I might be the most stolen from photographer in the history of the world. This might seem like a strange claim, but it’s potentially true. It might not be true, but it certainly could be, so let’s dig into it. To clarify, I’m not claiming to be the victim of the most egregious thefts. I’m not claiming that the monetary value is anywhere near the most. Specifically, what I’m wondering is if I’ve had more photographs stolen than anyone else. In other words, am I the most stolen from photographer by total number of photographs stolen? I think it’s also important to clarify what “stolen” means: unauthorized use or reproduction of my pictures that violate my copyright. As the photographer, I own the rights to my pictures, and if someone uses them without permission outside of “fair use” circumstances, that’s theft. Maybe they’re attempting to earn money, or maybe they’re attempting to gain notoriety, but they’re doing it with my photos and not their own.
I think there are a couple of unique circumstances that make this claim possibly plausible. First, I publish more pictures than most photographers. Because I make hundreds of Film Simulation Recipes, and those Recipes require a lot of sample images (at least 15, and up to 50, per Recipe), I share far more than most. That might be to my disadvantage, because, while the majority of photographers only post their best work, I show you a lot of mediocre pictures along with the good ones; if I only showed my portfolio-quality images, you might think that I’m more talented than my so-so pictures seem to indicate. Second, one theft can be many photos—not just tens of photos, not just hundreds of photos, but thousands of them.
The most egregious example is when someone hacked the Fuji X Weekly App and made a clone of it, which they uploaded to the app store, and made money on until it was (thankfully) removed for copyright violations. I sure hope none of you fell victim to that, and I’m really sorry if you did. The Fuji X Weekly App had about 350 Recipes on it at that time (now there are over 400), and with five pictures per Recipe, that’s about 1,750 copyright violations just in that one circumstance alone. But that’s not the only circumstance, not even close.
Above left: My photo, entitled Morning Mist, captured using my Fujicolor 100 Gold Recipe; Above right: that same photo and Recipe in an app that isn’t mine used without permission.
Aside from some other apps that have my photos in them without permission, there are tons and tons of websites. Today, I did a reverse Google search on 30 of my photos, and 16 of them had at least one circumstance of theft. I don’t know how many pictures are on fujixweekly.com—I estimate that it’s over 10,000—if half of those have been stolen somewhere and are being used illegally across the internet, that’s a massive amount. Some photos have multiple examples of theft just from one image (I counted eight on one of those 16 pictures).
This isn’t anything new. I remember about 12 years ago reading my small town local newspaper, and being shocked to find one of my pictures being used in an advertisement. Over the years I’ve seen several of my photos on the front banner of corporate websites. I’ve tracked down hundreds of thefts and requested they take down my photos, but it’s only a tiny dent in the overall problem. This could be a full-time job, except that it doesn’t earn any money—in fact, it can be quite expensive, especially if attorneys have to get involved. I would quickly go broke if I pursued all the theft.
I think some of it is innocent enough. For example, someone is excited to share their favorite Film Simulation Recipe, so they do—only, instead of using their own photos captured with the Recipe, they use mine, and perhaps “forget” to even give me credit (which wouldn’t make it any less illegal, but perhaps more understandable). Some circumstances are fair use, especially if it’s only one or two picture and I’m given credit and linked back to. There’s definitely instances where the unauthorized use of my picture isn’t theft, and there are examples of it being grey areas, where it could be argued either way. But I’m not talking about that, I’m specifically talking about indisputable examples of blatant theft. Like right now, a large number of my pictures can be printed on t-shirts; I didn’t give permission for that, and I won’t receive a penny of profit should someone order one of those shirts.
Above left: My photo captured about 25 years ago on Kodachrome 64 film; Above right: that same photo can be printed on a t-shirt, without permission or compensation.
Unfortunately, some people think that if they can download a picture from the internet, it’s theirs to freely use. If it’s on the internet, it’s finder’s keeper. Legally that’s not true, but it is true in a practical sense. Who’s going to stop them? I would like to, but that’s a really tough hill to climb. It’s rare that they’re caught, and even if they are, it can very difficult to do anything about it, especially depending on the country where the theft happens in. It’s very easy for them to get away with it.
