Happy Saturday!
It’s been so warm lately that I’ve been obsessed with Vietnamese desserts because they’re cold and refreshing? Have you ever had one before? If you haven’t, you really should try them.
I’m super excited about this weekend. Tonight, my sisters and a few friends are going to Tastemaker, San Francisco’s first nightclub for food lovers. Whatever that means. But good food, cocktails, mixology classes, music. Doesn’t that sound so much fun? I’ll share photos of the event afterwards. =)
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Let’s talk serious for a few minutes.
I have a dilemma. I’m pretty sure someone took one of my photos, cropped it, and used it as their own.
There’s a new toast shop opening in SF not too far from where I work. I was excited and couldn’t wait for it to open so I followed them on Instagram for updates. Last night, one of their videoes promoting their grand opening appeared in my feed, and as I watched the video, I noticed that there was something familar about their chia pudding. It looked like one of my own.
And I’m not sure why I suspected that it was mine, but I did. So I screen shot the video and compared it to my own photos from this blog. And it turns out that it’s exactly the same to the last shredded coconut, only photoshopped so that my background disappeared and in place is a white background.
What do you think?
Here’s the thing. I love it when people share my photos and recipes, that’s what my blog is for. But I do mind when someone crop out my photo and claim it as their own. The chances of me discovering it was super super slim. It just happened that I followed their account last week. And it just happened that I saw the video.
What do you think I should do? And how do you feel about these things?
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Now, let’s get back to food =)
In this week’s finds…
This snicker’s cheesecake. Yes, pretty please. Because honestly, how can I resist the decadence of this cheesecake? Plus, now I don’t have to go all the way to the Cheesecake Factory for a slice.
This vegan foccacia with tomatoes and rosemary sounds amazing.
If you’re looking for a treat for your weekend mornings, you might want to try this apple cinnamon rolls. I’m so sure I’m not going to be able to stop at one.
I’m going to need this cinnamon spiced sugar cookies with browned butter frosting in my life.
This butternut squash ricotta pierogi with brown butter hazelnut sauce sounds soo delish and perfect for a weeknight dinner.
Fall has arrived in this spiced carrot cake with brown butter frosting and a caramel drip.
I’m obsessed with dim sum so I love coming across these har gow: crystal prawn dumplings.
This sheet pan maple glazed chicken with sweet potatoes sound so mouthwatering.
I cannot wait to try this big batch Thai pork salad.
Pastry wrapped baked brie with maple butter roasted apples looks soo delicious.
How pretty is this raspberry pina colada?
I especially love it when they do the Buy 1 Get 1 Free Thai Tea!
You could also take another tactic. You could contact them in person, thank them for visiting your blog, liking your photo, ask if they are going to feature your recipe in their restaurant, and ask that that they acknowledge you on their social media accounts and on their menu, if they are featuring your recipe. Perhaps they’d like to pay to advertise on your blog, gift you some free meals, etc.
Google images grabs every photo showing up online. I’m not sure how anyone can control their images online anymore. I follow blogs of people who sell their photos for a living, but again, wonder how they protect them when they are online and can then be saved by any computer or phone around the world.
Thanks for your advice! I know images can be saved everywhere. And I don’t mind my photos and recipes being shared. What bothered me was someone took the time to crop/photoshop my image to remove the watermark and any way of identifying the original image. It just happened that I saw it myself and recognized my work that I saw it.
Yep, sure looks like they used the front bowl, twice. I would talk with them. If you aren’t expecting payment then explain that they should have requested your permission first and they should acknowledge the picture’s source. If you do want payment ask for a royalty or that they remove the picture.
Thanks, Mike!
A comment on their instagram post might be more effective than a private letter…loyal followers of your blog might want to see this video too to register their displeasure.
I sent them a private message. They’re a brand new small business that opened less than 2 weeks ago. I don’t want to create bad business for them.
Using your photograph (clear that they did) is terribly unethical — and maybe illegal. Make noise about this. Is there any way to protect your photographs? I’ve wondered about this myself, but I have no idea. Watermarks can be so distracting — but maybe adding a warning on your page? Good luck with this!
Thank you! All my photos have watermark on them. It’s why it bothers me that someone took the time to photoshop and crop out my image to use as their own.
If the person using your photo is doing so for profit, send them a letter thanking them for using your photo because they liked it so much. Let them know however, you would appreciate two things now and in the future. 1. In the future get your approval before a photo of yours is used and 2. The fair market value of the photo they used is $$$$(Reasonable of course). Let them know you would consider “in-kind” re-imbursement if they were unable to pay you cash. Maybe something on the end like “small businesses need to support each other.” might work. Let me know if you had any luck.
Thanks for your advice! I’m not looking for money. I don’t mind when people share my photos and recipes. What bothered me was that someone took the time to photoshop/crop out my image to remove the watermark to use for their own purposes.
First, I’m pretty militant about photographer’s rights and image copyright. Ask them to take down the picture. If they don’t, send them an invoice for 3 times the normal usage fee. Give them ten days to respond and 30 days to pay. At this point you could go to a lawyer, but current thinking is that takes too long so with invoice in hand, file in small claims court. If they still don’t pay, get a judges ruling and file what amounts to a mechanics lien on their property. Is it a PIA? Yes. But your work is your work.
Thanks, Ray. I think what bothered me the most was that someone took the time to photoshop/crop out my watermark to use the image as their own. I don’t want to make it so difficult on them since they’re a small business that just opened less than two weeks ago, but I want them to know that I don’t want them to do it again.
Andrea I was so sorry to hear that someone had used one of your photos without asking your permission or acknowledging you. Sadly once you publish something you lose control of it and must rely on other people’s integrity. I once devised a tea hing exercise which went viral and now so many people have told me about ‘this amazing exercise we did’. I could try to chase the people who ‘stole’ it and ask them to acknowledge authorship but realistically they got it from someone who got it from someone. I decided the best thing to do was make it a gift to the world and see it as a compliment that so many people found it useful. Not sure if that helps you but keep blogging – I enjoy reading them and promise to respect you copyright!
I don’t mind people sharing my photos and recipes as long as there’s a link back. But it bothered me that someone took the time to photoshop/crop out my watermark to share as their own.
Send them a bill, but don’t expect any payment! Do you have a relative in the legal world who could send the bill on their letterhead?
Virtual hugs,
Judie
Thanks, Judie! I’m not looking for payment. I just don’t want to continue to crop out my photos in the future. I don’t mind when my photos and recipes are shared, it just bothered me that someone took the time to photoshop/crop out my images for use like that.
Sorry to hear that your photo has been used without your permission. I would definitely let them know that you’re not happy about it and perhaps suggest if they want to use another image there is usually a small cost. You could also ask them to credit you as the photographer. x
It’s so difficult. I generally don’t mind if people share my photos and recipes, but it bothered me that someone took the time to photoshop and crop out my image like that. I just don’t want to make too big of a deal out of it since they’re a small business that just opened a little over a week ago.