Art Director Wants Me to Email Her

<p>Hi PN memebers!I need some serious help. So long story short, I met the art director from the Bergamot Station in Santa Monica California and she wants me email her a quick five images to get critiqued and perhaps get considered for a gallery. What I need help in, is wording this email. Any help is good help and thank you guys!</p>

<p>George, you can find sample replies online, just Google it.</p>

<p>More to the point, you appear to be posting images that don't belong to you. Just make sure you don't send the art director and take credit for pictures you didn't take.</p>

<p>For example you claim these to be yours in your portfolio here and on Flickr:<br /> <a href="http://www.flickr.com/photos/annabelrae/5371687922/">http://www.flickr.com/photos/annabelrae/5371687922/</a><br /> <a href=" /> <a href="

<p><a href="/photodb/folder?folder_id=1047728">http://www.photo.net/photodb/folder?folder_id=1047728</a><br>

<a href="http://www.flickr.com/photos/george_briseno/">http://www.flickr.com/photos/george_briseno/</a></p>

<blockquote>

<p><em>"I met the art director from the Bergamot Station in Santa Monica California and she wants me email her a quick five images to get critiqued and perhaps get considered for a gallery."</em></p>

</blockquote>

<p>Really? This is their official policy:<br>

<a href="http://www.bergamotstation.com/learn.php">http://www.bergamotstation.com/learn.php</a></p>

<blockquote>

<p>"<strong>Can I send you my portfolio, exhibit my art, or get represented?<br /></strong>Submissions must be made directly to an individual gallery. Bergamot Station is not a gallery and does not represent any artists. DO NOT EMAIL asking about having a show or with an attachment of your work. ALL MATERIAL sent regarding these issues is DELETED and will not be responded to."</p>

</blockquote>

<p>Posting images that don't belong to you is a violation of Photo.net's Terms of Use and grounds for closing your account.</p>

<p>Care to tell us what's going on before that happens?</p>

George, you have bigger problems than crafting a letter right now.

 

Your website: http://www.georgejphoto.com seems to be full of photos that you didn't shoot. This is definitely copyright

infringement and probably fraud as well.

 

I would stop whatever you are doing—right NOW—and remove images that are not yours from your website, your Flickr

account, and anywhere else you've been promoting yourself with other people's work.

 

You should also make sure you're honest on the about page ( http://www.georgejphoto.com/?page_id=95 ). Are you really

asking us how to write to a simple letter to an art director when this line is in your bio:

 

"Coming from a background of producing high quality work for Nike, Billboard, and many other editorial magazines."

 

Especially considering a couple months ago you were searching for a good lighting kit for a beginner:

http://www.photo.net/photography-lighting-equipment-techniques-forum/00bax9

 

It stretches credulity. You can't get away with this today with google and especially google images. You've just about ruined

your online reputation with this thread.

<p>Do you not understand that there are people in this field who actually work towards their success and make a name for themselves without STEALING from other photographers and LYING about their experience to their clients? Being a THIEF does not make you a photographer. You should be ASHAMED of yourself.</p>

Well, I know several owners and directors at Bergamont Station. Perhaps it would save you the trouble of drafting a cover letter if I wrote them a note introducing them to "your" work.

George,

Please listen to all of the above. You don't want to end up featured here

http://stopstealingphotos.tumblr.com/

 

And have your name, when searched, land people on a copyright infringer outing blog.

 

Be honest from here on out. Change those bios and abouts to reflect you and your photography in an more honest light. Success means

nothing if your integrity is not kept intact.

