Need some help with a question

[CBass]

Ok so this might be a stupid question and feel free to tell me if it is. I took some photos of a few guys at a MMA school i attend. I posted some of the shots on the schools forum and i have noticed a few of them took the shots and have put them up on their myspace account. I thought at first cool maybe people will ask who took them and i might get some school want me to take some shots for them. Well none of them have done that and they didn't pay me to take the shots but they also aren't profitting from them either. Do i have a right to tell them to take them off if they aren't going to at least credit me for the work?

I did give permission to a couple of the guys that asked the others just assumed i was ok with it since i allowed others to do it. Truth be told i am but at least ask me don't just take them thinking you are entitled to them just cause they are of you. Anyway i don't know if this is a two way street since i never got a permission forum from them but the owner of the school asked if i would take some shots. Since he is the owner do i no longer need the permission of the student to use them shots for my profit or portfolio use?

[toverman]

Someone else will likely have a better answer, but it's kind of the way it is now. I would say that you might watermark photos you post on your site (if you didn't already). I've heard of people lifting a watermarked image off a site, editing out the watermark, and using it. But if your watermark is left on there at least you'd get credit and some free "advertising."

A lot of people think that a photo of them belongs to them (a natural assumption, I guess, if you don't know copyright law). Without spiraling into a discussion about giving away full-resolution digital negatives, I'll repeat that it seems this is the way it is nowadays.

[CaptainTom]

Your photos are your property regardless of who asked you to take them. If you intend to use them commercially you need a model release. If you intend to alter them to make the subject appear badly, you need a model release. People do assume that an image of them is OK for them to take and use as they please. This is wrong, but getting them to remove the images or to not take them from your web site is difficult and usually causes more problems.
Perhaps you can use this to educate yourself and the others about copyright law ??

[ShaneKislack]

Hey CJ, what school do you attend? I train at Mohler's.

Anyway, this is just the price to pay for having friends and family. They all think there is no real value in the pics...thus no reason to even consider asking you for permission. It's not really their fault as they haven't been educated. I'd say just ask them to give you credit. I'm sure they will.

[CBass]

Kinda what i was thinking on the matter. I guess in the future i'll just do thumbnails and such this way if they do lift it they aren't getting a good quality image. I was trying to be nice since i train with the guys but i guess i need to start looking at them as customers when it comes to my images rather than buddys. Thanks for the info and help everyone.

Michael i train at PeakPerformance right now but that might change.

[ShaneKislack]

Also, I fell into this mentality when I first started...but the truth is the only return you'll get by doing this marketing plan is heart ache. These are not paying customers and not really the type of customers you'll want. I've taken hundreds of pics at events and have made a total of $11. And unless you took lighting set ups, I'm guessing they aren't the type of pics you need in your portfolio.

What kind of photography are you aiming for?

[CBass]

pretty much a little mixture of all things . I'm just starting to branch out from shooting for fun to trying to make a little extra cash with it. Ya the shots aren't the best that i would use for a portolio except within the MMA community. I wouldn't use them to try and get work doing engagment shots lol.