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

[mvazul]

I found out this evening that her fan page has been removed to the fact that she is receiving death threats. I do not agree with what she did - AT ALL - however, death threats are way over the top, in my opinion.

 

[jujube]

This exact thing happened in our area last year. As was posted about the photographer in this thread, the girl claiming the pictures as her own was very talented and did not have to resort to this but she did. Her business is now closed.

 

[Allison]

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?

What purpose does there need to be? It is a topic of conversation. That is pretty much what the community board is for-to discuss random things.

 

[mvazul]

This exact thing happened in our area last year. As was posted about the photographer in this thread, the girl claiming the pictures as her own was very talented and did not have to resort to this but she did. Her business is now closed.

It's really sad. I don't understand it.

What purpose does there need to be? It is a topic of conversation. That is pretty much what the community board is for-to discuss random things.

 

[cm8]

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.

Did you ever get a resolution for that

 

[dodukes]

I watermark everything that goes on my website but I have had a learning process when it comes to facebook (and the fact taht you can download stuff there). What I do now, is I put up a small selection of an event, in very small size and with my logo or copyright notice on the bottom. I have seen one instance where they cropped part of the picture and shared it with their friends. Does it bug me, a little, I would just want them to leave the logo up since I put it up for them to share, but will I go after them for it, no, don't have the time. Facebook is very much a learning game for me still as far as posting photos.

 

[mvazul]

I watermark everything that goes on my website but I have had a learning process when it comes to facebook (and the fact taht you can download stuff there). What I do now, is I put up a small selection of an event, in very small size and with my logo or copyright notice on the bottom. I have seen one instance where they cropped part of the picture and shared it with their friends. Does it bug me, a little, I would just want them to leave the logo up since I put it up for them to share, but will I go after them for it, no, don't have the time. Facebook is very much a learning game for me still as far as posting photos.

I agree with this. I do the same. However, this woman stole ENTIRE weddings/sessions/blog posts (word for word and picture for picture - changed the names and locations), removed watermarks, added her own and passed them off as hers.

 

[HunnyPots]

I agree with this. I do the same. However, this woman stole ENTIRE weddings/sessions/blog posts (word for word and picture for picture - changed the names and locations), removed watermarks, added her own and passed them off as hers.

I am still wondering how she got away with it for as long as she did. Obviously, she had friends and family that knew she was not going to these places and shooting these weddings. Wedding photography is not something you can just go and do and be back in an hour or so. Not to mention how much time goes into post processing. And did it not seem strange to her friends that they never recognized the people in the photos? Conway, Arkansas is not a big city by any means. I don't know, it just seems to me that she had to have people who knew what she was up to and covered for her.

 

[mvazul]

I am still wondering how she got away with it for as long as she did. Obviously, she had friends and family that knew she was not going to these places and shooting these weddings. Wedding photography is not something you can just go and do and be back in an hour or so. Not to mention how much time goes into post processing. And did it not seem strange to her friends that they never recognized the people in the photos? Conway, Arkansas is not a big city by any means. I don't know, it just seems to me that she had to have people who knew what she was up to and covered for her.

I agree with you. From what I am reading, her husband says he had no clue what she was doing. How is that possible??? My husband knows each and every time I am out for a session. He usually even meets most of the people I photograph. Plus, he is my second for weddings, so he definitely knows those people. Also, I am at my computer for many, many hours, editing, blogging, updating my website, Facebook, etc. I just don't understand.

I have been following this blog since just after it happened. A couple of highly respected pros have commented - Gary Fong, for one. It will be interesting to see what will eventually happen and if any copyright laws will change due to this.

 

[1novascotian]

This is another example of a photographer stealing other peoples images. This one hits more close to home (for me at least) because I know one of the photographers who had some images stolen.

http://www.pcworld.com/article/2056...otographer_using_stolen_images_for_promo.html

Groupon Pwned by Photographer Using Stolen Images for Promo
By Sarah Jacobsson Purewal, PCWorld Sep 17, 2010 8:31 AM

Social buying site Groupon was forced to pull a photography deal off of its website on Wednesday, after it was revealed that the photographer was using stolen photos to promote herself.

The deal was an absolute steal -- a $500 photo package by Dana Dawes Photography (including an on-location one-hour photo shoot) for just $65. Unfortunately, what your mother told you is right: if it sounds too good to be true, it probably is.

The first tip-off that the too-good-to-be-true deal was a fraud came from a commenter on the Groupon discussion thread (mirror courtesy of PetaPixel), known only as "SP."

SP commented 5 hours and 37 minutes ago:

Groupon, you are dealing with a thief here. This photographer does not own all the photos on her website.

