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10 ways to tell if your wedding photographer is faking it
You’re searching for a wedding photographer, scrolling through countless websites, when you spot a portfolio that takes your breath away. “OMG, these photos are amazing,” you’re thinking. The only problem? The photographer is a fraud. Every image in his portfolio has been stolen from a seasoned wedding photographer. And you may not find out until it’s too late.
Welcome to the latest trend in wedding photography — faking it. With so many brides booking online, it’s easy to create an impressive website and fudge a few details to draw in clients.
And it’s more common than you think. This week my frustration came to a boiling point when both Top New York Photographer Angelica Glass and boudoir photographer Sue Bryce had images stolen and posted by a fraud-tographer. It brought back bad memories for me — in 2008, a Russian photographer copied my website, added a few images from Moscow for that “personal touch,” and used my logo and images to promote his company. When I contacted him, he blamed his web designer.
The Wedding Photography Industry’s Dirty Secret
In May 2012, Corey Ann launched Photo Stealers Wall of Shame to expose photo thieves. When I asked how prevalent theft was, she dropped this bomb: “My best guess would be 5% of all photographers are using stolen images of some kind, for advertisements or proudly displayed on their blogs.”
Pennsylvania wedding photographer Leslie Gilbert explains, “Inexperienced photographers don’t have a portfolio to show potential clients, so they look online and think no one will ever know if they steal images. Ever since things went digital, it’s been so easy.” And stolen photographs are just one way that wedding photographers fake it. Wannabe wedding photographers may be exaggerating their experience, lying about their credentials, or padding their portfolio.
“I know a lot of photographers, and probably half are fakes. People just buy a camera, a website, and go at it. I’ve known some who have purchased stock images and used them on their photography website,” says Louisville Photographer Shane of Studio E.
[image_right image_url=”http://allebach.goodgallery.com/blog/wp-content/uploads/photostealers.jpg”] How can you ensure that YOUR wedding photographer is the real? I asked some of the best in the industry to share their tips for spotting a fake.
10 ways to make sure you’re booking a quality wedding photographer.
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Consistency is Key.
“Be diligent in looking at the work and looking for ANY inconsistencies in style,” suggests Todd Laffler. “Do most of the photos on their site match in style? Is the post-processing relatively consistent? If you see too many different post processing styles, then most likely something isn’t right. Trusting your gut is important — if it seems fishy, it probably is.” Laffler recommends looking for a photographer with an active blog. “If someone is ripping off images, it’s much harder to keep up with the charade if they have to do it every other week. Consistency in the photographer’s work is key!”
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Meet the photographer in person.
“A photographer’s website is a glimpse into their style, but the truth comes out when you meet them in person,” says Neil van Niekerk (read how his whole website was stolen here). “Get a sense of who they are, and their confidence — and their sample albums.” He also cautions that large studios will often display work that represents the studio, but not necessarily the individual photographer you’re meeting with: “I have worked for various studios, and they would happily show other photographers’ work as the work of whichever photographer you’re meeting. So be wary of multi-shooter studios too.”
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Ask for references.
“For the sake of safety as well as quality, I think it’s important for clients to research their potential photographers, ask for references, and take their time in making a selection. As with all things, you get what you pay for. In most cases, these fauxtographers have no insurance, make little money, and there is no real means of reimbursement for your troubles.” says boudoir photographer Jessica Lark.
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Check their online presence twice.
If the images in their gallery are wildly better than the images on their Facebook page, that could be a red flag. “Does the work on the blog match the portfolio galleries?” asks Christopher [B]ecker of Photog Refer. If you spot a gorgeous image in their gallery, ask if they can link you to a full blog post for that wedding.
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Look for the Bridal Party.
“Many wedding photographers will build their portfolio through styled sessions and workshops,” says Kara Wahlgren of Kiwi Photography in South Jersey. “Those are great — I’ve done them myself — but it’s not the same as having experience with the hectic pace and crazy pressure of an actual wedding. If you only see impeccably-styled bride and groom portraits but not a maid or groomsman in sight, be sure to ask to see a sample album or online gallery from a recent wedding.” And if the bride and groom seem to be looking away from the camera in every single shot, it could be a clue that the “photographer” was actually just a camera-wielding guest at that wedding.
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Ask to see an entire event.
It’s easy to get one amazing shot; it’s harder to get 400 or 500 keepers from a wedding day. Destination photographer Jules Bianchi suggests, “If you like an image from a wedding, you should ask to see the entire event. This way you’ll know if the photographer is really talented or just happened to get one great shot.”
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Consult with your wedding planner.
One of the advantages to working with a wedding planner is their relationships with trusted wedding vendors. Trust your wedding planner’s gut reaction and advice.
