PHOTOS AND BOATING – Are you infringing on someone’s copyright without knowing it? By Angela Greenwell of THE UNBORED LIFE

{EDITOR: I first had the pleasure of speaking with Angela after announcing our latest contest at Dirt Bag Paddlers, a photo and video contest of the week-long Ain’t Louie Fest boating (the contest itself, with a prize package of stickers from DBP and our friends from around the paddling community, wraps up Tuesday). One of her images from Baby Falls on the Tellico River, one of the most photographed places in the Southeast, had been entered by the boater in the picture. This shot was one of the best Wallaces we’ve seen, and the paddler is a friend, so like we frequently do we scooped up the shot (shown below), edited in a funny WALLACE cartoon print, and made it our temporary cover photo on the Dirt Bag Paddlers Facebook page (we cycle through two or three images each week). 

Angela noticed this “borrow” the next day, politely asking about the picture, “Your cover picture may be actually mine.  Take a look at The Unbored Life… Seems exact to me. Could you look into it? I just want to be credited for my pics.  That’s all. And I’m annoyed someone would share them in a contest without asking. You’re welcome to use it. If you could give credit to me and The Unbored Life, that would be great. Thanks again.”

Well. I’d never thought of it in quite this way. In fact, I learned from Angela that some of the suppositions I and other boaters have about photography and rights were wrong. The education was enlightening, and Dirt Bag Paddlers made the appropriate fix and made a super cool friend to boot! We asked, and Angela was so kind as to write this article on the proper etiquette for both paddlers and photographers. Enjoy this mARTch feature, and remember to respect our artists and their work. Cheers!}

Did you know that when a photographer takes a picture of a boater, they exclusively own the image and copyright under the  Federal Copyright Act of 1976?  This means that the picture can not be copied, printed, scanned or shared without their prior permission. It is easy to assume that if you are a boater in the picture that you own it too.  This is not the case, unless the picture is a portrait of you.  If the picture is editorial, meaning that the image tells a story, such as a boater paddling a rapid, then the boater has no legal rights to the picture.  As most whitewater images are action sport photography shot candidly, they fall under editorial and not portrait.  What does this mean for dirtbags who love sharing shots of themselves?  Here is my take on how to keep both the photographer and boater happy when it comes to our whitewater world.

For boaters

Realize first that good photography is hard.  Although everyone has a camera these days and everyone is a photographer, it takes countless hours of shooting, culling, and editing to produce great images.  Just as you invest most weekends and your own skin to be a better boater, a photographer invests money, time, and energy to perfect their camera skills and art.

Next, let’s all admit that we are narcissistic!  You love having pictures of you.  Photographers love having their efforts recognized.  It’s a perfect match.  So when you want to use or share a picture, tell the photographer “Great shot,” like their image, and then ask permission.  If they say yes, please make sure you give them credit every time you use the image.  If they say no, then the answer is no because the image is theirs.

With regards to prints, I beg you, do not print images directly from the web.  Nothing is more heartbreaking for a photographer than to come across a crappy, low-res, off-color reproduction of your work on cheap drugstore paper.  At best, the people who will see it will be indifferent, at worse, you are damaging the photographers reputation.  This is where you need to do things right.  Ask the photographer for permission to print the image using a hi-res file that is edited for printing, then ask their advice on how to get a great print.  They may tell you no, ask you to buy a print from them directly, or charge you for the digital file.  If you like the image well enough to print it, do it right, and if need be, pay for it.  

One last note for the boaters: If a photographer doesn’t watermark their images, it doesn’t mean they don’t want credit.  It may just means that they think a watermark detracts from the image itself.  It isn’t a valid excuse.  There is never a reason to not ask permission and not credit an image each and every time you use it.   

For photographers

When you are shooting personal work, although it is legal to take any editorial picture on public property without giving credit or obtaining a model release, no boaters equals no boating photography.  You need them and they need you.  Where possible, try to give your athletes credit.  I would suggest this as especially important when your photograph is recognized by another organization, is entered into a contest or is printed in an article.  If the boater asks to use the image or would like a copy, give it to them.  They are your biggest fans so why not?  We all want to make money from our work but personal work is personal work.  No one tells you what to shoot.  No one pays you either.  On the flip side, if a boater doesn’t like a shot of them, take it down.  You don’t need a reason.  Just do it.

As a reminder, when you are on a paid assignment that will be used in an advertisement rather than an editorial piece, as a professional photographer you should know the deal.  Athletes need to sign a release and they should also benefit from the work.  If an image from your personal work is later used for an advertisement, same deal.  Get permission and compensate your athletes.

I hope this helps everyone on how to tread the copyright waters with ease.  For more information about copyright for photographs, you can read the following:

If you would like to learn more about me and my whitewater photography, you can find me on: 

Instagram (https://instagram.com/unboredlifechick/)

Facebook (https://www.facebook.com/theunboredlife)

on the web at www.theunboredlife.com 

and 

{ EDITOR: Angela also forwarded these awesome shots from the OUT race last weekend. We asked her to tell us about shooting at one of the most colorful spots in American boating, where the Wallaces come fast and furious, and the race happens spontaneously. }