If this image represents the template that you use every day on your respective Instagram account(s), congratulations for being the lowest common denominator. You have done nothing but continue to use the hard work of others for personal gain and attempt to peddle unoriginal goods to unsuspecting automotive enthusiasts. There are people who have a real passion to create content for the world and who pay for their own camera equipment, travel using their own expenses, and spend hours after to publish their work. You do not have that passion. You are thieves and leeches who think that taking advantage of people for personal gain is okay. And those of you who support these accounts are just as bad as the ones who created them. Print is dying at a rapid rate because you do not support the creators. Just as fast as print is dying is the inspiration of those who have the talent to create. Why put in the time when it takes a few seconds for people to screenshot what took hours to create? You are a detriment to this community because you do not understand. You not only lack passion, you have no understanding of what it takes to work hard…
“Me” culture is destroying automotive media. You think it is okay to use someone else’s content because someone will “tag” them later. You justify it by putting “tag owner” and/or “tag photographer” followed by “Follow Me”. Your account is a fallacy. No one ever said you couldn’t share, but share with credit to the creators. You will never understand how much work it takes to make something if you don’t put in the time to try it. Pick up a camera, use the camera that you have on your own smart phone. Create something. Stop taking. If you follow these pages, stop following these people because you are no better than them. If your excuse is “I just want to see cool cars”, then you are a fool. You are just like the thieves you try to protect your car from everyday. They too care little about your hard work, your passion, and your time…
The Internet and social media has provided us with a valuable resource to share photos, words, and other forms of media with the rest of the world. Contribute to it. Stop taking from others.
What if you worked 40+ hours a week and someone takes your paycheck every two weeks and cashes it?
…and they think it is okay as long as someone tells someone else that you put in the work?…
What if you put all your money into building your car and when you finish it, someone else is driving it and not necessarily telling everyone that it is their car, but doesn’t mind if people believe that it is their’s? (Lie by omission)
…and they think it is okay as long as someone tells someone else that you built it?…
What if you went to work to put food on the table for your kids to eat and someone comes and eats it without your consent?…
…and you tell your kids that they can go hungry because someone else tells them that you tried to feed them?…
Life doesn’t work that way. Stop thinking that it is right for you to take so you can indulge yourself.
Your number of followers doesn’t mean anything. Nobody wants your basic-ass decals to promote your shitty account. No one gives a shit about following your other accounts and your lame ass friends’ accounts.
If you own one of these accounts because you’re out for some sort of imaginary fame or to make a name for yourself by copying and pasting,
fuck you and what you’re about. And fuck your crew too. Follow that.
Automotive media is dead because you don’t understand how to use the camera function on your own phone. Educate yourself. Go out and earn something for once.
Reblogged this on ShockerJoe.
Very well said.
Amen!
Start calling them out by name! Let’s put a stop to this before it’s too late.
This needed to be said, and was so well put. Thank you!
Reblogged this on lifewithjason and commented:
There is nothing more annoying than this… All summed up into one Instagram-style picture.
Preach.
Thanks for this. Can’t stand dumb accounts like this.
What about the automotive journalists whom are guilty too? Whom are simply out for the “likes” allowing media to take their content at will.
This isn’t the internet forum era, the moment you build a nice car there is 5-6 media entities and 8-10 photographers/videographers whom can shoot at will. As the internet has evolved to mobile the sharing of information has been simplified and everyone has to take a stand. Journalists like yourself to the car owners currently engaging in hype trends and the media outlets trying to drive as much traffic as possible.
Awesome to see you bringing this to light, much love.
Maybe you should watermark your photos. Also there isnt much market for automotive photography unless youre working a major magazine/blog/media etc. If youre putting professional pictures on instagram/facebook/twitter etc you lose your intellectual ownership to that image when you agree to their ToS and ToA to use those services. I dont feel bad for you at all.
He does water mark his photos if you have been an active reader on this site. People crop out his water mark and post his photos on social networks with out his consent. Know all the facts before posting your opinion.
Watermarking isn’t the be all end all. Photographers still own the copyrights to their images even without watermarks (90% of the time they are cropped out anyway). Uploading to social media doesn not remove your IP rights. You might want to read those terms again. I know my lawyer loves it when I send him people that use my work on IG/FB/etc. Says it in the tos and toa that by posting the content you agree you own the content or have the rights to post it.
Also, don’t be ignorant to FEDERAL laws that take precedent over any Terms of Service. A photographer, as an intellectual property CREATOR, owns the rights to every single image he captures from the moment the shutter is released until he sells the rights to said photo. He is free to post it anywhere he wants without relinquishing the ownership of it and the control over it’s use. These, again, a federal trademark/copyright laws and have been upheld several times in court recently.
So how about you take your Screenshotter IG account and go fuck yourself, as that can be the ONLY type of scum who would post such an ignorant, stupid reply.