I posted a video to YouTube once, and it recognized a song in the background that was playing on the radio. I was flagged with a copyright violation, and I had to either silence that section of the video, or else I couldn’t monetize it (this is back when I was monetized on YouTube). Why can’t something like that exist for other art mediums? The technology obviously exists… I was able to reverse-search my photos, but that’s a slow and tedious manual process. Why can’t it be continuously running in the background, with copyright violation notices sent to the offending website owners automatically? I understand that such a service does exist for a fee, but it requires you to manually identify which photos are yours so that it can search for them, and it isn’t always accurate. It would take a long time for me show them all of my pictures, because there are so many. Again, this would be a full time job that doesn’t pay anything.
So far we’re just talking about my pictures. I’ve had entire articles ripped off many times. I’ve seen people post a Recipe that they “created” (sometimes claiming to have spent hours making it), and gladly accepting the praise for how good it is, except that all they did was copy-and-paste it from my website. The argument will be: “Well, sometimes great minds think alike, and it’s only by happenstance that they’re identical.” This ignores that there are 1,418,895,421,643,700 possible JPEG setting combinations (Recipes) on the latest Fujifilm models. That means every person in the world who owns a Fujifilm camera can have their own unique Recipes in each of their C1-C7 Custom Settings presets, and it would still not come anywhere close to exhausting all of the potential Recipes for Fujifilm cameras. ChatGPT says that the odds of two people independently creating the same exact Recipe are about 1-in-4-billion (that’s accounting for how common and uncommon certain settings are). If I were to make four billion Recipes and someone else were to make four billion, one would likely be identical (I’ve only made a little more than 400, not 4 billion). That’s not to say it’s impossible; however, it is extraordinarily unlikely (to put it mildly)—yet I’ve seen it probably close to a hundred times now, which is mathematically impossible. This is plagiarism, which is a type of theft: intellectual theft. We can go back to the guy who hacked my app and created a clone app with over 300 of my Recipes. Or we can look at other apps that use my Recipes without permission or even give credit. That’s a lot of theft, although plagiarism and not pictures.
Above left: My photo, entitled Evening at a Pond, captured using my Kodachrome 64 Recipe; Above right: that same photo and many more of my pictures posted by someone without permission or credit.
For this article, though, I mostly want to focus on the theft of my photos. If only 2,000 of my pictures have ever been stolen (which is the base minimum, it’s probably a lot more), AI says, “That is a huge number, far beyond what most photographers ever experience. For most photographers, the number of confirmed stolen photos is usually single digits to low dozens over a career. Photographers with big online presences sometimes report dozens, maybe a few hundred images, being misused. But that’s typically the ceiling—and even those numbers are considered very high. From a copyright-lawyer perspective, for 2,000+ confirmed infringements, that volume of theft would be considered: ‘Severe, widespread infringement.’ Most photographers will go their entire lives without reaching even 20 verified infringements, let alone 200… let alone 2,000.”
It could certainly be a lot more than 2,000—it could be as high as 10,000! I would have to dig deeply and spend probably months and months tracking it all down, while ignoring everything else in life. When I asked ChatGPT about that amount of image theft, it replied, “It’s extreme, near-unprecedented, and would put that photographer in the top fraction of a fraction of a percent of most-stolen photographers on Earth. Most photographers with decades of work will never have 10,000 confirmed distinct images stolen—even if they are famous.” I don’t know if it has reached that “extreme, near-unprecedented” level yet, but it’s got to be somewhat close, especially if the “grey area” instances are included, where it may or may not be a copyright infringement, just depending on who you ask.