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Pay attention to geographical clues
One way to spot a photographer using stock images or stolen photos in their portfolio is to look for geographical clues. “In movies, they call it ‘the mountains of Illinois’ — when the scenery doesn’t fit the supposed location,” Wahlgren says. “If someone bills themselves as the premier wedding photographer in Cincinnati and their portfolio is filled with gorgeous beach shots, you may want to dig a little deeper. It’s possible they’ve done some destination weddings, but if they only have a few Facebook fans or their blog only has three posts so far, they’re probably not being flown all over the country to shoot weddings.”
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Google the photographer’s name.
This may be the simplest tip of all. Google your photographer. After one photographer was caught stealing images — and shut down her company in response — she confessed on her blog, “Photographers wrote blog posts about me. Other people left comments and spread the word.” A simple Google search could catch that.
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Use a reverse image search tool
Kat Williams of Rock n Roll Bride suggests “As a wedding blogger I use Google reverse image search all the time to find images sources and photographer credits, usually when I find an image online that I’d like to share but, for whatever reason, hasn’t been properly credited. If brides are at all worried that the images on a photographer’s site might not be their own this would probably be my first piece of advice for them if they wanted to ‘check up on them’ so to speak. Tineye.com is another similar resource that can be used in the same way.”
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Is there hope?
My friend and photographer Scott Hopkins made an excellent suggestion for helping photographers and the couples who hire them: “I think wedding photographer organizations like WPPI should come up with an ethics pledge that members can display on their page. People would be held accountable if they broke the pledge.” Until then, use these 10 steps to gauge the professionalism of YOUR wedding photographer.
UPDATE 3/28: Scott Hopkins, one of the photographers mentioned in the article wrote me this “Talk about timing. We just got an email from a photographer in Jersey who was trolling Craigslist and they saw an odd ad and Googled the images. Turns out they are all our’s that were featured on Junebug Wedding last month.”
Weigh in: How do we stop fraud-tographers? Do you think ethics agreements would work? What are other ways brides can protect themselves?
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by Mike Allebach
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@tattooedbrides
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fauxtographer definition
While this is great information for photographers, I wonder how this would come up for brides. It isn’t like they “practice” being a bride, so the educational component isnt really there. So much of the wedding process is driven by emotion, the last thing most brides want to do is a background check on images to find out if they are stolen. And yet that very thing, the due diligence is where our industry falls flat. If this were a catering company, advertising that they made awesome food, only to find out 2 weeks before a wedding that they had been investigated by the health department for unsanitary conditions, that would be due diligence. I wonder how that can play out in the photography industry, especially in light of the race-to-the-bottom pricing model. Great topic and unfortunately all too important to ignore.
This post was full of good advice. Thanks for sharing. I hope you have a great wedding season.
Great article. I think asking to see an entire event is key to making sure the images are from real weddings. I don’t know if brides are even aware that many portfolios are built from styled shoots and workshops.
The WPPI and even the PPA will never do anything like that. Why, because they arent about the profession, they are about SELLING to the profession. They are about attracting as many products and whiz bang photo gadgets as they can. Those fraud-tographers buy stuff too you know.
Really, the down and dirty solution here is state licensing. If setup properly and run by a board of elected peers from the profession, it can be done well. Funds for license fees would stay in the profession to support and promote the hiring of a licensed pro. A law can be established to say that you cannot advertise without displaying your license in that state, and that taking advertising from a non-licensed pro will result in a fine.
The licensing system would have a two or three year apprenticeship period to make sure someone is really going to be a professional. The board would be elected licensed photographers of course. Each photographer would have to maintain their credential every year or couple of years as well. Continuing education (workshops) or submitted work…etc. would be required for renewal as well as taking on apprentices periodically. They could even limit the number of licenses per year to make sure the market isnt flooded.
In the end, it protects the industry and the consumer, and that is what licensing is all about after all.
They aren’t licensing your art or judging it. A hairdresser has to have a license, and they can give really ugly haircuts. A lawyer can keep their license and be a really bad lawyer, but not unethical…etc.
But licensing is the only thing I see that can really restore our profession. Peple dont look at us as professionals anymore. Thats a huge problem.
In theory, state licensing sounds good but in actual practice, I doubt it could succeed. It means government of some kind. Government means taxes and I don’t think taxpayers would be willing to pay for something like that. I believe that this is all about buyer beware.
What do you mean by post processing styles?
The style photos are editing with (lots of black and whites, film like color)
Hey Mike…. that totally sucks… hope all is well.
It is very easy to see how this could be an issue in photography, not because I am a photographer myself, but because I do web design work. And that is a real issue in web design too.
Imagine if every one of your photos were all online, in original form, with no protection or watermarks. That’s the reality of web design. All of the design elements and even the code for laying out the content are all freely available, by design. Anyone could learn in a week enough to be a web designer, developing ‘custom’ websites that were all just directly ripped off from another site. And there’s virtually no way to prove or trace it. It would be like if a fauxtographer could rearrange the people in your photos.
My point is, you are not alone. However, it’s a fact of life. You also kind of just have to get over it. I’m not saying I wouldn’t try to prevent people from stealing my photos, but losing sleep of cheaters and liars is a waste of time and energy. They exist in all facets in life.
