Protect Your Instagram Nail Art Photos
The dark side of using social media, piracy has always been around and it continues to thrive – even in the world of Nail Art! It’s something we constantly battle when photos from our Instagram account are being used without any credit or permission. Even worse, when others act as if they are not doing anything wrong, by not saying anything and others believe your work is their work. So how do you protect yourselves?
So – this post is just a reminder for all nail artists to protect your work! There has been a growing number of Instagram/Pinterest accounts, Facebook Pages, and blogs which are taking photos to gain followers without permission or credit then seeking ways to monetize on your work through ads and following. This is a growing issue, in fact, just recently I found one of Jasmine’s pieces posted on a Facebook group page. The page got out of hand, in which many nail artists spoke up about their work getting no credit but the page’s following supported the perpetrator and the theft of these photos, to the extent of telling the nail artists to be quiet and that the theft is doing nothing wrong. The photos were not given any proper credits to the artist or even where they found the photos.
Here are three simple ways to protect/prevent yourself from falling victim to your work being used without any acknowledgement:
1. WATERMARKING (iWatermark App)
To most of you nail artists, this is an obvious one. A lot of you are already watermarking your photos via your mobile phones. There are tonnes of watermark apps and software out there and you can even take the traditional route and watermark it with software like Photoshop.
One that we love and recommend out there is called iWatermark (available for both iPhone and Android). This app allows you to create several watermarks and saves them. You can import your own logo(s) that you’ve created on a computer, create watermarks, adjust transparencies, scale, and move all within a few steps. Yes, this is a paid app (for $1.99 on the App store and $2.14 on the Google Play store), but worth it for the ease of use and saves tonnes of time. We’re a huge supporter of this app.
To download iWatermark for your Apple mobile device ($1.99) – download here
To download iWatermark for your Android mobile device ($2.14) – download here
2. AGGRESSIVE COPYRIGHT STATEMENT
This form of protection is more of a deterrent from others taking your photos. Let others know that your photos cannot be used, replicated, or manipulated for any purposes without you permission.
A simple statement under your photo like “PHOTO MAY NOT BE USED WITHOUT PERMISSION BY OWNER” can deter a half-hearted thief, or someone who doesn’t realize that taking your artwork is wrong. We’ve never gone this route but have seen others who take there photo marketing very seriously.
3. REPORT THE THEFT
If someone on Instagram is stealing your photos and you don’t appreciate it, report the perpetrator. Site’s like Instagram gives users the option to flag an image for review if your image ends up on someone else’s page, but the site encourages you to post a comment asking for removal on the person’s account first. Gather your followers and supporters to help you comment or flag the perpetrator’s photo and account.
Be open and bring attention to stolen work.
At the end of the day, these are only preventative measures. Be smart about what you post up on the internet. Whatever goes up on the web will stay there forever.
Comment below:
Let us know in the comments below if you’ve encountered any of these situations, or better yet, speak up and share with us any accounts or pages that you have found that have been stealing nail art photos with out permission or credit!