Potentially being the most stolen from photographer in the world means something. If my photos weren’t worth stealing, they wouldn’t be stolen. Same for the Recipes. I never expected this website to grow as large as it has. I never thought I’d be asked to lead photowalks across the country, or give presentations on photography, or be a speaker at camera events. Just recently a Japanese camera company (who wishes to remain anonymous) asked what my most ideal compact camera would be like, and even paid me for my opinions. If having the “most stolen from” trophy is the price to pay for that, it was worth that price. Obviously, most ideally, I would like the thefts to stop. It does real harm. Some people are making money off of my photos right now, which I’ll never see. We are all people, and we need to act kindly to each other. The “golden rule” that I tell my children constantly is to treat others as you want to be treated. If you don’t want people to steal your work, don’t steal theirs. The truth is that most of the theft happens because some people can’t or won’t create their own stuff, so instead they take it from those who can and do. Sadly, this is just a reality of our current world, and there’s not much anyone can do about it.
lol – and with this, I’m unsubscribing… you are hardly Cartier-Besson in the most republished photographer stakes.
You can unsubscribe, I don’t think anyone cares if you do or don’t.
I never claimed to be Henri Cartier-Bresson or even in the same league as him by any stretch.
Now, as far as what I wrote, it’s all true. I didn’t lie about anything.
How does it stack up to Henri? He has had approximately 15,000 of his photographs published in books and magazines, which is a massive number. I’ve published over 10,000 photographs on my websites (also a massive number), which means by total number of photos I’m not all that far behind. My photos aren’t in the same league as his by any means, but we’re talking strictly volume, not quality.
Most of his photos were published in books and physical publications. The number of his photos published online on various websites is about 2,000. If every single one of his photographs published online have been stolen, we’re probably at a similar number, as far as total number of photos stolen. Some of his most famous pictures have been used illegally maybe tens of thousands of times each, but that’s not the rules I laid out in the article—a photo stolen once is counted the same as a photo stolen 10,000 times, for the sake of the article. More likely, only his most famous 50-100 photographs have indeed been stolen, but if you give it the benefit of the doubt (maximum for him, minimum for me), we may be close to the same total number. And that’s largely because of the digital age and eras we’re in; if Henri were a photographer today, and all his work was published online, he would certain exceed me by a large margin (which is just an unfortunate reality of today’s age).
I hope that clarifies whatever confusion you may have had over this article.
With all due respect (little) I think you have missed the point, Graham. No one will miss you.
I’m always a little surprised that when I write articles that illustrate how much I’m stolen from, invariably someone (or a few someones) will get upset at me for even bringing it up. I find it very strange, and I don’t understand it.
I think some people either:
– Don’t believe me. They think I’m making it all up (or greatly exaggerating) for attention or something.
– Don’t care. So what that you’re stolen from? Get back to work, monkey boy, and dance for us.
– Are sympathetic to the thieves. You put your work out there, what did you expect would happen? This is the price you pay for creating something. You should be happy about it, not complaining.
-Are the thieves themselves. Obviously you have to visit this website in order to rip off from it.
-Are jealous. They think I’m undeserving of the success I’ve had, and anything negative that happens to me is good (believe it or not, there are literally these types out there).
What else could it be?
I have no idea about Graham specifically (maybe the first option?). He can certainly clarify if he wants to.
This sort of dishonesty is right to call out and also hard to understand (to put it mildly) when committed intentionally to mislead. A similar thing happens in principle in a very different activity: big road marathon events — like London for instance. There are a few dedicated individuals in that instance who every year go through the results with a fine toothcomb looking at anomalies to catch out and call out those who jump the barriers to the other side of the road, cutting out several miles of the race in order to get a fast time. Of course the placing of timing mats every so often along the way makes it easier to catch out that dishonesty (I suppose it’s not illegal in the case of a race but it is a character failing for sure and as with the theft of your photography very disappointing). And even if you take the view that ‘imitation is the sincerest form of flattery’ it still leaves a nasty taste. Keep up the good work!
If it’s possible to cheat or take an illegal shortcut, unfortunately some people will do it. I wish there was more accountability. It sounds like in big road marathons, it’s taken very seriously; I wish it was also in other aspects of life. Thanks for the comment!
