Wedding Photographer Found to be Stealing Other's Images...

[mvazul]

As a wedding photographer myself, I found this to be sad and disturbing. I watched this unfold yesterday and just couldn't believe what i was seeing. The saddest part? The girl who was stealing images was good. Her website company has yanked her website. Her Twitter account, Facebook fan page and other social media pages are now shut down.

http://******************/article/t...social-media-slaps-down-a-wedding-photo-faker

She posted an "apology" last night on her Facebook fan page...

"It is with a humble and heavy heart that I write this message.

To my clients, friends, family, and peers:

I have not been honest in the way that I operate my business. I have knowingly committed an unforgivable act that – now – looking back, makes me ill to my stomach. I have claimed other photographers' work as my own work, and I have been caught.

I would like to publicly issue an apology to everyone involved. I'm sorry. I am sorry for misleading you, lying to you, and hurting you. I am owning up to the choices I have made and am facing the consequences. I want to operate my business with integrity and honesty, and will do so going forward.

I have already reached out to several of the photographers of whom I have taken work from and spoken with them personally on the phone. For those I haven’t been able to contact, I will reach out to you again soon. I wanted to get this out as soon as I could – I hope you understand why.

To the photographers whom I have stolen from: I am deeply sorry, from every fiber of my being. I have hurt you, your clients, and your business and for that I am truly sorry. I hope you can forgive me for being so selfish. I know words are cheap, and there are not enough words to express my guilty. Please hear my heart. I’m so sorry. If there is anything else I can do to help mend these wounds, please let me know.

To my beautiful brides and clients: I am sorry for misleading you and leading you to believe that some of the work you have seen on my blog and website is actually mine. I completely understand if you do not want to use my photography services in the future. If you do, I promise I will strive to capture them as beautifully as you have seen on my website. I am truly sorry and understand the choices that you have to make. I still love you all and consider you dear friends.

To all of the new photographers out there: PLEASE learn from this experience. I know you are just starting out, and your work is not the best (yet). I know it is tempting, when you see all of the beautiful work being produced by other photographers out there. I know that you want over-night success – and this may seem like a good way to do it. Please, please, PLEASE take something from this experience and don’t do it. Keep plugging away. Shoot as much as you possibly can. I’m trying to learn this, too, and did it the wrong way.

If anyone would like to speak with me directly, please feel free to email me and we can chat over the phone.

I also want to add something - I hate that I have tarnished the name of Jesus in doing this, and I have got some serious soul searching to do over the coming days, weeks, and months. I know that God does not approve of my choices and that he hates hypocrites such as myself. I also know that God can take my brokenness and turn it around for His glory, which is what I intend to do. If you are the praying folk, I would like to ask you to pay for me and my family. I would greatly appreciate it.

I welcome your comments."

 

[mvazul]

Hmmmm...the for some reason, the link is blocked. Here is what the article says...

Some days, it just doesn't pay to get out of bed.

I don't know what time Meagan Kunert, a Conway, Arkansas, wedding photographer, went to sleep Tuesday night. I can only surmise from her last online posts that day that it was a night like any other. After a long day of caring for her children, juggling and organizing her upcoming work schedule, and updating her website, Facebook page, and Flickr account with stunning photographs of recent weddings, she must have retired for the night without the slightest hunch about what was going to be waiting for her the next morning.

In Vancouver, B.C., the night was a couple of hours younger. Another wedding photographer, Amber Hughes, had received a disturbing note from a colleague. He'd found a photographer who was featuring Hughes' work on her website and claiming it as her own. Hughes visited the website, and she was shocked at what she saw. According to tweets she posted from around 10:00 pm to midnight (Vancouver time), she found Kunert had posted an entire wedding in her portfolio that had actually been shot by Hughes. Then Hughes found another of her weddings. And another. And an engagment session. At around 10:15 pm, she tweeted from her @amberhughes account, "I'm appalled by the reposting of my images by @meagankphotos as her own work."

Fellow photographers saw Hughes' tweets, and they began re-tweeting and discussing the situation online. When it was picked up and re-tweeted by lighting expert David Hobby (@strobist) to his 65,000+ followers, the story grew exponentially and started reaching photographers around the world. Several wedding photographers visited Kunert's site to find their work featured in her portfolio, as well.

