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by Maureen A. Taylor
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 Monday, October 26, 2009
Photo Sites: Read the Fine Print
Posted by Maureen
Yesterday's New York Times featured an article, Guardians Of Their Smiles, on the uses and abuses of photo sites. In it, a woman had posted baby pictures to Flickr without using the privacy settings, and later discovered that someone had used her daughter's pictures on a social networking site in Brazil.
The article mentioned several other examples, including a father who posted a video of a school play on a video site. Parents of the other kids complained and demanded he take it down.
So here's the question: "How do you safeguard your online photo identity?"
- Start by reading the fine print before clicking the "I Agree" box for any website. You might be allowing others to copy and use your family photographs. Sure, sites like the Library of Congress use Flickr to promote their photo collections, but those images are in the public domain.
- Use privacy settings. You can disable those public features on popular sites by finding their privacy controls and activating them. On YouTube, you can privately share videos or prevent downloading/sharing online.
- If you want to publish photos of an event, either have folks sign a model release that states how and where you'll publish those images, or don't show faces. A few months ago, I gave a workshop for kids and I really wanted to show off their genealogy artwork in my e-newsletter. Since I didn't want to use their faces, I had the kids hold up their projects in front of their faces. I used the picture, but didn't name the kids. Basically, don't use images without permission.
- Watch for right-click copying. You can copy all kinds of things on the web by right-clicking with your mouse (control-clicking on a Mac). Should you? No. It's a ethical thing. I use a photo site that allows me to turn off the right-click option. Family members can order prints if they want to, but not copy the images. You also can put a watermark on images to discourage usage. It's an option in many types of photo editing software, that's what many photo stock houses do.
- Don't put high-resolution images online. For online use, you don't need to use an image at more than 72 dpi. This doesn't prevent online copying, but at that resolution, print quality is awful.
The New York Times article was a cautionary tale for anyone posting images online. You can sound off in the comment section below or on the Photo Detective Forum.
photo news | Photo-sharing sites
Monday, October 26, 2009 1:47:12 PM (GMT Standard Time, UTC+00:00) 
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Tuesday, July 21, 2009
Photos on the Web: Copyright Woes
Posted by Maureen
If you've ever tried to copy a family photo at a store or photo lab and been denied due to copyright issues, there's an article you might be interested in.
On July 19, the New York Times published an article about photos on Wikipedia, "Wikipedia May Be a Font of Facts but It's a Desert for Photos."
If you've used this vast internet archive of user-contributed material, you know the picture quality/quantity is iffy. That's because these are "unofficial" photos anyone can use. According to the article, the site uses a "Creative Commons license, which allows anyone to use an image, for
commercial purposes or not, as long as the photographer is credited." It's a bit more complicated, but the article explains it.
There are legal and common-sense rules relating to photo usage. Basically, the store with the photo kiosk denied you the right to copy your picture because the photographer holds the reproduction rights for it. Even if the photographer is deceased or you don't know who it was, as for an old family portrait, the store might decide it doesn't want to take the chance.
A handy guide for when you need formal permission to use an image appears in Sharon DeBartolo Carmack's Carmack's Guide to Copyright & Contracts: A Pricer for Genealogists, Writers & Researchers (GPC, $15.95)
Here's a common sense rule for internet usage of family photos. If you want to post a photo of a living family member on your Web site or FaceBook page, make sure you have that person's permission, too. It's a common courtesy.
photo news | Photo-sharing sites
Tuesday, July 21, 2009 2:55:56 PM (GMT Daylight Time, UTC+01:00)
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Sunday, March 29, 2009
Picture Origins: Overseas or in America
Posted by Maureen
In response to last week's column on tinted pictures, Barbara Stone sent in this oversize hand colored photo of a young woman. It's on canvas and framed in a gorgeous gold setting. According to Stone is was found in a collection of pictures of her father's Irish relatives who lived in Ansonia, Connecticut. The problem is: Where was it taken and who is it?
| Monday, October 06, 2008
Sound Off! Where Do You Post Family Pictures?