It’s a pleasure. It seems that so many activities reveal both sides of a coin when it comes to human nature.
I’m sorry so much of your work is used without your permission. That really sucks. The tone of this article is off putting, though. I think qualifying the theft as you did will cause quite a bit of eye rolling, fair or not.
I appreciate the feedback.
My goal is to raise awareness for this issue, which is quite obviously out of control and quite harmful to photography. Perhaps this article will inspire someone else to share their experience, which will inspire someone else to share theirs, and maybe more will be done to address the problem.
I didn’t set out to make such an outrageous claim. A few days ago I stumbled upon a couple instances of my pictures being used without permission, and it made me wonder just how many of my photos have been stolen. After adding it up, I was surprised at the large total, but I still didn’t think a lot of it until after researching. When I couldn’t find any other examples of so many different photos stolen from a single photographer, I asked a couple AI’s to dig deeper, and they couldn’t find anything either. That’s when I realized how unusual this all was, which is what prompted the article. Nobody knows how many photographers worldwide have had 2,000+ different images used illegally, but it’s not a large list. Is it 500? 50? 15? 5? It’s impossible to know, but apparently, it’s a pretty small list, however many or few are on it. As crazy as it sounds, I (quite unfortunately) am on that list. I think this illustrates that if little ol’ me can be ripped off that much, anyone can. It could happen to any photographer with a large collection of pictures online. And that should be concerning to everyone.
Hi Ritchie, I recognize this, of course (we were in contact a few months ago about a “slightly lesser” form of this problem).
It’s good to read that you’re now addressing this and writing this article. I’m seeing some negative reactions, but you have my support.
And yes: we live in strange times. I myself was threatened (I’d already been verbally abused) a year ago for using a recipe for my “city photographer” project the whose ‘ingredients’ are not listed on my site and is unavailable . Apparently, it’s perfectly normal to make something you don’t own or made yourself your own, and if you can’t steal it, you threaten someone or yell at them.
Strange times indeed…
That’s crazy that someone would threaten you over a Recipe! I’m so sorry to hear that. Most people are good, but unfortunately (as with any people group) there are a few bad apples.
Well, it is also like this:
The recipes that exist around the globe are simply a series of shots offered to us by camera manufacturers. It’s just like the presets sold for Adobe Lightroom. A not entirely unknown photographer transferred the money back to all buyers of his LR presets because he himself recognized exactly that.
I feel very liberated after leaving Facebook; Instagram; Microsoft & Adobe.
Open source is what deserves our attention. I am very happy to donate to projects that are worth it to me. Subscribers, on the other hand, I don’t like at all.
The thing with the stolen images is just a virtual theft, because the creator of the images still has them. Nevertheless, it is not okay for someone to simply use other people’s pictures as if they were their own without being asked.
I believe there are even services that track down such copyright infringements and initiate lawsuits on behalf of the copyright owner. You will then receive a percentage of the damages as a fee.
By the way… have a nice x-mas.
It is “virtual theft” but it still negatively affects me. 20+ years ago, when my wife and I were fairly newly married, someone threw a rock into our bathroom window while we were away, and they stole a bunch of stuff that was never recovered. Included in that was a collection of B&W prints from my college days, and some sheets of negatives (funny enough, they went through my CD collection, but didn’t take a single one 🤣). I’m sure those pictures were trashed many years ago and are completely lost to time. I’ll never get those back. That stings worse. But, in the digital age, even though I still have the “original” pictures, they have been devalued with the thefts, and someone (in the case of the clone app, in the case of the guy who made and sold a pdf of my Recipes and pictures, in the case of the t-shirts, etc., etc.), there is money that’s rightfully mine that I will never see—someone else if profiting off of it. So, yes, it’s not the same as having a physical picture stolen, but it does real harm nonetheless.