This comment is 100% correct. Although I get tired of seeing “follow the crew” and reposted photos, you cannot expect people to care about who took the photo you are posting on Instagram/Facebook/Twitter. You do not have any intellectual property rights on these sites so do not expect to be tested like you do. If you are professional enough for it to matter, or if you are creating truly original content that can generate views without other people posting it, you probably are not posting on social media and expecting to get anything from that.
If your automotive website is not generating views and revenue that satisfy you, do not make claims such as “automotive media is dead”, just take the fact that you care about instagram so much as a sign that your automotive media is not significant enough to be unique.
1. Feel free to show me in the terms of service where a photographer loses his rights. I’d really love to see that since you pointed out that it’s there.
2. How is one supposed to generate views without posting content? This one i’m really curious about.
I feel bad for you that you have no grasp of intellectual property rights. To say you don’t feel bad that someone isn’t getting credit for their hard work and effort is a real DICK of a thing to say.
Perfect. The picture/screenshot is spot on.
enjoylifedriveslow
you tell em Joe! Sharred!
Johnny probably one of them….It’s not that hard just give credit. And people BUILD these pages of work.. Some of which isn’t from IG . It’s just about respect
Totally agree with this Joe – you have our support and we have shared your article too.
Well said! Shared the link to this blog on our page. Hopefully it will open the eyes of some people. We try to deliver only original content but get ripped off all the time by pages with nothing but shared (uncredited) content. Yet those pages have double~twenty times as many followers. Sad times!
This is why, personally, I’d prefer to use services that allow for creative commons or trademark limitations. They exist – I’m using one of those services currently, even as a complete amateur – because people are tired of open-ended ToS / ToA clauses.
It’s still possible to share images without losing all your rights, it’s just that it’s simply not possible on any of the most popular services.
Screenshot, though, that’s just gonna be the boon of all of this. Until there’s a way to limit/defeat “screening” photos, people are just going to have to watermark straight thru the subject of the image, or post incredibly low-quality thumbs so screening gets nothing useful.
Sad times, these are.
Kudos to you for bringing something so obvious, yet so unrealized, to light.
Awesome!
Great post man I have my work stolen for various stance or hotrod instagram pages on a daily basis. I use to just put photo stolen from@NotStockPhoto on all of their pages. Then they started calling me a crybaby,talking smack,and then finally blocking me. I do what I love for a living,and just want to keep shooting cool pics of badass cars………great post keep up the good work
P.S I stole this and shared it on my social media, and put my name on it………..J/K gave you as much credit as humanly possible
Reblogged this on chriskmarrr.
I understand where you are coming from but talking at the people versus trying to persuade them is not the way. Half the people with these accounts are 12-15 years old with no means of going to events and they choose to follow and view pictures because that is their only means.
This also goes for wheels and aero.
“To teach that a comparatively few men are responsible for the greatest forward steps of mankind is the worst sort of nonsense.”
– Henry Ford
Everything is a Remix!
http://everythingisaremix.info/watch-the-series/
Evolution: Copy – Transform – Combine
We are nothing but a fractal of a fractal of a matrix of a matrix of a dimension of a dimension…
New ideas evolve from old ones. Nothing is new is all the same. Rearranged – Realigned!
When we copy… We are justified.
When others copy… We vilify.
Most of us have no problem with copying
(as long as we’re the ones doing it) <- Apply and repeat!
Thank you for posting this. I co own http://www.Dumpybutts.com. We are an online modified automotive and lifestyle magazine. We are very active on Instagram and Facebook and strive extremely hard to only bring original content. Nothing we post is a repost. It was shot by us. The website, Facebook, and Instagram. All original. But this is why we watermark everything. Because a kid with a phone and some apps can “share” our content and call it their own. Its not easy standing out in the crowd, but we’ve managed to create a decent following without sharing others photos, or doing shout outs.
So thanks for saying what we’ve all been thinking.
I dont know man. I dont agree with directly stealing someones work, but you’re a photographer, all you do is benefit from someone elses hard work building a car. Build your own car and only post those. Put in some hard work yourself.
This reply is dumb. You’re saying photographers should limit their photos to their own builds (which you likely wont be interested in)? Pull your head out of your ass. And benefit!!? The only person benefiting is the owner of the car that gets free or cheap photos of their car. Most auto media will take the photos for free only to receive minor, if any, realized benefit for themselves.
Well written and well said.
well said!
Follow @aircooledmedia, fresh from our own camera’s.
Automotive photography may be dead, the culture & lifestyles of the scene are still alive.
cant agree more. I stopped posting my work on facebook due to pages like XYZ racing, ABC racing development started copying my pictures.
Thank god YouTube lets me file copyright complaints against all the little dipshits that re-upload my videos. Do it a few times and their account gets banned. I can get videos removed from FB too. Photos, which I also do, are harder to track and remove. I love it when they come back crying, asking me to retract my complaint, because it adds strikes to their account… sweet justice.