Posted by Maureen
In honor of October being Family History Month, I'd like to hear from you about your favorite photo sharing sites and where you post your family tree information. I have to admit this is a personal interest. If you read the July 2008 issue of Family Tree Magazine then you know I wrote an article, Charmed Life, about how relatives re-connect. Last weekend I experienced something all the folks quoted in that piece mentioned--finding a lost piece of family history. Here's the irony. Not only did I happen across a distant cousin's website with pedigree charts but I also discovered he'd posted a couple of photographs of my great-great grandmother and her siblings as well as her parents. I've been roaming the Internet for years looking for connections with no luck. Imagine my surprise to finally have an "Oh My Gosh" moment. Now of course I'm wondering if I should create my own family website or just add to his information. I have a family tree on Ancestry.com for my paternal side, but this cousin is from the maternal side of the family. Since my Mom is interested in genealogy, she's been working on her tree (with a little help from me). Ah...the dilemma. So what's an inquiring genealogist to do? Ask the readers of this column of course. I'd really like to hear about your good experiences of sharing research and relics, but also how you'd do things differently. It's no news to you that there are lots of sites and many possibilities. While I've been involved in genealogy for decades this is the first time I've been asked to share. So what do you think?
Photo-sharing sites
Monday, October 06, 2008 4:14:35 PM (GMT Daylight Time, UTC+01:00)
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Monday, September 01, 2008
Orphan Photos and Photo Sharing
Posted by Maureen
Last week on the Today Show I mentioned DeadFred.com. It's a fun site for folks trying to reconnect with lost family photos or to post pictures if you want photos to lead the way to a reunion with lost family. It's a win-win either way. There are a couple of other sites I'd like to mention though. If you've ever lost a camera and thought those pictures (and the camera) are gone forever, think again. There is a blog that tries to link up individuals with their equipment and precious pics. Found Cameras and Orphan Photos has a Facebook group, a link to success stories and updates every Thursday. What a fun idea! You'll see wedding images, vacation shots and candid pictures all waiting to be claimed by their rightful owner. I'll definitely be adding this to my Facebook page. Photos aren't the only focus of a site called Ancient Faces. If you want to share and collaborate on family history you can set up a family space. Share stories, pictures and even a recipe or two. Sign up for their e-newsletter to keep up with any new developments. Don't forget to check out the PhotoDetective booth (305) at the F ederation of Genealogical Societies Conference in Philadelphia this week. Please stop by and say hello.
Photo-sharing sites
Monday, September 01, 2008 2:39:17 PM (GMT Daylight Time, UTC+01:00)
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Monday, June 30, 2008
Photo Reunion Live!
Posted by Maureen
In the July 2008 issue of Family Tree Magazine, I wrote an article, "Charmed Life," about how genealogists connect with lost family—people, history and artifacts. It was a lot of fun to work on. Midge Frazel, one of the women featured in the piece, has created a video of her story. You can watch it on her FaceBook page. In it she talks about how a chance discovery on the photo reunion site, Dead Fred, brought back a piece of her photo history. If you're not on FaceBook, don't worry, you can look at it on Flickr.If you've never tried FaceBook, I recommend it! My teenagers hate that I have a page, but I'm having a great time connecting with colleagues via that social netwroking venue. By the way, if you decide to sign up, don't forget to become a fan of Family Tree Magazine. All you have to do is click on the cover. I'd love to hear what you think of using FaceBook. Use the comment section below.
Photo-sharing sites
Monday, June 30, 2008 2:23:44 PM (GMT Daylight Time, UTC+01:00)
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Monday, February 04, 2008
Share Photos on Flickr
Posted by Maureen
This weekend I finally had time to play with the web photo phenomena known as Flickr. I'm sure some of you have been members for a while and now I know why. It's fun! For those unfamiliar with this very popular way to post, share and create with photos I'll supply the basics. - First—It's free! You can upgrade to a pro membership for around $24. You create an account using your Yahoo ID and start uploading images. It's that easy.
- Users choose how public or private they want their albums. Got some you want to share with the world? Pick public. If not, select one of the other options.
- You can send links to your family and friends so that they can peek at your private albums.
- Need a photo related present? You can do that to. I suggest taking the Flickr tour to explore what you can do with this site.
Recently the Library of Congress partnered with Flickr to share images from the country's largest photo collection. To access the images, just type library of congress in the search box in the upper right-hand corner. You'll be stunned at the diversity of images in the nation's library. My personal favorites are all the early color pictures. Don't be shy. Flickr lets you post comments to each picture. The response to my call for interesting photo backgrounds is filling my e-mail inbox. I'd like to share more of those images with. I've written to Flickr to see if that's possible and to double-check that creating a group doesn't violate their noncommercial rules. If for some reason Flickr turns down my request, I'll find another way. Keep the pictures coming! Next request—Got some curious props in photos? I'd love to see them. Thanks again.
Photo-sharing sites
Monday, February 04, 2008 5:25:53 PM (GMT Standard Time, UTC+00:00)
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