{"id":1696,"date":"2013-08-26T15:18:00","date_gmt":"2013-08-26T15:18:00","guid":{"rendered":"https:\/\/vanessafrancis.com\/staging\/when-someone-steals-your-work\/"},"modified":"2013-08-26T15:18:00","modified_gmt":"2013-08-26T15:18:00","slug":"when-someone-steals-your-work","status":"publish","type":"post","link":"https:\/\/vanessafrancis.com\/staging\/2013\/08\/when-someone-steals-your-work\/","title":{"rendered":"When Someone \u201cSteals\u201d Your Work"},"content":{"rendered":"

Hi there! Did that title grab your attention?\u00a0 Rather than sharing some pretty on the blog today, I want to talk about a topic that has been on my mind for awhile.<\/p>\n

A few months ago, I pinned this<\/a> which lead me to this article<\/a>, \u201cHow to see if your photos are being used on another site.\u201d\u00a0 (There have also been quite a few blog posts lately about how to source a product online, eg. find out who else sells an item you find online. It\u2019s the same premise.)<\/p>\n

Around the same time, a \u201cdesigner\u201d in one of my Linked In groups was kicked out of the group because her portfolio was filled with the work of other designers! How bold!<\/p>\n

So I was curious and copied one of the photos of my work into Google\u2019s Image Search and I found a number of sites that were using it.\u00a0 Most sites were outside of North America (mostly Spanish speaking countries) which didn\u2019t really bother me too much.<\/p>\n

\"via<\/a><\/p>\n

But then I found a woman in California using the above photo as part of her portfolio<\/a>. That was just a little too close for comfort and yes that is a living room I designed years ago in her portfolio as her work! In fact ALL of the images in the Living Room portfolio section are the work of other designers and bloggers \u2013 I checked using Google Image Search. I didn\u2019t check the other rooms on her blog, but something tells me, those are not her work either.\u00a0 She also has these same images on her Facebook page where someone has commented \u201cBeautiful work Mariah!\u201d and she didn\u2019t correct them. So unethical.<\/p>\n

\"via

This gorgeous room above is the work of designer Marianne Simon<\/a>. I\u2019m pretty sure Marianne didn\u2019t know someone was \u201cborrowing\u201d her work.<\/p>\n

When you are just starting out, you won\u2019t have a huge portfolio. But take photos of work you have done in your own home or homes of friends or relatives. The key being \u201cwork that you have done.\u201d You don\u2019t have to have an extensive portfolio, a handful or professionally photographed images of rooms that you are proud of, is all you need.<\/p>\n

Many times after working on a project you don\u2019t end up taking professional photos for one reason or another, eg) the clients purchased something that wasn\u2019t in the design plan and doesn\u2019t result in a great photo in your mind. This happens a lot.<\/p>\n

UPDATE: So, I had emailed Ms. Shaw\u00a0 advising her to take down my photo and others that weren\u2019t hers and I just checked her website and it says \u201cCome Back Soon \u2013 The Site is Under Maintenance.\u201d\u00a0 She also took down her Facebook page. She never did respond to my emails but what would she say exactly?<\/p>\n

When I have time I will Google search other photos in my portfolio to see what else turns up. (I also found my entire blog on a few different sites but from what I understand, this is common. This didn\u2019t seem to bother me as much as someone in the decor\/design field passing off my work as their own.)<\/p>\n

You can also Google Search to see who is using the exact wording <\/em>from your website or blog. Yes, there are a lot of copy cats out there! (With Pinterest and even Instagram, credit is sometimes\/oftentimes not given to the designer\/stylist\/photographer etc. I just wanted to talk about other designers using work that isn\u2019t theirs in their online portfolio.)<\/p>\n

Have you tried this exercise? What did you turn up? Would love to hear in the comments.\u00a0 I\u2019ll be back with some pretty soon!<\/p>\n

If you require design advice, please contact me at <\/em>vanessa@vanessafrancis.com<\/em><\/a>.<\/em><\/p>\n

Save<\/span><\/p>\n","protected":false},"excerpt":{"rendered":"

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