Reason I only follow stickydiljoe, larry chen, krispy, and all the other legit guys!
The pic sums it up well, and your words are on point Joey. Judging by the comments here and on your IG, I think a lot of people do understand, but there are also a lot of people who are completely missing the point; some people really don’t seem to understand the concept of “original content.” I’m the photographer for McLaren San Francisco, and I see my pics reposted (with watermark cropped out, of course) all over social media, so I understand your plight.
Ultimately, there’s not much we can do, especially because of the outrageous popularity of repost accounts. I guess we need to turn the tide of acceptability, but when it seems like repost/photo gallery accounts outnumber legitimate creators 100 to 1, you can’t help but feel like a pessimist about this.
It could’t possibly have died from all the regurgitated tripe they have been printing for so many years and reaping the rewards of the multiple magazines they print the same article ! And as for someone taking my hard earned money and giving half to an undeserving or a group of undeservings, well welcome to America. My cars have been in over 30 publications and not one royalty check from any photographer or magazine and only 5 gave me credit and only one spelled my name correctly. Sharing pictures is much different than publishing photos and if someone is nice enough to give you credit well you should say thank you. I have been an artist my whole life and fully understand your plight but I would direct your anger at the publishers who make the pictures the best part of a magazine weather it be print or electronic. I am grateful to the dedicated photographers who spend endless hours at their trade and I suggest you negotiate harder with the publishers who use them when they are sold. I also suggest you check you own hard drive or cell content and see any pics you have saved or shared, i’ll bet there are plenty. Did anyone ever loan you a book or share a computer program with you, not much different. If you are guiltless I withdraw this comment, but I bet you aren’t.
100% right !
I really hope this works for you… https://wordpress.org/plugins/search.php?q=image+protection&sort= Thank me when you see me
Very well said. Reblogging if you don’t mind.
Reblogged this on JRM Photos Ga and commented:
So many take advantage of photographer’s rights anymore on social media sites. Very good read!
I shared this on my personal photography page on Facebook, and I attached a short personal paragraph to it. Maybe people will think twice before doing this bullshit.
Sadly its true… uh, oh well back to Polaroids
Hell ya. Great post.
Lol at the comment about JL not building cars, must be a noob in the interweb of import tuning… people should research before they post…
Man, that green accord still jiggles my giblets.
Couldn’t have said this sh*t any better, been thinking this same exact stuff for a while now and just wondering where’s this car scene going to … it’s gone to sh*t, have lost inspiration in shooting and filming cars and have just been trying to find other ways to spark it but all this is a big buzz kill. Something needs to change.
Great Post Man, this is exactly what has crept into the complete automotive industry in the last few years. Its all about copy, past, replicate and sell cheap. The evolution of the automotive culture has been in a state of Regression, which is apparent when you attend many of the so-called car meets locally. For some reason people give props to mediocrity instead of, merit based praise. This generation of New School enthusiasts are the same kids that have been hand-holded and sheltered from creative criticism resulting in, mediocre car builds at best. I don’t have an answer to turning this movement around unfortunately but, I glad you addressed it Joey. Thank you for staying true to yourself and the industry, may your New year be more prosperous and blessed than this year Brotha.
“Enjoy life drive slow” LMAO more like “Enjoy life Steal Photos” lol…..and Fittedtho is a bunch of fake two faces that call theirselves “humble” but act all cocky and act like of they are better than everyone else. I’ve an them talk shit about other cars and enthusiasts behind their backs because they don’t like the build or it takes away too much attention from them. These fake “movements” claim to be “humble” but it’s just a scam to sucker you in so you can buy their shirts and stickers so they can take your money. And sadly a lot of people fall for it. Embarrassing. I hang out with these guys a lot, I should know. But I just listen and learn to see who they really are. Family my ass.
I feel that little 15 year old boys like me are being victimised a bit cause I don’t have the money to buy a “proper” camera and nor do I have the skills to do some editing myself.
What I do on my IG page is that I take 1 photo of a car per day. All of the photos are mine and were taken by me. I purely do this for amateurish reasons. Just for fun.
I’ve been doing this for more than 100 days and barely get 4 likes per day, this doesn’t bother me, what bothers me is that the post seems to be pointing fingers at people like me who take pictures of cars for fun.
Should this be considered as someone that is stealing content cause I do my hobby cheaply and get some credit? Should people like myself and many other disadvantaged youths feel guilty for doing a bad job and doing it so cheaply?
“Pick up a camera, use the camera that you have on your own smart phone. Create something.” I do just that and somehow I feel bad that I don’t do a good enough job to represent what you guys as photographers and editors actually have to do. I never watermark my photos cause I don’t even have a simple vector program to do so and if so I wouldn’t have the skills.
If you want to judge my content for yourself my IG page is: bearduck2011.
I am an open person that would like to hear what you guys have to say. Should I continue this hobby only for myself and the 4 other people or should I just drop it for not representing a hardworking community?