For some time now, I have been considering a change in the license of my photographic works, so far I have shared my photographs on the Internet under a strict copyright license, which we keep for a lifetime, that is, no one should be able to use my photos, under any circumstances, without my explicit consent. I don’t even talk about myself as an author. Nothing.
As if that weren’t short, I even set up an “action” in Photoshop with which I add a watermark to all my photos and that says “Photographer’s Blog”. So if anyone has the sad idea of copying my photos without my permission, at least the photo would have its origin stamped.
- When I think about it in perspective.
- I realize how scary and shitty my attitude is.
- Really.
- Today I am considering an attitude change and I would like to know what you think and open the debate a bit.
Many people confuse user license with paternity. The license is simply the frame in which people can (or won’t use) their photos. For example, you may decide that no one uses your photos without your express permission, which would be copyright or reserved rights that we all know. “it’s my job and I don’t want anyone to use it without my express consent. “Fortunately there are other licenses, the best known in digital photography is the “Creative Commons”. With this license what you do mainly is that you open the door for anyone to use your photograph, without asking for your express consent, provided that you meet certain conditions, which will depend on the type of Creative Commons license you have decided to assign to your photos (we will see in a moment now).
Fatherhood is something totally different. This means recognizing that this or that is the author of such photography or work, is different from the license of use. Allowing other people to use our works does not mean that they can lie about the authorship of the photo by attributing it to someone else. Fatherhood is unchangeable.
If you want to share your photos under this license but are concerned that others may enjoy them without you seeing a penny, don’t worry, there are different types of Creative Commons licenses that, although they allow people to use your work, impose certain restrictions according to their preferences.
Then I’ll detail the different types that exist
Thank you: Allow others, companies, or organizations to use your work whenever you mention it as an author.
Non-commercial: Everyone can use your work as long as they don’t enjoy it.
No derivative works: anyone can use your work as is, without altering it in the slightest.
Share the same thing: Anyone can use their work as long as they share the final result under the same license.
With these 4 mentions, we can combine them as you prefer to say goodbye to your work, having the peace of mind that your name will be mentioned, that your work will not be marketed and everything we want to include as conditions of use. possible combinations (copy and paste from the official Creative Commons page, click on the text to enlarge it).
Like I said, I’m not convinced that my photos are strictly protected by copyright. Since its inception, this blog has been powered by photographs whose owners have had the courtesy of sharing them under Creative Commons license. For this reason, I can illustrate most of the articles I publish. On the other hand, posting your photos with closed copyright is like opening doors on the floor. Make no mistake, no matter how much you have copyright, anyone can upload your photo, crop it so your watermark doesn’t appear and use it under its name. What are you going to do, report him to court? It’s said soon, but I don’t know.
Taking photos and hanging them means you can create something. Sharing your photos under a Creative Commons license means helping others create something of their own.
At the end of the day, I won’t get rich selling photos, what’s the difference in sharing them for free and, as long as I’m an author, that others can use them freely?