build their own site and add all the right-click protection they can or they keep the photos in true portfolios, you know: the real thing, to be carried around and shown in person.

Myself, I'm like O|||||||O. I've bought myself the pro-account and my photos go there (not the bad stuff, I do sort through my pics before they go up on Flickr), of course. I resize them, watermark them, add my usual frame ... and when someone still feels they need to steal MY photo for their website, then so be it. Counting the number of views my Flickr albums get, though, I MUCH doubt anyone's intersted in ANY of my photos AT ALL. Why should I worry?


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## Fate (Aug 22, 2010)

Love Flickr myself, nice way of storing images and does get a fair few views.

And if someone steals something, simply send them an invoice for your work  Done it before!


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## KmH (Aug 22, 2010)

Fate said:


> ....And if someone steals something, simply send them an invoice for your work  Done it before!


If you put it online it can be stolen. 

If you simply send someone an invoice, you just limited the amount you could seek in an infringement action and you certainly are not guaranteed they will pay the invoice. :lmao:


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## c.cloudwalker (Aug 22, 2010)

KmH said:


> If you simply send someone an invoice, you just limited the amount you could seek in an infringement action and you certainly are not guaranteed they will pay the invoice. :lmao:



Wot?  Sorry, KmH, but sometimes I really wonder what you are talking about. I don't get how you are limiting the amount you could get in a possible suit by sending an invoice. To me, it is quite the opposite. You've just shown you are willing to work with the offender and if they do not respond you just showed how they are unwilling to face reality which would make your case stronger.

I don't know know where you get your legal advice from but I suggest getting a better lawyer


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## KmH (Aug 22, 2010)

Here is an online source one can use for guidance:

Help! I've Been Infringed! | Photo Attorney



> There are some risks in sending the letter yourself. First, the infringer may attempt to preempt an infringement lawsuit and file a request for declaratory judgment that the use is authorized. This may involve you in a legal action for which you may need legal counsel in a jurisdiction (court location) where you don&#8217;t want to litigate. Second, your demand for payment may be admissible against you if an infringement case is filed. *If you demand too little, then it may limit your ultimate recovery.* To avoid this possibility, include in your demand letter that &#8220;these discussions and offer to settle are an attempt to compromise this dispute.&#8221;


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## Flash Harry (Aug 23, 2010)

I suggest you upload to a real photolibrary if they are that good, or even, good enough that they let you join, at least then you'll see a return on your photography while the stock library polices your shots online. Anything in the public domain can be stolen, the best thing you can do is limit the damage by low res and downsizing as small as you can but not so they detract too much from the quality aspects you try to display. H


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## edouble (Aug 23, 2010)

What resolution and size do you recommend for a Flickr upload?


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## guajero (Aug 23, 2010)

I have a tendency to post  my almost best images on flickr and the really good ones on my blog. That way I get people looking but really looking on my blog where it matters the most.


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## Josh66 (Aug 23, 2010)

edouble said:


> What resolution and size do you recommend for a Flickr upload?


It really doesn't matter I guess, I think that's just going to be a personal preference thing.

Personally, I upload most stuff full size - most people probably wouldn't like doing that.

Flickr is pretty good about resizing it, so you can always get a smaller one off of there - but you can't get a bigger one.


I put everything full size on there so my family can just go there and download it.  Saves me a lot of e-mailing, and they don't have to wait 5 minutes for an e-mail filled with pictures they might not even want to load.


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## c.cloudwalker (Aug 23, 2010)

Ok, KmH, I've wondered long enough and it is time to ask: are you a lawyer? Considering some of your advice, I seriously doubt it but...

Everything about your legal advice posts makes me think you are since all they do is try and scare people silly with BS legal crap. Overall I can't help but think you are a cheesy lawyer who knows very little about the law. An ambulance chaser kind of freak. The kind of lawyer who got his degree in a fourth world country.

FYI, I divorced my first wife by going to the library with her for a couple hours, read the darn books, write up whatever paperwork we needed and we were done. Lawyers not needed. Thank you very much.

