Author Topic: Has anyone ever seen where their image has been used? (Read 13049 times)

spaceofgrace · « **on:** November 29, 2016, 15:15 »

I'm just curious if anyone has ever seen their work being used? If so, how did you come across it?

Rachel

Microstockphoto · « **Reply #1 on:** November 29, 2016, 15:20 »

my guess is everyone in stock will have and if you (general, not you) havent you probably need to reassess your work as a photographer

cathyslife · « **Reply #2 on:** November 29, 2016, 15:26 »

Yes, I google my name and a lot show up. Stolen images show up too, unfortunately. Be prepared.

Osiris774 · « **Reply #3 on:** November 29, 2016, 15:51 »

I use Tineye to see where my images have been used.

50% · « **Reply #4 on:** November 29, 2016, 15:54 »

sure
poster, billboard, internet...

ShadySue · « **Reply #5 on:** November 29, 2016, 16:14 »

Quote from: Microstockphoto on November 29, 2016, 15:20

my guess is everyone in stock will have and if you (general, not you) havent you probably need to reassess your work as a photographer

Or maybe they just need to know how to find their work in use.
I try:
Google reverse image search on files which have sold
(Previously Tineye)
Google "Copyright myname" and "copyright myusername" "agency myname", "agency myusername"
And, as Cathy said, brace yourself for the likelihood of finding a lot of dubious in-uses.
(Which reminds me to post in the Image Sleuth thread)

Jo Ann Snover · « **Reply #6 on:** November 29, 2016, 16:33 »

Lots of times - searches, as mentioned above (I keep a folder with screen grabs as a sort of digital tearsheet).

Also, I've run into my images - in an airport when two images from a previous trip were wrapped around posts in the departure lounge. A relative living in another city recognized a bus wrap use (it was his lake house in my photograph) and sent me an iPhone picture. He also got some advertising in the (snail) mail from a local realtor including a number of my photos. Another relative saw my picture (it was of me) in a magazine in a waiting room. A photographer in another city noticed one of my pictures in a local paper and sent me a copy. A few times the designer has sent me a copy (or in the iStock old days, it showed up in the designer's showcase).

I've even seen my house in a Facebook ad (doing one of those "That house looks awfully familiar...")

SiliconValleyStock · « **Reply #7 on:** November 29, 2016, 17:52 »

Quote from: spaceofgrace on November 29, 2016, 15:15

I'm just curious if anyone has ever seen their work being used? If so, how did you come across it?

Rachel

There are a number of reverse search options from Google, TinEye, and Yandex for example. What I often do is check the zooms and sales options in my Alamy account and reverse search those. Also, there is a contributor forum at Alamy and one of the most common subjects is images found this month (example:) newbielink:http://discussion.alamy.com/index.php?/topic/6292-have-you-found-any-alamy-photographs-september-2016/page-14?hl=%2Bhave+%2Bfound+%2Boctober#entry107079 [nonactive].

I also have a Google Alert set for my name and my pseudonyms. Regrettably most users don't show my credit for reasons I don't understand.

spaceofgrace · « **Reply #8 on:** November 29, 2016, 19:57 »

Hmmm I tried those things and found nothing. I've had about 100 downloads over the last month. Should I just give it more time maybe? Thanks everyone. I had no idea you could do these searches. Someone mentioned their work being used for questionable uses... do you mean inappropriate stuff? Has anyone had that experience?

ShadySue · « **Reply #9 on:** November 29, 2016, 20:00 »

Quote from: spaceofgrace on November 29, 2016, 19:57

Hmmm I tried those things and found nothing. I've had about 100 downloads over the last month. Should I just give it more time maybe? Thanks everyone. I had no idea you could do these searches. Someone mentioned their work being used for questionable uses... do you mean inappropriate stuff? Has anyone had that experience?

You can find images which are being used contrary to licence (often editorial files being used commercially), but you're more likely to find images which have sold once then stolen from the legit site and copied to plenty others (particuarly common with some sales to UK newspapers, which are copied to multiple East Asian blogs etc almost instantly). You might find watermarked files being used on sites.

Pauws99 · « **Reply #10 on:** November 30, 2016, 06:02 »

I don't search for them but stumbled on one in a magazine once.....quite gratifying

PigsInSpace · « **Reply #11 on:** November 30, 2016, 15:14 »

I do reverse image searches on my photos from time to time, but on two occasions I've seen my images truly "in the wild." The first was on a news story that a friend of mine shared on Facebook. He shared it because of the news content, and had no idea that it was my photo at the top of the article. The second was an online humor-based website I read that used one of my images in a visual joke montage.

I also have a sneaking suspicion a few of my images have ended up in 12 month wall calendars, because I can't think of any other reason to buy them. Unfortunately, I don't spend a lot of time in calendar shops.

zorba · « **Reply #12 on:** November 30, 2016, 16:23 »

Quote from: spaceofgrace on November 29, 2016, 15:15

I'm just curious if anyone has ever seen their work being used? If so, how did you come across it?

Rachel

I saw myself as a model (I worked with my mentor to try to compensate him for his patience) in a lot of uses of, mainly, the same image. And this always remebers to me that if I do well, this is what happens: no "wow I sold ONE image! yahooo!!!" but "oh, good, I've sold another 200 times the SAME image ...".

On the other hand I saw one of my first works in a poster from a national European videogames selling company. That images keeps selling and I don't know where :-)

Printed work is really very difficult to find, also because I try to work with strangers, mainly black ("african descent" "black" "mixed race") people: my sales are mainly in countries (as per SS sales map) in which this "descent" started: Africa.
I try to create images with multiracial or multi-etnic groups ... but the main group of "races" wins: if there are 2 black people that files sells in Africa. If there are asians: they sell in China, Japan, Mongolia. If I used Polish or Romanian people, they sell there.
So... I work with everyone: if local people want to collaborate, I work with them. If they are strangers and are more collaborative: I work with them.