<p>Good advice, Melinda, and it appears George is heeding to lessons learned. He has removed his portfolio on PN and cleaned up his Flickr site. His homepage still needs some work, though:<br>

<a href="http://www.georgejphoto.com/?udt_portfolio=180">http://www.georgejphoto.com/?udt_portfolio=180</a><br>

<a href="http://www.georgejphoto.com/?udt_portfolio=tunn-composition">http://www.georgejphoto.com/?udt_portfolio=tunn-composition</a><br>

<a href="http://www.georgejphoto.com/?udt_portfolio=jackobs-identity">http://www.georgejphoto.com/?udt_portfolio=jackobs-identity</a><br>

<a href="http://www.georgejphoto.com/?udt_portfolio=photoshoot-milan">http://www.georgejphoto.com/?udt_portfolio=photoshoot-milan</a></p>

<p>Let's also hope he conducts himself accordingly on Model Mayhem:<br>

<a href="http://www.modelmayhem.com/2207853">http://www.modelmayhem.com/2207853</a></p>

<p>We should also be more collectively vigilant so we're not made fools of, and our helpful nature isn't abused:<br>

<a href="/business-photography-forum/00beIO">http://www.photo.net/business-photography-forum/00beIO</a></p>

<p> </p>

<p>Don't forget your Facebook George.<br />Be sure to remove ALL the stolen works, even the ones you think we and others didn't see or notice. Go ahead and read through that blog I linked above. Most times the offenders only remove the work of others, that were linked and proven to be stolen, or only from the online marketing that has been mentioned, hoping that it will go unnoticed, but when you have already been found out, you can be pretty darn sure nothing with in your online presence will be left unnoticed. Be sure to go through ALL your albums and profiles. I know it may seem a daunting task when there are so many stolen works, and so many sites that you have used for marketing your business, and Ive heard (from reading some replies on the Photostealers blog) that sometimes it's hard to remember where and which ones are stolen from someone else and not taken by you. So try to think hard... "do I have a linkden account, google plus, twitter, etc? Did I advertise on Craig's list, or any other online service? when you go through your albums just ask yourself "Do I know this Subject/person. Was I there? Am I the one that clicked that shutter?". If the answer is "no" then more than likely it doesn't belong to you and should be removed. Just adding more images you actually made yourself to any online port, won't hide the stolen work, or make it any less difficult for others to find.<br>

<br /><br /><a href="https://www.facebook.com/GeorgeJonathanPhotography/photos_stream">https://www.facebook.com/GeorgeJonathanPhotography/photos_stream</a><br /><br />Just for an example. This one. There are others, but I just thought Id give you a head start. <br /><a href="https://www.facebook.com/photo.php?fbid=434094646632351&set=pb.161953867179765.-2207520000.1374762660.&type=3&theater">https://www.facebook.com/photo.php?fbid=434094646632351&set=pb.161953867179765.-2207520000.1374762660.&type=3&theater</a><br /><br /><br /><br />Just to let you know,<br /><a href="/">Photo.net</a> is read by many many people. Lots of people that don't regularly post. I only subscribe to this very business forum because I'm interested in the business side of things right now and like to learn from people's questions on the subject. I also search questions I have, that have been asked by others, and learn that way as well. I guess you could say Im a lurker. I'm one in hundreds at least. Your behavior is simply not tolerated. Taking other people's work, is pretty much the lowest thing a photographer/artist could ever do. <br />Checking this thread, and seeing if you cleaned up was one of the first things on my mind today. I guess by telling you this, I'm hoping to try to get you to understand how your actions deeply affect others, even if they aren't the ones who's work was stolen by you. Again, <br />Please clean things up properly, and never ever do this again.</p>

<p>Melinda:<br />Is <a href="http://stopstealingphotos.tumblr.com/" rel="nofollow" target="_blank">http://stopstealingphotos.tumblr.com/</a> your creation? If so, <em><strong>APPLAUSE</strong></em>!</p>

