Instagram questionable feature and opinions

[FlyingSquirrel]

Hey, been a while since I've posted. Hope you all are well.

I am working on upping my game for social media, getting my name and work out there, and a bunch of other projects. Anyway, I have always avoided instagram for a number of reasons, and it seems each time I consider it, another thing comes up that makes me question it once again.

Now I am past all of those old reasons because things have changed and it seems like a good way to get exposure. Anyway, I've signed up and just posted my first photo (mind you, you must sign up for an account via your phone app and then post the photo from your phone to the site.. so silly )

Anyway, I noticed there is something called "instagram embed"...it's apparently been around for 3 years but did not know it until I looked at the photo I'd uploaded. Using the instagram embed feature, anyone can embed my photo into their blog or wherever they can post the code.

I get that people can just steal my photo from anywhere and do anything with it anyway, but I guess it just seems weird to me that instagram would add this embed as an actual feature. I also get that you get more exposure on your work if people post it on other sites with the embed feature (it does link back to your instagram account)...but it still seems...wrong.

Personally I don't really like the idea that people are being encouraged to embed your photo for whatever uses they want, with whatever content they want adjacent to it.

What do you guy think about this?

- Matthew

[Black Pearl]

Seems to me its the perfect feature. Instead of people left clicking and copying your image thus removing you entirely from it they are encouraged to do the right thing and use correctly linked coding.

[Tronhard]

I think it all depends why you are posting photos and what risks you are prepared to take with your images. Personally I have chosen not to engage with Facebook, Instagram, or for that matter any of the social media because of my work in IT security. That is my choice and that works for me.

Many other people may see great benefits to posting and engaging in social media for their purposes. As with any service the principle of Caveat Emptor applies... before you sign up READ THE FINE PRINT of the contract you must be signing to use the service! If you don't like the terms, don't engage.

[Max von MeiselMaus]

Reproducing someone else's work (such as by embedding it elsewhere) without their express consent is a breach of copyright in most countries. However, most people I have spoken to about this now accept that this is what happens on the internet and that you could spend the whole of your life chasing after your pictures on other sites. However, it could be seen as a useful way to get your work around, providing there is credit and a link to the source. As this is part of the Insta embed feature, it is probably as good as it's going to get. I agree with Robin that it is a lot better than having your work ripped from its source and ending up anywhere. But, yes. It is reliant on the goodwill of the photographer in allowing people to do this without their consent.

If you are still not comfortable with it, is there a way to disable it?

[Black Pearl]

While photographers have taken to using Instagram to promote their work it was never, isn't really and shouldn't be seen as anything more than an instant snap/share app. This is why it is still an app and not a full web based or desktop program, it is why the shots are on the whole taken with a mobile and processed within the app itself. Now to be fair I sometimes import stuff from my other cameras but I tend to prefer to use the app for shooting and processing and I prefer to see work from others that has been taken the same way.

If I want to see fancy images taken with a DSLR-CSC-M4/3 then buggered about with in PS and LR I'll go to Flickr etc. Instagram should be by its very nature an instant gratification.

[revi]

Reproducing someone else's work (such as by embedding it elsewhere) without their express consent is a breach of copyright in most countries. However, most people I have spoken to about this now accept that this is what happens on the internet and that you could spend the whole of your life chasing after your pictures on other sites. However, it could be seen as a useful way to get your work around, providing there is credit and a link to the source. As this is part of the Insta embed feature, it is probably as good as it's going to get. I agree with Robin that it is a lot better than having your work ripped from its source and ending up anywhere. But, yes. It is reliant on the goodwill of the photographer in allowing people to do this without their consent.

If you are still not comfortable with it, is there a way to disable it?

The catch here is that the "embed" link/code is provided on the page with the image.
I would assume that the person posting that image knows about and agrees with that "embed" link for its intended use: embedding a link to the image in another web page. That does of course not remove the obligation to properly credit the image linked to (if not done at the link target).

So for me this is not the same situation as copying a photo from a site and using that copy in your own pages, or, even worse, hot-linking to a photo on another page (preferably without any credits). In the latter case (hot-linking), you have the basic copyright infringent, and you use the original poster's bandwidth to show the image...
(I know there are jurisdictions where you need explicit written consent from the copyright owner, otoh, the owner would have to show real damages in most cases)

[Brev00]

Once I have posted an image to Instagram, I find the file size is so small I cannot do anything with it afterwards. It seems that these pics are best viewed on mobile phones so I see little harm in posting there.

[FlyingSquirrel]

Thanks for input everyone. I apologize for the delay.

- You cannot disable the embed feature

- I see both sides of the issue...it is good for exposure and that it does link back to my profile...but again I don't know what content is beside my work or if it is something I want my my name / work associated with. Then again, it would probably get stolen and used anyway. It's a catch 22.

- I am in agreement that you cannot prevent images from being stolen / used if you post online. The only way to make it a real pain is to put a true watermark across the entire image to make it so horrid looking that it isn't worth someone's time to clone it out and they'll just find an easier image to work with. But at that point it's pointless to share your work (the only real scenario / use would be if you are selling / licensing your work and not really "sharing it" socially, and you have a small image with a wm across it just to show the item available for purchase)

- I will say that I understand the point of view that instagram was not meant to be and is not really a true high quality photo sharing service (like flickr / 500px), HOWEVER I am in 100% belief that it's not a reason to overlook it without testing the results first...