So I think I'm not going to see printed works with my files in Russia or China.

For everything else I use google images and of course I saw lots of uses.

Well ... "a lot" for my numbers :-/

And I'm not Arcurs.

Grizz · « **Reply #13 on:** December 03, 2016, 04:33 »

Besides Google image search and tineye I think Pixsy should also be mentioned.

spaceofgrace · « **Reply #14 on:** December 03, 2016, 06:01 »

Thanks guys... I must be doing something wrong though since I've now sold many and I can't find a single one. For example on TinEye, do I just upload the original photo? And for Google, what exactly do I search? "Copyright..."

ShadySue · « **Reply #15 on:** December 03, 2016, 06:27 »

Quote from: spaceofgrace on December 03, 2016, 06:01

And for Google, what exactly do I search? "Copyright..."

[url]http://www.microstockgroup.com/newby-discussion/has-anyone-ever-seen-where-their-image-has-been-used/msg471308/#msg471308]

http://www.microstockgroup.com/newby-discussion/has-anyone-ever-seen-where-their-image-has-been-used/msg471308/#msg471308[/url]

spaceofgrace · « **Reply #16 on:** December 03, 2016, 06:32 »

Thanks ShadySue but that's what I mean... I tried that and can't find anything. Can you give me any more detail? I must be doing something incorrectly.

ShadySue · « **Reply #17 on:** December 03, 2016, 08:45 »

Quote from: spaceofgrace on December 03, 2016, 06:32

Thanks ShadySue but that's what I mean... I tried that and can't find anything. Can you give me any more detail? I must be doing something incorrectly.

That's what I do, exactly as I said. Not everything which has sold is used online, and some of what is used online may be replaced after a very short time.
For reverse image searching I use the Chrome browser directly on files which are reported as being sold. Still, I've found in-uses for files which have sold once, but also found nothing for files which have sold over 50 times.
Don't waste a lot of time on this. It can be fun finding in-uses; you get a warm glow if you find your file has been used by an entity you admire. However, it's horrible to find you image being used, albeit legally, by an entity or cause you despise.

jcpjr · « **Reply #18 on:** December 03, 2016, 12:53 »

Give this a try, I think you may be as surprised as I was. Have Fun!

Try searching your name or MS account name in the Google Books sub-catagory. I have found many books using my images over the past few years and am amazed how many books show up from educational to entertainment. Some of mine include love novel covers, science, mathematics, nature etc. The one that surprised me was National Geographic's "Backyard Guide To The Night Skies" using a lightning shot I took years ago.

StanRohrer · « **Reply #19 on:** December 03, 2016, 13:26 »

You likely need a few thousand sales before stumbling across your images. Here is a fun one of mine from years ago:
http://www.istockphoto.com/photo/ohio-farm-barn-gm157283645-701388

https://www.walmart.com/ip/Paws-Claws-Pet-Vet-Wii-Wii/11983465
I'd hate to meet that big rabbit in a dark alley!

Giveme5 · « **Reply #20 on:** December 04, 2016, 09:21 »

Quote from: StanRohrer on December 03, 2016, 13:26

You likely need a few thousand sales before stumbling across your images. Here is a fun one of mine from years ago:
http://www.istockphoto.com/photo/ohio-farm-barn-gm157283645-701388

https://www.walmart.com/ip/Paws-Claws-Pet-Vet-Wii-Wii/11983465
I'd hate to meet that big rabbit in a dark alley!

that's so cool! Great work!

Jens G · « **Reply #21 on:** December 04, 2016, 10:12 »

A couple of years back I was at the pharmacy, and there was one of my photos at the cover of their printed winter catalogue

I got a copy of the catalougue, but I'n not sure the clerk believed me when I told her that I had taken that photo

I have also a couple of times seen my images used as illustration for articles in newspapers, and when google searching.

BaldricksTrousers · « **Reply #22 on:** December 04, 2016, 11:12 »

All over the place. Some of my travel shots appear on boards outside local tour companies in the tourist resort down the road, for example.
I've seen them stolen and entered in online competitions, too. That's rather rarer than seeing them online or in print, fortunately.
Oh, and at least one meal I cooked and photographed ended up on a TV chef's website, as if he'd done it.
At one point someone I knew hired an agency to produce a glossy magazine and they used a heap of my pictures in it without anyone knowing the connection.
Perhaps best of all, National Geographic used one in an advert inviting people to enter their photo competition. That's almost as good as winning the contest.

BaldricksTrousers · « **Reply #23 on:** December 04, 2016, 11:19 »

Quote from: Microstockphoto on November 29, 2016, 15:20

my guess is everyone in stock will have and if you (general, not you) havent you probably need to reassess your work as a photographer

It's the newbie forum. They need time to build up sales to the level where you start stumbling over your work.

Shelma1 · « **Reply #24 on:** December 04, 2016, 12:37 »

The most fun was when I was watching Last Week Tonight on TV and saw my illustration on the show.

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Author Topic: Has anyone ever seen where their image has been used? (Read 13049 times)

spaceofgrace

Microstockphoto

cathyslife

Osiris774

50%

ShadySue

Jo Ann Snover

SiliconValleyStock

spaceofgrace

ShadySue

Pauws99

PigsInSpace

zorba

Grizz

spaceofgrace

ShadySue

spaceofgrace

ShadySue

jcpjr

StanRohrer

Giveme5

Jens G

BaldricksTrousers

BaldricksTrousers

Shelma1

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