By the time the sun rose on the U.S., Kunert's Twitter account had been bombarded by negative mentions. Her business Facebook page was awash with comments calling her out on her deceit. The pitchforks-and-torches crowd had found her pages on Pinterest, Google+, Flickr, and LinkedIn. Photographers were posting that they had emailed her demanding that she remove their work from her website or she would risk immediate legal repercussions. Her web hosting company yanked down her website entirely in response to the complaints.

About that time, Kunert woke up.

Her Twitter account was first to go. Then the negative comments on her Facebook page began to disappear. Then the whole page disappeared. Pinterest, gone. Flickr too. Even her husband, who said he had absolutely no clue about any of this when he was confronted on Twitter, eventually protected his account so only approved followers can see it. This could not have been a good day in Conway.

As of about 6 o'clock Wednesday evening (5 o'clock Arkansas, 3 o'clock Vancouver), Hughes posted that the situation is under control. She said she has been in contact with Kunert, and they have buried the hatchet. Hughes said via Twitter that she has no intention to sue, and given the fact that she is in Canada, a suit might not have been feasible anyway. According to Hughes, Kunert planned to phone and apologize to all the people whose work she claimed as her own, and then re-launch her website for one primary purpose -- a public apology. At around 6:30 pm Eastern, her business Facebook page came back up, with an apology prominently posted at the top.

Another day in the life, driven by social media.

So what can we take away from this? If you are attempting to conduct business online, this "fauxtographer" fiasco does contain a few lessons you need to keep in mind.

Viral happens, but you don't make it happen.

If you've heard people use the word "viral" but you were never exactly sure what it meant -- this is it. Something goes "viral" when it is so compelling (in a good way or a bad way) that people share it with others. But viral isn't something you create right out of the box. If your goal is to create a viral marketing campaign, stop. "Viral" is not a goal. Your goal should be to create a good campaign, a funny campaign, an important campaign. Make sure the content you create fills a need for your target audience, and the viral part (the sharing) will naturally follow.

You're not going to get away with it.

Seriously. Don't do bad things. The world is becoming more and more interconnected and transparent every single day, and someone will catch you. The CEO of Yahoo is under pressure to step down because he lied on his resume, saying he holds a degree that he doesn't. Certainly the top officer of a search engine should recognize that we simply do not live in a world where you can do that anymore. (The fact that the investor who busted him said he used a "Google search" just adds a sad note of irony to the whole affair.) Be honest, don't plagiarize, and don't try to take credit for work you didn't do.

Photo copyright infringement is a sticky wicket.

Many people are under the false impression that, when it comes to photographs, if it's on the internet it's free. That is not true. You cannot grab a photo from Flickr and use it in an ad or a brochure. The whole issue of photo copyright is far too complex to try to clarify here, but you do need to understand that any photograph you find online was created by, and is owned by, someone. Sometimes it is acceptable to re-post it with proper credit and a link back to the source, but usually you shouldn't re-post it at all. (Pinterest has opened up this whole re-posting thing for further analysis.) You can almost never use a photo in any sort of advertisement or for any other business purpose without paying for it. (For the record, what Kunert did reached far beyond copyright infringement. She didn't just grab photos to decorate her website without proper credit, she claimed them as samples of her work and used them to solicit business. She made up names and locations and anecdotes about how much fun she'd had with each "awesome cute couple" she had "worked with," in a level of deception that borders on disturbing.)

The lesson is this. Meagan Kunert went from being a relatively anonymous wedding photographer with a happy little business (albeit one built on a massive lie) to being reviled as a fraud and being forced to apologize in front of thousands, perhaps tens of thousands, in about eighteen hours. The power of the web, and of social media in particular, can be absolutely overwhelming. Utilize it properly, and it can spread the message you want to spread in ways you might never even have imagined. Just don't lie.

The facts in this article were gathered entirely from online posts by the people involved. None of them were personally interviewed for this story.

 

[worm761]

I have no idea how she thought she would get away with that. Just sad and pathetic. Even she doesn't have any confidence in her own work.

