Exploring Copyright and Photos

 Hello and Welcome Back!

This week we are discussing copyrights. I'll be completely honest, this concept has always been a bit blurry to me, especially when determining which photos can and can't be used. For my current job, I write a blog and I tend to use Google Images to find photos, where I then link the URL from the location of where I obtained the photo. Turns out, I will be needing to put in some more effort from now on so that I can ensure I am using photos with the right permissions! 

First though, let me tell you a fun story! This is the "Tech Explorer Blog", so you know I can't leave you without a little exploration or travel in my post. So, as you may know, my family is Greek. My cousins live in Salt Lake City where there is a large Greek community, and if you haven't ever been to the Greek Festival in Salt Lake, then you might consider taking a trip down there this September, because WOW! If you like the Greek Festival here in Pocatello, then your jaw would drop at the one in Utah. ANYWAYS, so my cousins used to Greek dance in the SLC festival each year. My cousin, Mary, was always beautiful up on stage and always had dozens of photos taken of her and her dance group. Some of these photos were posted on social media, others were posted on blogs, and some of them were posted in the newspaper. 

So, you might be asking, what does this have to do with copyright? Wellll, one day, a friend of Mary's was travelling in Greece and he was going through the little gift shops when he noticed a painting of my cousin Mary and her friend! The painter had apparently searched online for Greek dancers and found this photo of my cousin and decided to recreate it and sell it (pictures posted below). Now, of course, because these were being sold in Greece, I'm sure that there are limited rules/laws that apply to copyright. Yet, this story has always sat with me. I obviously think it is majorly cool that my cousin has paintings of her out in the world, and I also think its great that someone saw the beauty in a photo and decided to replicate it. However, the original photographer goes without credit. Their work, their "eye", and their art don't get the recognition, appreciation, or even any of the profit of what might be sold because of their hard work. 

I think that copyrights are a great thing because they help to ensure that the original authors of the work have rights to how their work is used and distributed. As an educator, I have created lessons and other materials that are important to me, and while I would love to share them with other educators, I would like to maintain the ability to control how they are used and I would like to be given credit for my ideas and work. If you are a teacher, you likely have used Teachers Pay Teachers before, and while some of their materials are free, there are many times where there are disclaimers to how materials should/shouldn't be shared and distributed. So, I think this type of ownership is important in almost any setting, and abiding by copyright shows a level of respect and professionalism.

However, this doesn't mean that abiding by copyrights is always easy. In fact, it can be rather complicated. One of our videos this week mentioned that many people who go against copyrights don't do it purposefully. So, here's a new tool I was just introduced to that might make your photo searches a bit easier...

First, you'll want to go to Google Images. Then, you'll search for whatever image that you'd like to find. In my case, I will search "coffee" because I love a good cup of joe! Once you have hit "search", you will see a button that says "tools". Once you click that, there is an option that will pop up that says "usage rights" that allows you to select "Creative Commons Licenses." After you have that selected, you will be able to go through a batch of photos that enable free use and distribution. Each of these photos may have their own terms, which might include limitations on how it can be used. In order to find this out, you'll need to click on the specific photo you'd like to use, and then read the specifications laid out for that particular image. For example, my image of coffee states that I must give appropriate credit, provide a link, and indicate if there were any changes made to the original photo.

Cheers! See you next time!

- The Tech Explorer

Photo Credit:

Coffee Photo Link https://commons.wikimedia.org/wiki/File:Piccolo_at_filter_coffee_at_Wood_St_Coffee,_Walthamstow.jpg
Photo by Bex Walton
No changes were made to the photo

I was given permission from my cousin to use the Greek Dancing photos above.