Decided to make some changes to the photo galleries I have on my web site. Make the photos bigger and watermarking them. There seems to be a trend nowadays, web photos have to be big, fill out the screen. So far I’ve kept the photos on my web site fairly small, mainly to prevent illegal use but also to facilitate quick viewing. But still, on a couple of occasions I’ve had a suspision that small versions of my images have been used illegally. And I’ve heard of other photographers who’ve found their images used under a different name.
I’ve previously spent some time optimizing my web site for search engines which has resulted in a fairly high number of visitors popping in and having a look. I don’t mind that. In fact, I’m happy to show the photos and build a “fan base”, if I can call it that. Many other photographers don’t seem to go that way, they just use their site as a small online portfolio exclusively meant for photo editors to do a quick review and find their contact details. But that’s not me. I like a broader audience and it gives me a small steady stream of little income sources. Posters, advertising etc. Nothing big, but nice with diverse revenue sources.. The downside is of course that surfers might save image copies and use them for their various purposes – without paying me. The internet is a fantastic place, but not really a place dominated by high morality and due respect for copyright.
(If you have the idea to steal some of my images, be aware of the terms and conditions I have: If I find out, I am reserving the right to bill you at 10 times normal rate!)
Ok, so from now on I’m putting a copyright notice onto all my images. As a compensation for the watermarks I’m making the photos bigger, around 750x500 pixels. That should also give users some “reward” for clicking on the small thumbnails. Pop! What a nice, big picture!
At the same time I’m putting a few keywords into the file names in addition to my reference number. Theoretically those two things should make it more likely that they show up in a Google image-search... In a years time or so. But Google’s gotta have a billion images indexed already and it’s not exactly a tool that professional image buyers are using on a daily basis, is it? I just still remember Dan Heller’s estimates, the photo market is 80-90% outside the established agencies! Not my experience so far, but still...
Ok, back to work. It’s not the most interesting work, watermarking, uploading etc. But I’m also adding new photos to the galleries, drinking coffee, listening to some music (REM, Automatic for the People – “Hypnotize the summer, steep it, steep it, Ig-nore-land...”). Luxury! So far I’ve uploaded some new photos of Kathmandu landmarks and children in Nepal. Next are the Himalayan Mountain photos and photos of Nepal’s festivals. Hope it’ll be done soon.
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