Giving appreciation for a work is a great thing. Photo credit is a form of appreciation that you can give to the photographer or artist whose photo or work you use.
However, sometimes not everyone does what they should. It's not uncommon for you to find cases of copyright infringement or photographers or artists telling how their work was stolen by a person or a business.
It is not uncommon for these cases to end up in court and result in losses for a business.
You certainly don't want the same thing to happen to your business, right? To prevent the same thing from happening to your business, let's look together the definitions and reasons why photo credit is important, and how to give one.
What Is Photo Credit?
Photo Credit is a form of appreciation addressed to photographers or people who produce a photo. Photo credit has legal aspects as well as human aspects.
From a legal aspect, you can avoid copyright cases that can arise because you use people's work without asking permission. From a human point of view, photo credit is a form of your appreciation for the efforts and hard work of others, in this case, the photographer.
Photo credit also takes several forms. On social media, you generally see photo credits where an artist or model, for example, writes "photo by: Anthony Photo Studio" in one of the photos they upload.
Sometimes, you also don't see someone listing whose work the photo they uploaded, but they use a watermark that shows whose work the photo is. Sometimes, you also find a pic credit that combines a watermark and credit writing.
But, why is this important? Shouldn't people be quite happy with their work being used by you? Aren't you the one helping them by giving exposure as an artist or photographer?
If you still think so, you should throw your thoughts away. Not giving photo credit even though you have used someone's work is not commendable.
If you still don't understand how important it is to credit when you need it, here are reasons why giving pic credit is important.
1. Avoiding Copyright Cases
As previously explained, photo credit has a legal aspect. Businesses and individuals alike want to avoid copyright cases as much as possible, especially cases where it is almost too clear that they cannot be won.
Not only do you trip over cases, but you can also get bad coverage. You don't want you or your business to be called a thief of people's work, right?
Okay, maybe you realize your mistake, apologized to the photographer or artist, and ended up giving photo credit or not using the related photo anymore.
Is your problem resolved?
Legally, yes. Your case can be resolved if the photographer or artist feels that they are no longer harmed by your use of their work. However, the stigma or coverage that you get will still stick for some time.
People may forgive, but they won't forget. People may have seen you apologize and they accepted your apology, but of course, they will remember you as a former thief of someone else's work.
This will have a big impact on you and your business brand. When running a business, customer trust is of utmost importance. Trusting customers is what businesses always want.
When your reputation is damaged in a copyright case, you will find that it is very difficult to build a trust that has been damaged. You will spend more than your initial branding efforts, and you may not recover from the reputation you or your business have.
In short, even if you manage to avoid copyright cases, you will find that people will have a bad view of your business.
2. That's the Rule
Apart from the legal aspect of photo credit, you must also understand that the rule in the art world, in general, is to respect other people's work.
You must understand that giving credit or pic credit is something that should be done without having to be told by other people. When you use someone else's work, you should at least be able to include the name of the photographer or artist who owns the work.
When you can't do that, you shouldn't be surprised when people will sneer or even attack you because you don't heed this unwritten rule.
In essence, respect others if you want to be respected by others too.
3. Everyone Appreciate Appreciation
No one hates when you do a good thing. Giving photo credit is a form of appreciation that can be received by people.
Apart from getting respect from others, you can also interact with your customers on social media. For example, a photographer who takes the picture that you use makes a nice comment or thanks you for giving the photo credit.
It is possible that people will discuss and leave good comments to the photographer or artist concerned and to your business for appreciating other people's work.
You certainly have nothing to lose from a good discussion about your business or publicity.
4. Helping the Artist or Photographer
For artists or photographers, their work is a calling card for their next adventure.
You can help artists or photographers, especially those just starting out in their careers, by providing photo credit when using their work. Giving photo credits to their works will certainly help their career because they already have proof that their work is suitable for use.
Not only that, you can also open new doors of opportunity by building relationships with the artists or photographers whose work you use.
If you really like their work and want to use their services, there's nothing wrong with approaching them and establishing a professional relationship. It could be that you have found a photographer or artist who can produce images in accordance with the image or brand that you want to create for your business.