Thus...I have decided to opt in to trying instagram. It is an experiment in which I will monitor how much exposure I get and if I feel it is increasing my traffic to other areas. If I feel the benefits outweigh the negatives I will continue my efforts on instagram. Perhaps I'll stop back in in the future with an update.

Thank you

[tao2]

http://www.dailymail.co.uk/news/article-3443822/Photographer-bombarded-abuse-One-Direction-fans-criticised-Harry-Styles-posting-one-images-Instagram-without-crediting-him.html

[FlyingSquirrel]

Reporting back with very simple preliminary findings. I don't have official numbers or data for any of this stuff as I don't have time to really track it scientifically

My instagram following is still small (not surprising as most photography social media sites take some time to gain a strong audience for a user).

Overall the feedback has been positive (decent amount of likes), but very few comments in comparison to something like flickr

I don't know how much traffic I've got to my website directly from instagram, or how many email subscribers, if any. The audience is more oriented toward rapid, mass-consumption of images, as opposed to communal engagement

The secret sauce on instagram is getting mentioned by a user with a lot of followers, or even better, getting featured in a 'group' with MANY followers. For example, my Weasel Portrait was featured in AnimalElite group and it got nearly 2K likes in 2 days, and has climbed a bit since then (see image below - disregard the poor image quality - instagram downgrades the jpgs significantly, and when you get featured the image is sometimes cropped as well)

I will continue to post on instagram and see if I can get exponential audience growth at some point, which may pay off eventually with more exposure and some newsletter subscribers (direct or indirect)

[Shadowman]

I think its part of the charm/dread of Instagram, it seems like a good way to market your work; I'd just limit it to a few images only.

[Mike Buckley]

This article about a photo that went viral might be relevant even though it's just one anecdotal experience.

[ionian]

That's an interesting article - and the author makes lots of responses in the comments as well. Thanks Mike.

I'm not doing photography professionally, but I recently started a Facebook page to compliment my website and provide some engagement. I think social media is vital in building an audience, but with so many different social sites out there it can be overwhelming and a total time sink. I have a Flickr link on my website but don't spend any time on that site, so I should probably remove it.

[Manfred M]

Matthew - many photographers (me included) do not fully understand copyright.

One thing that I do know about copyright is that it does not give you 100% exclusive rights on your works. As you live in the USA, you are subject to the laws of the land and the copyright laws there (and elsewhere) include very specific exclusions to that exclusivity. These laws also incorporate aspects of international treaties that the various countries have signed, ratified and implemented.

One of these exemptions are commonly referred to as "fair use" and that means others can copy and reproduce your work under this aspect of copyright law. One can for instance copy and publish works of others when commenting or reviewing their work, or for educational purposes without informing or compensating the author of the work. The educational exemption is quite broad and does not mean it has to specifically involve formal schooling.

I think you can rest assured that Instagram and its owner Facebook's lawyers have made sure that the use that they permit is legal under copyright law.

So the only way you can keep people from reproducing your work is keep it under wraps, and I don't think this is what you want either.

[Shadowman]

This article about a photo that went viral might be relevant even though it's just one anecdotal experience.

That incident could have had even more layers depending on how the original image was captured. I suppose most wedding photographers have the couple sign some sort of model release, not sure how that applies to wedding party attendees or the bride/groom party members. However, it seems that the photographer wanted to use the image develop a commercial interest; so each of the shared uses of the image could also fall under that criteria.

[FlyingSquirrel]

This article about a photo that went viral might be relevant even though it's just one anecdotal experience.

Thanks, Mike, that is a great article. For someone like me, it has a lot of great ideas and insight.

[FlyingSquirrel]

Manfred, thank you for your comment. You make some great and valid points. It's true, once a photo is up online, there's no way to control what happens to it (within the context of things that are legal AND illegal). In any case, I've accepted this, because I am posting my work on many social sites. The exposure is what counts at this point.

[Manfred M]

Manfred, thank you for your comment. You make some great and valid points. It's true, once a photo is up online, there's no way to control what happens to it (within the context of things that are legal AND illegal). In any case, I've accepted this, because I am posting my work on many social sites. The exposure is what counts at this point.

Matthew - I think you should also take note of what the article that Mike posted is telling us. Having a social media presence is just part of an overall strategy to market yourself. It alone will not help if you don't have a good, solid plan to turn successes there into a business success. The extreme example of the viral wedding image demonstrates both the strength and weakness of relying on social media to move ahead in photography with a grim reminder that an image that has gone viral will not by itself help you progress on your photographic path.

[FlyingSquirrel]

Matthew - I think you should also take note of what the article that Mike posted is telling us. Having a social media presence is just part of an overall strategy to market yourself. It alone will not help if you don't have a good, solid plan to turn successes there into a business success. The extreme example of the viral wedding image demonstrates both the strength and weakness of relying on social media to move ahead in photography with a grim reminder that an image that has gone viral will not by itself help you progress on your photographic path.

So true, and very well said, Manfred. I completely agree with what you are saying. Since I have a full time day job, I am doing the best I can on the side, and social media is a decent portion of it for now. That said, I have other plans in place and am taking other actions as I have the time. I have a lot of really big goals and things I'd like to accomplish, and I'm aware that the only way to do so is to take direct actions on those things. There is much to work through and toward, and not a ton of time to do it. I also may not be pursuing the "typical" or "traditional" photography career that one might envision. In fact, I'm in the experimental / discovery phase of my career and goals. Thanks for your great advice!

[rpcrowe]

I have hated social media but, we are forced to use it as a fund raising instrument. Facebook is the only one that I use...

https://www.facebook.com/MalteseRescueCalifornia/