On that note, her apology is a load of crap. She isn't sorry she did it or she would have stopped on her own or never done it in the first place. She sorry because she got caught. It is really just that simple. And then to bring her religion in it? That is just sad.

 

[Pea-n-Me]

Guess she found out the hard way weddings are tough.

 

[HunnyPots]

I understand very well why the photographers she stole from are angry but I am also wondering, where are the angry clients? She defrauded people out of thousands of dollars for the weddings she booked based on her lies and theft. She should be facing jail time. An apology is not enough!

 

[mvazul]

I understand very well why the photographers she stole from are angry but I am also wondering, where are the angry clients? She defrauded people out of thousands of dollars for the weddings she booked based on her lies and theft. She should be facing jail time. An apology is not enough!

I honestly don't know where the clients are. Before she took her fan page down last night (or this morning?), there were a handful of clients saying they still wanted her to photograph their weddings, family session, etc. I don't understand that.

However, the pictures I saw that were her own (or at least she said the pictures left up were hers) were really quite good. Comparable to the ones she stole. No idea what her thinking was or what she thought she would gain from it.

ETA - I agree an apology is definitely not enough. The one photographer she stole from is in Canada and said she will not be pressing charges. At the very least, this thief needs to no longer work in the wedding industry.

 

[Bonnie151]

I can't say I'm surprised in the slightest. I do cakes and you wouldn't believe how many people out there set themselves up and then go round the internet stealing other cake makers wedding cake photos. At least she's admitted it and apologised -lots of cake photo stealers just deny it or ignore the complaints or are verbally abusive back to the cake person who owns the photos (until their website gets yanked that is...). I've rarely seen an actual apology!

 

[HunnyPots]

I can't say I'm surprised in the slightest. I do cakes and you wouldn't believe how many people out there set themselves up and then go round the internet stealing other cake makers wedding cake photos. At least she's admitted it and apologised -lots of cake photo stealers just deny it or ignore the complaints or are verbally abusive back to the cake person who owns the photos (until their website gets yanked that is...). I've rarely seen an actual apology!

Yep, I agree. My sister owns a quilt shop and recently found one of her pictures of a quilt she'd done for a customer posted on the site of a supposed quilt designer on the other side of the country. The "designer" was taking full credit for the quilt in the picture. When my sister and several of her friends in the business contacted this woman, she claimed her business partner posted the picture and she did not know how to remove it! Uh huh, right...

My son is a portrait photographer, and has had a few of his images copied and altered. After that, he finally caved and began to watermark anything he posts on his website, which he should have done to start with. Never make it easy for someone to steal from you!

 

[PrincessKsMom]

I know nothing about this but one thing stuck out for me--her mention of God and Jesus in the final paragraph of her apology. Is she someone who normally discusses her religious and spiritual beliefs or is she just looking for pity?

 

[Pea-n-Me]

I can't say I'm surprised in the slightest. I do cakes and you wouldn't believe how many people out there set themselves up and then go round the internet stealing other cake makers wedding cake photos. At least she's admitted it and apologised -lots of cake photo stealers just deny it or ignore the complaints or are verbally abusive back to the cake person who owns the photos (until their website gets yanked that is...). I've rarely seen an actual apology!

I agree. This lady was honest about it and will probably become the poster child for stealing photos.

However, I think it's a lot more common than people realize - in large part because most don't understand that there are copyright laws involved.

When you take a picture - any picture - you own the copyright and others are not supposed to take and use it without your permission. (In the most simple terms. There are other circumstances like if you are working for someone else taking pictures, etc.)

I think the photographer in the OP did understand copyright laws being in the business, but it doesn't change the fact that you're really not supposed to take/download pictures that don't belong to you regardless.

And I will add as this subject often gets heated.

 

[HunnyPots]

I know nothing about this but one thing stuck out for me--her mention of God and Jesus in the final paragraph of her apology. Is she someone who normally discusses her religious and spiritual beliefs or is she just looking for pity?

On her blog (now deleted) she called herself "a photographer and lover of Jesus". In this part of the country, lines like that go over big.

I had to laugh when I read her apology though. It reminds me of one of my favorite "Sheldon" lines from Big Bang Theory: "My mother says, when we deceive for personal gain, we make Jesus cry."