<p>Henry Posner<br />B&H Photo-Video</p>

<p>No, not my blog but I follow it, and use it when necessary (can't get over how very often I run into thievery just by talking on online forums and looking for wonderful photography and researching what interests me. It's crazy!) . A few years ago I ran into a thief in business that would not comply after I contacted them, even after I explained the law to her she found nothing at all wrong with it. "There has to be more that I can do. What can I do to make them stop?" I didn't know how to source, or find original owners, or what to do legally to get them to stop and take the stolen work down. So I googled and found out there was a group called PACT (photographers against copyright infringement). They were a huge help! I learned what to do, to better help the owners of the stolen content, learned how to source, screen shot affectively, and I keep an eye out for new blogs and groups that handle this sort of thing as they pop up.<br>

https://www.facebook.com/supportpact<br>

There was also a blog called Little photography sleuth that helped find and contact original owners and publicly out stubborn theives.<br>

Unfortunately, both the blogs above have been successfully taken down by thieves claiming that by publicly sourcing and proving their work is stolen from others the blogs/pages are "Internet bullies" and that they should have been contacted privately about the matter and not blogged and publicly disscussed. I never heard of any public business out there where people were not allowed to discuss their business publicly. Somehow photography businesses are exempt from criticism or anyone complaining of shoddy products or business practices, in some people's minds. Or the blog admins and facebook admins just get tired of all the complaining, and figure it's easier to just shut them down instead of doing the right thing. Most, if not all cases start out with private contact or within a forum such as this with the offender. When it doesn't prove to be productive, and they still don't comply, what do you do? So far photostealers has had more success. They screen shot and save all conversations and contact with the thieves I believe, and this helps when the whole "bully" ("I'm the victim! This is slander! I'm contacting the FBI! I'm getting your blog taken down!") card gets played. Hopefully they remain dilligent with whatever it is they do to protect themselves from being taken down. We need people like this willing to stand up for what's right and do what needs to be done legally to put a stop to it.</p>

<p>why hasn't Mr. Jonathan's photo.net account been closed?</p>

<p>It really is sad how many people think they can get away with this sort of thing.. most of them never apologize to any of the photographers they stole from, and it's even sadder that most of them can't ever admit that they did anything wrong.. and continue to lie, steal, erase watermarks from images that aren't their own, etc. What's even worse is that once they're outed, most of them don't stop.. they just change their name, get a new website to fill with stolen work, etc. I've been following the PhotoStealers Tumblr account for awhile now, and the excuses some of these people come up with are unbelievable. </p>

<ul>

<li>"They're stock images that represent what my work will look like."</li>

<li>"My website came with those pictures on it already."</li>

<li>"My graphic designer did it."</li>

<li>"All 50 of those photographers must have stolen from me!"</li>

<li>"I never said those photographs all over my website, Facebook page, etc. were my actual pictures.. my potential clients should know what my photographs will look like."</li>

</ul>

<p>What's your excuse, George?</p>

<p>Looks like George also ripped an entire text page and made it his own:<br>

<a href="http://www.georgejphoto.com/?page_id=676">http://www.georgejphoto.com/?page_id=676</a> - His page<br>

<a href="http://www.lovemedophotography.com/yourday.html">http://www.lovemedophotography.com/yourday.html</a> - Source page </p>

<p>Who's stealing from whom? </p>

<p><a href="http://annblakephotography.com/wedding-info">http://annblakephotography.com/wedding-info</a></p>

<p>Language is very similar but with some things slightly re-written.</p>

<p>Rob, I'm not detecting any signs of plagiarism between the two pages. The similarities are in concepts which is generic in the process of wedding photography. </p>

<p>If it matters, the two links are dated approximately 4 years apart with your link being the newer, June 2012 when the first blog was posted. </p>

<p>[[Rob, I'm not detecting any signs of plagiarism between the two pages]]</p>

<p>If you put them up side-by-side, there is more than "similarities" there.</p>

<p>One example, the last line:<br /> <br /> " At the end of the night, we will always check in with you to say our goodbyes and congratulate you on the awesomeness of your wedding!"</p>

<p>vs</p>

<p>"We also want to say our goodbyes and congratulate you on a wedding well done!"</p>