The main problem for me with the service is that it requires you to upload your photos to their website in order for them to find and track down violations. I have over 10,000 pictures, so it would take a long, long, long time to accomplish that task. Then, when they do find a violation, if it’s from certain countries, there’s not a lot that they can do. The majority of the violations I have found are from those countries. It still might be worthwhile to try and see what happens. I can always start small with maybe a few hundred pictures that I know have been used without permission and see how it goes. It could make for an interesting article, at the very least.
I appreciate your comment. Have a merry Christmas, too!
Ritchie, thanks for your article, although for my taste, it is a bit heavy, i.e. one can feel your frustration all the time.
I think, what your article does is, it puts the attitude of many people of today in the center. Many people think, it is just normal to take a jpeg (you can easily download any photo with any browser), save it on their hard drive, and republish it, without any mention of the creator him or herself. Most of the people have no clue of copyright, and why it exists. Some people though, make believe, that they were the creators, and here we have real theft, and not just copyright infringement.
I see that, when I have discussions with some of my family members about photos I take. I usually take photos at events, like at school, and when asked whether they can be published, I give my consent, under the condition, that it says “Photo” and then my name under or besides the photo.
The family members sometimes think, that I am overdoing it with my request, and then, I just tell them, that the photos are mine, and if anybody wants to publish them, they do it according to my rules. End of the story, that kind of drags the mood down, but avoids lengthy and useless discussions.
To your point, I think, you should use services, that cash in the copyright dues from the illegitimate republishers. If everyone did that, that would create more awareness, and most likely more compensation for the creators in general. And that would be, what the issuers of copyright laws around the world had in mind, when they created these laws, i.e. protect the creators.
I think, it is the same with people parking their cars on the sidewalk, so that you cannot walk by without putting yourself in danger. Only, when they have to pay a hefty fine, they will learn, otherwise, they will just continue to protect their own laziness and their car, at the expense of others.
That’s a good point, thanks for sharing!
Looks like Graham wanted to make you feel bad, sad character. Thanks for the post and all the good work
Yeah, that’s ok. I have thick skin. I appreciate your kindness!
It’s not possible for anyone to determine who is the most stolen from photographer in history. No one is tracking this, so no one can know. ChatGPT gives plausible-sounding responses based on how you frame the question if you’re looking for confirmation, it’ll give it to you. Honestly, just ask it how you could prompt it to be more effective.
I do want to acknowledge the app cloning situation, that sucks and is theft straight up.
I’m sure stock photographers that have been around forever have experienced this as well. Think about Getty images alone, they have a dedicated legal team because it’s such a problem.
There is a real problem here and you are entitled to be frustrated, but turning it into claiming the you’re the most stolen from photographer in history reads like click bait.
There is a more grounded version of this article that lands better and more relatable. What’s happened to you? What have you learned? Why is it so hard to fight these problems? What steps have you taken that worked? What steps failed?
Tell us a story with a perspective that tells the real story, the systemic issues.
It’s definitely not possible to know for certain since a lot of data points are nonexistent. So it is indeed difficult to know whether I am the most stolen from (I put it as a question: am I the most stolen from?), but I can say with certainty that I’m in the top 1% (not a percentage that anyone wants to be in). Am I in the top 5,000, 500, 50 or 5? It’s impossible to know, but (unfortunately) I’m in there somewhere. And that’s a very big thing, I think. I hope it raises awareness to this problem, and maybe more will be done to fix it for the benefit of the entire community.
What have I done or learned from this? I’ve spent hours and hours and hours over the last couple of weeks requesting takedowns. That’s unfortunate, because that’s time I could be working, photographing, spending time with family, etc., that I’m not. Some attempts have been successful, some have not (yet, anyway). I’d estimate that well over 100 photos of mine that were being used illegally have been taken down (thanks to cooperating websites/apps), but that’s just the tip of the iceberg as far as what’s out there, just barely scratching the surface. The majority of my takedown requests are ignored. Because of the country that the illegal use happened in, there’s not a whole lot that can be done, if the offending party is unwilling. I would like Google to apply their technology that protects musicians to be applied to photographers, I think that would do more than anything to fix the problem.