Being Careful Online… a Stolen Picture

Okay, first off, I didn't have a picture stolen! At least, not that I know of…. But, I came across some news that scared me a bit. I post pictures of my family quite a bit, so this got to me, but I'm also a graphic designer, so I can somewhat relate to the other side of the story as well.

According to this blog and the AP, a family in St. Louis found out last month that a picture of their family was being used by a grocery store as part of an advertisement. The wife was emailed by a college friend who seen it. The thing is, the college friend lives in the Czech Republic! Come to find out, the family had posted the on their blog and social networking sites (like facebook), and the grocery store owner saw it and used it!

This goes to show that you have to be careful when posting pictures. Its one of the reasons I re-size my pictures before sending them out on email (besides the fact that when they're large, they take so long to load!). I've been told that some of the pictures I have of the kids, especially Mysia, could be used for getting them in to be used as a kid models.

If someone's going to use my pictures… I wanna get paid for it!

Now, as a graphic designer, have I used online pics? Yes… I have. But before you get on me, I should let you know that I only use them for the idea stage. I do not use stolen pictures/ artwork in my final design. I come up with my own alternative. If it's a texture or something, I'll alter it, so that it is not the same as the original.

I don't think it was right that the grocery store owner just pulled a picture from the internet and used it as part of an advertisement. I'm sure that the grocery store owner wouldn't want an image of his store used as part of another's advertising.

~Matt