It was brought to my attention recently that someone used a picture of mine on their blog. This did not come as a surprise to me because this is not the first time it has happened. In recent years we have become more active in social media and the web in general. By becoming more active, we share more photos. 
There are pros and cons to everything we do, including posting images to the web.
Pros:
We have an opportunity to give our customers an exclusive look into the flower business. Customers have always been amazed at all the things their favorite florist can do and through social media, we get to share our best designs and ideas with countless followers every day! Our customers can see how crazy our store is on Valentine’s Day, see our intricate bridal bouquets, view an extravagant baby shower, shop our blinged out Prom corsages or even see a guitar made of flowers!
We also have an opportunity to network with fellow florists
and industry members. We share our ideas, show a work in progress and get feedback or share what is happening in our shop on a particular day. We even share funny moments at the store with a snapshot! Perhaps the most valuable reason to post images to the web is to share our custom designs with customers so they can have confidence when they place their order in our hands. We are proud to be a family owned, local florist, capable of artistry for every occasion.
Cons:
Our images, artistry and hard work can be copied.
The unique items that we make can be seen worldwide and can be copied. Someone can steal our pictures, place them on their own website, Facebook or blog and claim the images as their own.
Look at the Pros and Cons. Do you know what I see? A lot more reasons to share my pictures than not. If you are a florist, photographer or individual who is concerned about sharing your photos on the web, think about all of the benefits and try not worry about the down side. I look at my images as a resource for everyone. There is nothing wrong with a customer taking a picture to another florist and asking them to make the same or similar item (we take it as a compliment)! I even accept other florists designing similar bouquets or products from our website, photographing it themselves then placing similar products on their own website. Each and every designer has their own style which will create variations within the finished product. What aggravates me is when someone copies and pastes a picture from the web and claims the photo as their own unique design. The bottom line, give credit where credit is due. Ask for permission or do the work yourself!
There are some things you can do to protect your images.
Copyright your images. I learned you can only copyright pictures from the date of the copyright. Any images taken before that date are not protected. It is still up to you to track down any images that have been stolen and prosecute offenders.
Watermark your images. Some companies add their logo or website address to their photos. Usually, it covers most of the image but is transparent so you can still see the image. Look to your right for a great example of watermarking.
Teleflora, Facebook and other sites are working hard to protect your images. If you have a Teleflora website, they make it very hard to copy the high resolution pictures to your computer. Facebook and other social media websites are also working to make it hard to copy pictures to your computer. This may give you some comfort when sharing your pictures!
If you see a beautiful picture that is not yours and you want to add it to your website or blog, simply ask the owner. When I am asked to share my images, I say yes! I am flattered and ask that I am given credit or a link back to the original image. Please give artistic credit to those who spent the time and resources to produce an image for everyone to enjoy!
Want to see some of Gillespie's beautiful images? Click below to go to our website!
Thank you to Santamary Florist and Greenhouses for your beautiful picture!