<p>Either both photographers pulled from the same basic template and changed a few words slightly, or one took the text from another and re-wrote some parts.</p>

<p>[[if it matters, the two links are dated approximately 4 years apart with your link being the newer, June 2012 when the first blog was posted.]]</p>

<p>I don't see how the dates matter.</p>

<p>Thank you so much George for attempting to clean up. There are a few more sites that may need your attention</p>

<p>http://georgejphoto.tumblr.com/<br>

http://flickeflu.com/photos/26548281@N08</p>

<p>http://gbphila11.wix.com/gjphoto#!</p>

<p>You also have a stolen image in your slide show on your main web page<br>

http://www.georgejphoto.com<br>

Here's the original<br>

<p>Here's another few that also need to be taken down from your sites<br>

http://www.georgejphoto.com/#/?udt_portfolio=tunn-composition<br>

http://www.up-her.com/photo-5241/seyrantepe-istanbul-2008-by-yagmur-kizilok/</p>

<p>http://www.georgejphoto.com/#/?udt_portfolio=photoshoot-milan<br>

http://www.dripbook.com/Igortermenon/photography-portfolio/unpublished-work/</p>

<p>I think you can get into a little bit of trouble with this series of shots as well. Not to mention making such a false claim "Coming from a background of producing high quality work for Nike, Billboard, and many other editorial magazines." looks a little ridiculous, and is very misleading and fraudulant<br>

http://www.georgejphoto.com/#/?udt_portfolio=jackobs-identity</p>

<p>http://help-en-us.nike.com/app/answers/detail/a_id/16379/p/4099</p>

<p>I went ahead and highlighted the parts that pertain to your situation<br>

<strong>Intellectual Property</strong><br>

All intellectual property on the Platform (except for User Generated Content) is owned by NIKE or its licensors, which includes materials protected by copyright, trademark, or patent laws. All trademarks, service marks and trade names (e.g., the NIKE name and the Swoosh design) are owned, registered and/or licensed by NIKE. All content on the Platform (except for User Generated Content), including but not limited to text, software, scripts, code, designs, graphics, photos, sounds, music, videos, applications, interactive features and all other content ("Content") is a collective work under the United States and other copyright laws and is the proprietary property of NIKE; All rights reserved.</p>

<p><strong>Platform Use Restrictions</strong><br>

You may use the Content only for your own non-commercial use to participate in the Platform or to place an order or purchase NIKE products. You agree not to change or delete any ownership notices from materials downloaded or printed from the Platform. You agree not to modify, copy, translate, broadcast, perform, display, distribute, frame, reproduce, republish, download, display, post, transmit or sell any Intellectual Property or Content appearing on the Platform, including User Generated Content (defined below), without NIKE's prior written consent, unless it is your own User Generated Content that you legally post on the Platform. You agree not to use any data mining, robots, scraping or similar data gathering methods. Nothing in these Terms of Use shall be interpreted as granting any license of intellectual property rights to you.</p>

<blockquote>

<p>"why hasn't Mr. Jonathan's photo.net account been closed?"</p>

</blockquote>

<p>I believe it has been.</p>

 

<p>Too bad, in a way. He is apparently attempting to rehabilitate himself. </p>

<p>"why hasn't Mr. Jonathan's photo.net account been closed?"<br>

"I believe it has been."<br>

good-thanks William. cb</p>

<p> </p>

<p>Rob (and others), the "Your Wedding Day" jargon was stolen from me. Another photographer directed me to this forum. I wrote it myself for my site and it sucks to know that someone else copied it word for word. The "About" section is also paraphrased, nearly identically to mine: http://lovemedophotography.com/about.html <br>

Overall it feels very defeating finding things of yours copied or claimed as someone else's. </p>

<p>Welcome, Carina. It does suck to have your writing plagiarized and certainly constitutes unwelcome flattery. </p>

<p>Hope you'll stick around photo.net; we're mostly a friendly bunch. :-) </p>

<p> </p>