I looked at her website and realized that as a pro myself, her lighting and conversions didn't match up. I then took one of her images off her website and un-distorted it, and then placed it through a recognition software that brought up this http://morgaineowensphotography.com/?p=924 - THIS is the owner of the photograph, not Dana Dawes. I would suggest you refund the money to all of these people because this person is using photos that aren't hers to try to bring in clients. In other words, she's a fake photographer.

Dana Dawes, the photographer with the deal, responded to SP quickly:

Dana D. commented 5 hours and 23 minutes ago:

SP.-Let me assure you that I am not a thief. Many of my pictures have been taken in other states as well as many that I took while studying in Europe this past Spring.

As this exchange unfolded, a number of other commenters began looking into Dana Dawes' supposed portfolio. They discovered that most (but not all) of the photos on Dawes' website belonged to other photographers, including Tanya Shields and Morgaine Owens. Commenter Jodie O. even pointed out that the text on Dawes' "About Me" section was a rip-off of the "About Me" section of Kristina Young Photography.

Backed into a corner, Dawes started blaming hackers:

Dana D. commented 5 hours and 5 minutes ago:

Let me assure everyone that I have rights to the photos on my site. I am not sure who SP is, but someone is trying to sabotage my success. My website has now been hacked and all of a sudden I am receiving all of these comments. I am currently working with my hosting company to work through this. But I can assure you that I am NOT a fraud.

Dawes also apparently created a couple of fake Groupon user names to further confirm her work, including an "Andre M." and a "Tasha W." Unfortunately, her alter egos were called out when "Andre M." responded to a question directed at "Tasha W.":

Tasha W. commented 4 hours and 36 minutes ago:

I have also used Dana Dawes Photography several times and she has always provided me with excellent images and is very good. I purchased two of these.

Tasha commented 4 hours and 34 minutes ago:

She was so good that you only purchased two images?

Andre M. commented 4 hours and 31 minutes ago:

No. I purchased more than two images. I purchased two sessions.

Finally, Dawes pulled all of the stolen photos from her website and Facebook page, but not before a number of commenters snapped some incriminating screenshots. (Click on the image for a larger view of the screen preserved by TechCrunch.)

Ultimately, Groupon canceled all of the 1275 groupons that were purchased (more than $75,000 in revenue) and refunded everyone's money. Groupon said in a comment on the discussion thread that it would "never intentionally feature a business that engages in questionable or unethical practices," and I'm inclined to believe them. After all, it took SP some sleuthing to discover the photos were stolen in the first place.

A number of commenters did mention that Groupon could fairly easily scan for these sorts of frauds, however. How? By simply running numbers. After all, it's virtually impossible, as a number of commenters pointed out, for a single photographer to do 1275 photo shoots in a year. Sherriinnis at The Business Lens blog breaks it down -- in order for a photographer to complete 1275 photo shoots in a year, she'd have to work 98 hours a week and would end up making just under $41,500.

In other words, Ms. Dawes would be better off on welfare. Needless to say, she should probably start looking for another line of work, as it doesn't look like her photography career is going anywhere soon.

If you click on the link to the article, there are some links in the article that will show you the groupon discussion that took place, and examples of images that were stolen, and re-watermarked with Ms. Dawes watermark.

Sad really, I mean, at least own up to what you did, rather than continuing to pretend they were yours, then blaming everyone else under the sun.

 

[Octoberbride03]

I agree with you. From what I am reading, her husband says he had no clue what she was doing. How is that possible??? My husband knows each and every time I am out for a session. He usually even meets most of the people I photograph. Plus, he is my second for weddings, so he definitely knows those people. Also, I am at my computer for many, many hours, editing, blogging, updating my website, Facebook, etc. I just don't understand.

I have been following this blog since just after it happened. A couple of highly respected pros have commented - Gary Fong, for one. It will be interesting to see what will eventually happen and if any copyright laws will change due to this.

I think the only way to really change the laws is for the victimized photographers to file a lawsuit in court against her. I am not a professional photographer but I think Gary is right when he says the only way to get this kind fo thing stopped is to file the suit and make an example of the offender. Cause the only thing this girl is sorry for is getting caught. Nothing else.

Death threats are indeed over the top, but if she stole my work a phone call aint gonna cut it. Not 1 bit

 

[HunnyPots]

I think the only way to really change the laws is for the victimized photographers to file a lawsuit in court against her. I am not a professional photographer but I think Gary is right when he says the only way to get this kind fo thing stopped is to file the suit and make an example of the offender. Cause the only thing this girl is sorry for is getting caught. Nothing else.

Death threats are indeed over the top, but if she stole my work a phone call aint gonna cut it. Not 1 bit

Agreed. Not only the photographers, but the defrauded clients who booked with her based on her fraudulent portfolio.

 

[BeachLove]

That really makes me angry. I also do creative type work and my photographs have been stolen and used on others websites before as advertising. Makes me feel ill that people do this.