An Artist's Perspective: People Like Being Appreciated and Valued

I'm going to say something I so rarely focus upon, a topic which when carelessly brought up, generally seems trivial or even petty. It's my photos. I don't have a $2,000 camera or a background in taking them, but what I do is often highly detailed editing to achieve a result which is unusual and unique.

If you love one of my images, I'm happy.

If you wish to use it with appreciation for the subject or topic, that is very flattering and I thank you in advance.

If you ask me or give credit there's a 99% chance I'm going to say "sure, go ahead and use it".


HOWEVER it's a nice feeling to be appreciated in return. What does this all mean? STOP STEALING MY PHOTOS. I've put sometimes hours of work into achieving just the right result for some meaningful objects, locations and events, and for you to crop off the piece of the image which has my name is just not nice.

Currently some of my pics are making the rounds and I just wanted you to know that even taking the time to message me and say "hey, thanks for this great image, may we use it?" would mean a lot. I give a lot of time and energy to numerous causes and to have my name removed from photographs which mean something to me is kind of disrespectful. 99% of the time I never ask for attention however something which is a lot of work seems only fair to be appreciated in return.

community advocate • marketing consultant • voice for small business

classic car lover • salt life • believer that "together we accomplish more"