OOTD: 2/15/13 -Photoshop, image use, & eBay

Blazer: Brooks Brothers, sz. 2

Shirt: Brooks Brothers Tailored Fit Shirt, sz. 2

Pants: Talbots Signature Crops, sz.2

Shoes: Talbots

Bag: LV Evora

Necklace: eBay

Guess what Husband got me for my birthday? Photoshop! I'm still working with it and learning all the tricks and features (Husband also bought me the book 'Photoshop for Dummies'--should I be insulted?), but so far it looks fun. One of the big reasons I really wanted in the first place is so I could watermark my photos. I'm sick and tired of seeing my face up on other seller's listings on eBay. It feels creepy. And I'm hoping the watermarking  feature on Photoshop will cut down on that. 

I realize anything I put up on the blog is fair game, and susceptible to being used by anyone and everyone, but come on people! If your going to take images right off my blog and use it to sell your crap on on eBay, then the least you could do is crop my head out of the photo. For real. It happens from time to time, and lately I've seen a couple sellers on eBay using pictures from my blog to sell items. 

 My thought son this are:  a.) you're lazy. How hard is it to take a few of your own shots of a garment? It takes like 5 minutes. b.) it's creepy that you've searched online for images, and of all the product garment shots out there, you're choosing to put up someone else's face instead to sell your item. c.) most potential buyers on eBay get turned off seeing the listed garment on a person---they know it's a used item, but no one wants to be reminded of that in the listing. d.) in what world do you think it's moral, ethical, or right to use someone else's pictures from a blog (that they've worked hard to post) to make your own profit? Without giving the other person credit? and e.) ick. I don't want my face, image, eBay store, or blog associated with whatever Lazyass is selling.

Like I said, I know what I put up on my blog is fair game for others to use. All I'm saying is in my own mind, it isn't right or ethical, and it creeps me out. I know there's a lot of issue with photos and fair usage out there in on the interwebs. Anyone who used to be a fan of Regretsy (which I'm so sad has ended!) will know what I mean. Regretsy was a blog that would scour Etsy for really dumb sellers, selling really dumb hot glued, glitter, upcycled crap and then make fun of it. It was a funny blog. Really funny. And of course those sellers would get all mad and try to get lawyers involved and sue Regretsy for using their Etsy images without permission. No case was ever credible, because it's all public domain. You put dumb glittered, hot-glue crap up for sale, and post images of said crap, and people are going to use those images to make fun. 

That's not my point though.......I know whoever has access to whatever on the internets at all times. But something about my face being on eBay really bothers me. I think it the profit angle. See, if someone were to take an image from my blog for say, style inspiration for their own blog, or Polyvore, or Pinterest, or the like that's fine. That's great! Share and share alike. Now, I'd be bummed if I wasn't given credit or a link back, but I wouldn't be bent out of shape about it as long as it wasn't excessive over-usage of my photos.

 But when someone uses the images that I've invested time to take, edit, and post, for their own profit, I get upset.  Maybe because I know how much time I personally invest in my own eBay store, and how long it takes to create a listing. I set aside one whole Saturday every month to photograph, document, and list items I'm selling on eBay. I take multiple pictures of each item from different angles. So when I see some seller who just cavalierly use an image from my blog to sell their own item, it makes me a little grumpy. It feels like cheating. And because it was my face in the listing, I feel like an accessory to cheating.

Plus, I don't want some reader to see those images from my blog and think I'm associated with Lazyass's eBay listings.

And so we're back to Photoshop. I'm hoping by watermarking my photos from now on, it will cut down on the lazyasses out there using my image for their own personal gain. Yeah, it's kind of a pain to go through the extra step of watermarking everything, and yeah, it's a sad testament to the interweb world we "live" in. And while I like the features offered on Photoshop and I know I'll get a lot of use out of it, maybe what I'm really mad about is that I could have picked out something way cooler (and more frivolous) for my birthday like a gift card to Brooks Brothers.