Can a Photographer’s Image be Re-Posted on Social Media?

One of the most common forms of Copyright Infringement we come across as photographers is our images being on certain social media accounts or pages without our permission. Oddly enough, when the issue is even politely brought to the attention of the infringing account, the photographer can sometimes receive indifferent or even rude pushback. It’s extremely frustrating! For some reason, many individuals and businesses view it as the wild wild west when it comes to photos on social media…anything goes!

But as most professional photographers know, that definitely is not the case.

When we have to educate these social media accounts, or even our own clients, there’s not much out there that we can send them. Let me clarify — other than trying to explain things ourselves or telling them to “Google it”, most of what can be sent to educate, comes in the form of a lengthy article or a video snippet that’s buried in some 1-hour long webinar. To solve this, I wanted to create a video that spoke directly to them and addressed some of the FAQs about the images that we photographers create, and the arena of social media.

While I couldn’t address every scenario, some of the things covered are:
– Is there a difference between sharing a photo VS re-posting a photo on social media?
– If a photo is on social media, can anybody use it?
– It’s just being re-posted on social media…what’s the big deal?
– Am I in the clear as long as I give the original account/photographer credit or tag them in a post?
– Can I re-post a photo if my product or project is in the image?
Feel free to use the video as a resource and send it out as needed. I hope it helps!