5. Build a Habit of Respecting Others
In essence, photo credit is about respecting other people. Of course, you can avoid copyright cases, build a good image or brand, and help artists or photographers by writing the source or giving pic credit of the images you use.
But, the most important thing is about building a good mindset. By getting used to giving photo credit, you will begin to get used to appreciating other people's work.
Whether it's the work of people who supply your goods, people who oversee your warehouse, to people trying to keep your business website operational.
When you have such a mindset, you will be able to more easily connect with other people and build and grow your business.
Example of Photo Credit in Social Media and Website
• Cupamag’s Facebook Page
Image taken from Cupamag’s Facebook Page
• Erv’s Instagram
Image taken from Erv’s Instagram
• Isa Catepillan’s Website
Image taken from Strikingly user’s website
How to Credit a Photo
Giving photo credit is something that is very easy. Wherever you credit your photo, you just need to include the name of the photographer or the source from which you got the photo you used.
The only thing that may differ is how you specify the name or source of the photos you use. Each platform, be it social or website, has its own way of how to include other people's names in your content.
Let's see how to credit a photo on several social media and websites.
• How To Give Photo Credit On Facebook
On Facebook, you can tag people using the @ symbol. For example, you want to mention a photographer named Martin Astor as the source of the photos you use. All you have to do is write the name after the @ symbol.
It is possible that you find some people with the same name. If this happens, you can confirm again to the photographer regarding his Facebook account address so that you can mention heard correctly.
After you select a person to mention or tag, that person's name will change to a clickable link for others that will lead to the photographer's profile.
Then, if, for example, you take a picture from Instagram and post it on Facebook, you can share the Instagram profile link from where you took the picture and put it on your Facebook post.
• How To Give Photo Credit On Instagram
On Instagram, you can also do the same thing to mention or tag someone. You just need to use the @ symbol, and write down the account name of the person you want to mention.
The name of the person you mention will then change to a link which when clicked will lead to the profile of that person.
• How To Give Photo Credit on A Website
On the website, you can include pic credits using a text box or other writing tools.
At Strikingly, you can use the text boxes to write photo credits. You can enter drag-and-drop mode and add a text element under the photo you are using.
Image taken from Strikingly product
You then just need to write down the name of the photographer or the source where you got the photo. To include the profile URL of the photographer, you can paste the social media profile link by selecting the photographer's name and linking their social media profile link.
Image taken from Strikingly product
You will then get the option to tie anything to the text that you have selected. You can associate it with a web URL, email address, or document. To associate the social media address, enter the social media address in the URL address.
Image taken from Strikingly product
You can choose whether when people click their name, their profile will open in a new tab or not. To make the profile open in a new tab, click on the 'Open in new tab' option.
That's the explanation of what photo credit is, the reasons why photo credit is important, and how you can properly provide photo credit on your social media and on your website.
Photo credit is an act of appreciation that you give to a photographer or artist whose image you use on your website or social media.
You can provide photo credit in several ways. First, you can tag or mention the photographer whose photos you use on your social media or website. Then, you can also leave the photographer's watermark to show in the images you use.
Even though it looks trivial, this photo credit, or pic credit, is something that you should pay close attention to.
If you ignore this photo credit, there is a big chance that you will find a big problem.
First of all, you may be facing a copyright case that you are unlikely to win. Then, there is also the risk of getting bad news if the photographer or artist in question brings up the issue.
Apart from the legal aspect, photo credit also has a human aspect. By properly crediting a pic, you are helping an artist or photographer build a career.
People will also be happy with you or your business when you respect other people. This of course can help you create an image or brand for your business as a trusted party.
Finally, on an individual level, you can start building a mindset of appreciating other people's work by giving photo credits. When you routinely reward someone with a source-like attitude, you will begin to get used to the other amazing things other people are doing for your business.
When you develop better, of course, you will find it easier to start growing your business.
Simply put, photo credit is about respect. You have to respect others if other people want to respect you. And, when you build your business out of respect for others, you can expect your business to last a very long time.
To help you expand your business even more, build your business today with Strikingly!