Who the hell are you?


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## JG_Coleman (Aug 23, 2010)

Although I have my own domain, I still post photos to Flickr.  Whereas I have about 250 photos on my domain, though, I've only got about 40 of those on my Flickr account right now.  So, my ratio is roughly 15%... I want the exposure that goes along with Flickr, but I also don't want a 1:1 copy of my galleries there.  Gotta give viewers _some_ reason to come to my dedicated site.

I reduce every photograph that I upload to Flickr to 600 pixels on the long edge, regardless of whether it uses portrait or landscape orientation.  That's large enough for the photo to be nicely visible, but small enough that it can't be stolen for any truly useful purpose.  I also put a rather large watermark on the bottom-right corner which, despite not covering the whole photo, is still pretty prominent.  Depending on the content of the photo and the composition, the watermark could probably be cropped out on a few, but the relatively small megapixels of the Flickr image would make the cropped version rather useless.

My feeling on the possibility of images being stolen is that it's simply a risk in the world we live in now.  Will your images be stolen?  Maybe.  Will you know about it?  Probably not.  Are you really going to lose sales that you otherwise would've had if your work couldn't have been stolen?  Unlikely.  Chances are, somebody will only steal it to begin with if they had absolutely no intention of legally buying/licensing it from you.  You're not "losing sales", you know.  If they couldn't steal it from you, they'd just steal something similar from someone else.

It's along the same lines as the music industry trying to go after people that pirate their albums online.  It's understandable that they don't like the idea... but it's also an inevitability these days.  Like it or not, the "pirate" music exchange has changed the music industry forever... likewise, the internet has made photography more stolen than ever.  It's part of the world we live in now.  Keep a look out, go after thieves you happen to catch up with... but otherwise, get your work out there and get it seen... and don't lose sleep over whether or not one is being pirated here or there.  If your photos are sale-worthy, you'll sell them.  If they aren't sale-worthy... hell, be happy that at least _somebody _likes them enough to bother stealing them.


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## Derrel (Aug 23, 2010)

c.cloudwalker said:


> Ok, KmH, I've wondered long enough and it is time to ask: are you a lawyer? Considering some of your advice, I seriously doubt it but...
> 
> Everything about your legal advice posts makes me think you are since all they do is try and scare people silly with BS legal crap. Overall I can't help but think you are a cheesy lawyer who knows very little about the law. An ambulance chaser kind of freak. The kind of lawyer who got his degree in a fourth world country.
> 
> ...



Yet another oddball post from our cloudywalker, with character assassinations and disparaging remarks... "cheesy lawyer", "ambulance chaser kind of freak," "fourth world country", "who the hell are you?"etc,etc,etc.

Back to the OP's question: NO, never post your A-list material on the web. if it's A-list grade stuff, it never goes on the web. Simple. FLickr is a haven for people who steal photos. If you post your best stuff on Flickr,it's useless as stock.


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## edouble (Aug 24, 2010)

JG_Coleman said:


> Although I have my own domain, I still post photos to Flickr.  Whereas I have about 250 photos on my domain, though, I've only got about 40 of those on my Flickr account right now.  So, my ratio is roughly 15%... I want the exposure that goes along with Flickr, but I also don't want a 1:1 copy of my galleries there.  Gotta give viewers _some_ reason to come to my dedicated site.
> 
> I reduce every photograph that I upload to Flickr to 600 pixels on the long edge, regardless of whether it uses portrait or landscape orientation.  That's large enough for the photo to be nicely visible, but small enough that it can't be stolen for any truly useful purpose.  I also put a rather large watermark on the bottom-right corner which, despite not covering the whole photo, is still pretty prominent.  Depending on the content of the photo and the composition, the watermark could probably be cropped out on a few, but the relatively small megapixels of the Flickr image would make the cropped version rather useless.
> 
> ...



Good info! Your website is great!


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## mooney101 (Aug 24, 2010)

I personally prefer a Facebook page because it separates you out from those on flicker. But I'm sure it couldn't hurt to watermark your images and put up a mini portfolio.


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