Images for photographers are much more than just digital pictures. These images take up a lot of time on the photographer’s part in terms of pre-planning, shooting, editing, and creativity. When an image is stolen by someone and then put on another website without permission, it can be quite frustrating for the photographer.

However, there are many ways that photographers can take action against any unauthorized use of their photos. This process will depend upon various factors like the location of the image and website in question.

Confirm Where the Image Appears

It is essential first to locate the website or webpage where the photograph is being used. Make sure you save the webpage address and a screenshot of the image along with other information on the webpage.

It will also help if there is proof of the initial publication. For instance, a photographer may have had the initial page with the photographs uploaded somewhere on his website or even social media page at a point in time.

Use reverse image searching tools to locate any copies that are not immediately clear to see. This way, you can use the searches to find out whether the photograph has been used on any blogs, e-commerce websites, social networking pages, forums, or other web pages. Create a list of the copies that have been found.

Contact the Website or Platform

After finding out where the photograph has been used without permission, try to locate a “contact” page on the website that explains how to submit complaints about violations of copyright or any other type of unauthorized content.

Filing a removal request is no guarantee of the picture being removed.

Also, photographers should have the ability to tell the difference between an illegal use of their photos and situations where permission to use was already granted before.

When Professional Assistance May Help

Removing one instance of image copying could be a simple task. However, removal of photographs from many websites becomes time-consuming.

Photographers interested in removing many images can learn about professional services offering such removal services. Remove Stolen Images can look into the removal options offered by ContentRemoval.com.

However, before utilizing a professional removal service, you should check what is offered by this company in terms of services, prices, privacy policy, and what kind of requests it accepts. Find out what actions it performs and how it interacts with website owners. No third-party company can give any guarantees regarding the removal of all images from all websites. Removal of an image on any website is up to the website owner.

Distinguish Between Website Removal and Google Removal

It is important for photographers to know that website removal is a distinct process from Google removal. Website removal involves the removal of the photo from the website or platform where it is really being hosted. It deals with the source of the stolen photograph.

On the other hand, Google removal is the removal of an eligible result from the search results of Google Search. Even though it can decrease the visibility of the photograph in searches, it will not definitely remove the photograph from the host website.

For instance, if a stolen photograph has been removed from the website, the Google search result will still display an older one temporarily until the search index is updated.

Take a Documented Approach

When using a photo without permission, the photographer might face a problem if he jumps right away to submitting a lot of claims without documentation. In this case, the photographer should locate all copies of the image, document all of the information, contact the website owner, and see what happens after that.

Photographers might need professional help in cases where there are many copies or complicated report procedures. But it is important for photographers to know how a service can be helpful and what its limitations are. It is important to treat source deletion and search deletion separately. Dealing with the owner of the website is not the same as dealing with Google.