Atlanta_Skyline_from_Buckhead
From room #1720 of the Intercontinental Hotel in Buckhead where my wife and I went for our 13th Wedding Anniversary!
This photo is at least temporarily open for use according to the licensing info described at the link below:
creativecommons.org/licenses/by/3.0/
creativecommons.org/licenses/by/3.0/
The Image above is an original image that was posted to my FLICKR account on January 8, 2007.
I was really hoping that the first genuine KoehlerCOLOR Blog Post would be about procedures or technical issues, Now I am thinking that it will be something that I am challenged with: Licensing images I want to sell.
I am just gathering an archive of nearly 70,000 images that I have taken since the year 2006. Over the years I have sold a few images here and there, and I have even managed to sell a 30" x 40" Fine Art Print that is now hanging in an office in Ohio. But a handful out of 70,000 isn't a great percentage at all.
Over the years I have made several attempts at "marketing" my pictures. I got a FLICKR account in 2006, and not long after that I got a JPGMAG account as well. While it is fun taking pictures and then sharing them with people that have the same interests it sure doesn't work getting photos recognized by people that actually buy them!
Then I was recognized by Getty Images who wanted include eight images on their FLICKR Contributor website. Since that time they have asked for 32 more images which they are offering for sale or license. Eventually I started a website and copied most of the stuff that was already posted on my FLICKR and JPGMAG accounts. Now I am in the process of working on my website to actually make it the core of a business and I am forced to think about how the site will be recognized.
There are plenty of people who like the Images that I produce and there have been more than a few requests for them over the years. Several years ago I was contacted by someone who wanted a print of one of my images, It wasn't a particularly good shot because I had taken it through a window and it has reflections of illuminated buildings in the dark sky. I fixed the reflections and then I put a Creative Commons license on it on my FLICKR account which made it possible for the other party to download it and print it without further license or inquiry.
A few years went by and then I was contacted by someone else who wanted the same image and they told me they had seen it on Wikipedia as a photo used to identify Atlanta's tallest buildings. I looked and sure enough here is what I found:
I was really hoping that the first genuine KoehlerCOLOR Blog Post would be about procedures or technical issues, Now I am thinking that it will be something that I am challenged with: Licensing images I want to sell.
I am just gathering an archive of nearly 70,000 images that I have taken since the year 2006. Over the years I have sold a few images here and there, and I have even managed to sell a 30" x 40" Fine Art Print that is now hanging in an office in Ohio. But a handful out of 70,000 isn't a great percentage at all.
Over the years I have made several attempts at "marketing" my pictures. I got a FLICKR account in 2006, and not long after that I got a JPGMAG account as well. While it is fun taking pictures and then sharing them with people that have the same interests it sure doesn't work getting photos recognized by people that actually buy them!
Then I was recognized by Getty Images who wanted include eight images on their FLICKR Contributor website. Since that time they have asked for 32 more images which they are offering for sale or license. Eventually I started a website and copied most of the stuff that was already posted on my FLICKR and JPGMAG accounts. Now I am in the process of working on my website to actually make it the core of a business and I am forced to think about how the site will be recognized.
There are plenty of people who like the Images that I produce and there have been more than a few requests for them over the years. Several years ago I was contacted by someone who wanted a print of one of my images, It wasn't a particularly good shot because I had taken it through a window and it has reflections of illuminated buildings in the dark sky. I fixed the reflections and then I put a Creative Commons license on it on my FLICKR account which made it possible for the other party to download it and print it without further license or inquiry.
A few years went by and then I was contacted by someone else who wanted the same image and they told me they had seen it on Wikipedia as a photo used to identify Atlanta's tallest buildings. I looked and sure enough here is what I found:
This is the Wiki Page where my Image was first seen:
These are the Image Details linked to the Image on the previous page:
Here is the Author Information and details about the Licensing:
Here is detailed information on where the Image is used within Wiki Sites:
 |  |  |
This is great news - my images are being recognized by a big audience. I have followed the history of this image over the years, and have had several inquiries for permission to use it although the license doesn't require that. The license simply states that if the image is used that the original author shall be credited. This is very good because from Wikipedia people can pick it up and use it for whatever reason and essentially promoting the work at the same time.
After several more years these are the results of doing a simple Google Search:
After several more years these are the results of doing a simple Google Search:
On the first two pages of the Google Search Images roughly 200 individual results are displayed. Some are repeats of the same sites so there are probably 150 separate usages listed. Of the 150 results only about half of the users gave attribution. Of the uses that don't give attribution the ones that concern me the most are like these:
Globe Images Website that offers Creative Commons Images for Free and Encourages their "Customers" to share them!
| Meta Data about the Image on the GlobeImages website. No author listed - simply an "Added by" tag. There is even another section that included Exif data from my camera.  | Here is an area where the Image is offered for others to share in several different size formats.  |
It is ironic that I am trying to figure out how to best use a website and the internet to promote the Images that I have to offer and in the process discover that there are already people using my images to make money for themselves. More disturbing is that these people are using the benefits that Creative Commons Licensing afford without complying with the requirements that are clearly stipulated.
I am still conflicted over how - or if - to use a Creative Commons License on more images. There are several options you can apply to images (or other creative products) including some that are applicable only for non-commercial uses. My original license didn't stipulate a non-commercial use, but as in all forms of the Creative Commons License Attribution is the principle aspect. So what can you expect if people disregard the Attribution requirement of the Licenses why would they comply with non-commercial aspects?
On the other hand I think that there are ways to use the popularity and exposure that the Image has generated to funnel people back to my site.
Chuck Koehler
KoehlerCOLOR.com
I am still conflicted over how - or if - to use a Creative Commons License on more images. There are several options you can apply to images (or other creative products) including some that are applicable only for non-commercial uses. My original license didn't stipulate a non-commercial use, but as in all forms of the Creative Commons License Attribution is the principle aspect. So what can you expect if people disregard the Attribution requirement of the Licenses why would they comply with non-commercial aspects?
On the other hand I think that there are ways to use the popularity and exposure that the Image has generated to funnel people back to my site.
Chuck Koehler
KoehlerCOLOR.com
RSS Feed
