Are your images secure? Are you sure? Are you really sure? Are you really really sure?
- You know those images of that boudoir client, the one who didn’t sign a full model release, are those safe from prying eyes and search engines?
- Are some of your wedding clients able to easily download decent sized version of your images without your permission?
- Are some of those images you posted for your high school senior protected like you told their mother they would be?
Spend 5 minutes in Google with some very simple search terms and you’ll discover that many photographers are not so safe. I’ve always been amazed at the amount of information I could find for FREE using Google. But some of the images and information that I’ve stumbled upon during the writing of this article were enlightening to say the least. (More on that later) So to that end, we’ve asked a few photographers about website security via twitter and their responses were interesting.
Boudoir photographer Leah (last name changed to protect the innocent) tells us…
…they (the photos) aren’t safe. i had hundreds of images stolen from my photocart…which i will never, ever use again b/c of lack of safety.
When asked about password protected galleries a few wedding photographers reply…
Yes, I would assume passworded galleries are safe. – dadekian
ahhh.. well.. i think they are reasonably safe, but there’s certainly a risk…. If you have photos that you can’t afford to have leaked, you shouldn’t put them on the internet at all. - stacyreeves
safe if watermarking, resizing for web, appropriate dimensions. Personally my biggest worry is inappropriate use by a 3rd party. - PortraitAllure
and yet another photographer jokes,
I don’t want to know this–yikes!
This photographer clearly gets where we are going with this article. More often than not a photographer is not a “Geek” and there is a bit of tech that goes into running a website and some would be “Shocked” to find their images are so open to the public. So how can a photographer be 100% sure that their images are safe? The answer is they cannot, but reasonably safe is probably something we can all shoot for. So for now the questions stands. How safe are your images online? Even the password protected ones?
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In Part II of our series “Peek-A-Boo I See You and All Your Images Too” we call a photographer and let them know that “We can see ALL of your PASSWORD PROTECTED boudoir client proofs”. You can guess their reaction but we’ll share it as well as the results of our phone call with you tomorrow.
So what do you think? Are your images safe? Click to read Part II…
10 Comments at "Peek-A-Boo I See You and All Your Photos Too (Part I)"
Thanks Mark!
I am scared! Seriously, so intrested in this series as I know that my images are vulnerable even with passwords….
It goes without saying that nothing is guaranteed
safe online, no matter how much we want to believe so.
As far as people creeping on our galleries, I have seen hits on my site from search engines that made it obvious that some have tried. The search terms? “Boudoir Photography Client Access” and other variations. Yeah, creepy. Good thing boudoir proofing with us is done in person.
I think for Boudoir there shouldn’t be online unless the client understands the risks. For everything else if they are resized and watermarked you should be fine. You can always tweak your websites structure so search engine spiders dont index client galleries.
As a beginner I often checked other photographers photos metadata to check their equipment type and photo settings. I learned more about their style. So if you dont want that you can; minimize metadata while exporting.
Sorry, Alberto, but checking other photographer’s settings is sorta gross. I don’t understand how you were doing that. It’s so hard to be unique in this industry because most of the site surfers are other photographers looking for ideas. I try to keep my best stuff (a particular product I offer seniors, for example) OFF my website for precisely that reason. The seniors talk and they all know I have it, eventually my competitors will find out, but in the meantime it’s great to have a bit of creative privacy.
I think the main problem with security was the server. It’s that little word that came after C:/…
Actually Dan most of the servers I encountered were running Apache/Linux/Unix.
I just needed a screenshot that didn’t show a real directory so that’s from my box.
Just had two images lifted and posted on “thedirty.com” I had them removed and the client found them and told me, trust me they were NOT happy! They actually removed watermarks drapped across the image to post them, what trouble they went to to post them on that site.
Connie: “gross” you gotta to be kidding me, checking the metadata of file to learn is not gross it the opposite maybe crafty, resourceful etc. Besides you have all control when you export a file not to reveal that information.
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