 

[Magic Mom]

I am just starting out in the photography business. I've had a handful of clients that I've had to work hard to get because I don't have a real portfolio yet. I can see how it would be tempting at first, but knowing how much I value my own work, I could never do that to another photographer. She will be lucky if none of them sue her. I hope she has learned her lesson and is able to rebuild on her own merit.

 

[Allison]

I have knowingly committed an unforgivable act that – now – looking back, makes me ill to my stomach.

Oh please, now it makes her ill? But it didn't every time she did it?

How about now she is ill because she got caught.

 

[manning]

I have no idea how she thought she would get away with that. Just sad and pathetic. Even she doesn't have any confidence in her own work.

On that note, her apology is a load of crap. She isn't sorry she did it or she would have stopped on her own or never done it in the first place. She sorry because she got caught. It is really just that simple. And then to bring her religion in it? That is just sad.

Amen!!!

 

[fairestoneofall]

this instance isn't the first time a "photographer" has stolen images. it happens quite often. that doesn't make it right, but it's true.

is this time the first time you've ever heard of this happening? i've been in business for six years and i've heard of it a lot. with the influx of more and more photographers and with FB/blogs/websites, people do it all the time. my logo was stolen by a logo "designer" and SOLD to another photographer. if you looked closely, you could even see where they'd tried to erase my name out of the logo in order to put the new name onto the background.

anyway, it happens all the time. it's unfortunate that people cannot be honest in presenting their business. however, i don't know that it's right to post her apology here.

the photography industry is also dealing with some cyber-bullying going on via social media sites. that also saddens me.

 

[manning]

Yep, I agree. My sister owns a quilt shop and recently found one of her pictures of a quilt she'd done for a customer posted on the site of a supposed quilt designer on the other side of the country. The "designer" was taking full credit for the quilt in the picture. When my sister and several of her friends in the business contacted this woman, she claimed her business partner posted the picture and she did not know how to remove it! Uh huh, right...

My son is a portrait photographer, and has had a few of his images copied and altered. After that, he finally caved and began to watermark anything he posts on his website, which he should have done to start with. Never make it easy for someone to steal from you!

The problem with watermarks today is with technology they can be photoshopped out. The best way is to stay on top of it and aggressively go after them.

 

[mvazul]

this instance isn't the first time a "photographer" has stolen images. it happens quite often. that doesn't make it right, but it's true.

is this time the first time you've ever heard of this happening? i've been in business for six years and i've heard of it a lot. with the influx of more and more photographers and with FB/blogs/websites, people do it all the time. my logo was stolen by a logo "designer" and SOLD to another photographer. if you looked closely, you could even see where they'd tried to erase my name out of the logo in order to put the new name onto the background.

anyway, it happens all the time. it's unfortunate that people cannot be honest in presenting their business. however, i don't know that it's right to post her apology here.

the photography industry is also dealing with some cyber-bullying going on via social media sites. that also saddens me.

Definitely not the first time I have heard of it. I have been in business 7 years and have had my own images stolen. Unfortunately, by the time I found out who it was, she had been tipped off and took everything down, so I had no proof.

Not sure why her apology shouldn't be posted? It's still out there on the internet.

 

[fairestoneofall]

Definitely not the first time I have heard of it. I have been in business 7 years and have had my own images stolen. Unfortunately, by the time I found out who it was, she had been tipped off and took everything down, so I had no proof.

Not sure why her apology shouldn't be posted? It's still out there on the internet.

yes, it's on the internet. i just don't know what purpose there was in posting it here. that's all. just my opinion.

did she steal something of yours?

 

[Wadecool]

On her blog (now deleted) she called herself "a photographer and lover of Jesus". In this part of the country, lines like that go over big.

I had to laugh when I read her apology though. It reminds me of one of my favorite "Sheldon" lines from Big Bang Theory: "My mother says, when we deceive for personal gain, we make Jesus cry."

She probably copied and pasted her apology as well. INMO, this lady is done in the wedding photography industry. Thanks to the internet, she cannot get away from her actions.

 

[mvazul]

yes, it's on the internet. i just don't know what purpose there was in posting it here. that's all. just my opinion.

did she steal something of yours?

Thankfully, no.