You know how many people are more “successful” than you that built that success off lying, cheating, stealing? Tons.
I say go live a good life by the standards you set for yourself, and don’t dwell on the negative.
I may be late in a reply but I thought this article was great. and informative. I am a designer by trade (and photographer for fun) and work for other photographers to put their images into books, collages, etc. I would like to ask everyone to make sure you are 100% accurate before you accuse someone of stealing images for advertising, portfolios, etc.
Unfortunately for me at first but now for her, a “professional” photographer thought she was onto something when she saw some of my client’s photos on a site with some of my design examples displayed. This person started the ball rolling by trolling my client’s sites and making phone calls and emails to inform this person that I had stolen their images. However, she was surprised to learn that I had permission to use these images to showcase some designs and she hadn’t taken the time to check her facts or read the fine print first. (I don’t have a website)
I don’t take stealing work lightly and being accused of it is a very serious thing.
it is hurtful to me personally and professionally. Please keep in mind:
If you are incorrect in your assumptions or accusations don’t be surprised or shocked if it backfires.
I like this idea that Scott proposes… licensing. I hadn’t considered adding another layer of bureaucracy to our lives, but strangely, this is what licensing SHOULD be used for. I like it. Nice solution.
Hi Mike,
Thanks for this post. I am going to forward it to all the members of the Connecticut Professional Photographers Association so they can post it out on their facebook and websites for the general public to see. The CTPPA has each member sign a code of ethics that as a member you have to abide by. The problem is that the people that are doing this to other professionals are not members of these association. It’s so sad that our profession has to deal with something like this and that it has become more rampant lately. The more that true professional photographers bring awareness to this subject, I hope that these frauds will move on to something else or just stop altogether and find their true talent.
AMAZING article. LOVE that you brought up photographers who have never actually photographed a wedding. Portfolios flooded with styled shoots can look so great but when it comes to the actual insanity of a wedding day.. you can’t sacrifice a photographer who has experience. WONDERFUL! Looking forward to your future blog posts.
I just put an ad on Craigslist for a second shooter this week. I got 30+ responses and the most interesting one? He had a combo business, advertising photography, mixology, wedding planning, etc. On the mixology page, there was a photo of mine. I guess he pulled it off a blog or pinterest. I never even thought of doing something like that when I was starting out!
Love this article, sadly I to have been a victim of having my photos stolen, but not from a photographer but a make up artist!!! The culprit was caught because one of my clients relatives saw the photo and asked about it! Their response, “oh it is a good representation of what we can do but we ain’t got no photos yet.” They acted like it was not big deal and I should be flattered and okay with it!! I’ve even heard of stolen images being printed in ad’s in major bridal magazines!! Crazy!!
I have worked as a wedding photographers assistant for about 5 years.
I am trying to break into this business the RIGHT way, by paying my dues lugging gear and holding lights just so I can work with seasoned pros to teach me the business.
I would never steal others images, but I do have images I shot at workshops and
such. It’s hard to get portfolio quality shots when all you get to shoot is the dunk people dance at the reception.
Everyone of you became a pro in slightly different ways… and many went the “fake it til you make it” route. I don’t mean stealing others work, but shooting for cheap or for friends to build your portfolio.
Been around alot of pro photogs so I’ve heard so many complain about the weekend warriors and part timers who will shoot a wedding for $1500 and how they are driving the whole industry down.
How else would you suggest an aspiring pro get started? I’d love to be a true apprentice to a pro, I haven’t heard of anyone in my area taking on the responsibility to train guys like me. The main guy I work with is a great pro but likes me just where I am, as his assistant… because I make HIS work better. Don’t get me wrong, I really like working with him and he is a great pro to work with, I’d just like shoot more.
I’d love some practical advice on how to do it the right way.
Thank you for sharing. I will share this article on my facebook’s page.
Ten very sensible things to check. Far too many chancers out there so this is great advice.
Such good advice! I ALWAYS tell brides to make sure they view at least one full wedding from a photographer before hiring them….because its really easy to find 30 great shots from various weddings to make an impressive website, but really hard to make hundreds of great shots from one wedding. And unfortunately its true how often other photographers steal images from other photographers, and it truly disgusts me that people would claim another artists’ work as their own. If my clients get a digital copy of their images I make them sign off that they will only post images online that include my logo/watermark. And its not because I’m afraid their bridesmaid will try to print the image for free on their home computer….its because I’m afraid another photographer will steal the image and use it on their own website. Which not only hurts me, but is unfair to the people in the picture whose images are being used without their permission. People don’t think about the possible consequences of that, more so if there are kids in the pictures.
Good tips, that last one with the Google reverse image search is a great one!
Thanks
The best due diligence to use http://stopstealingphotos.tumblr.com as a wedding photographer! We ARE the “health department” of our own industry.
Photo Stealers is a great resource and if everyone keeps an eye out, this practice should be hard to get away with. Think of it as a “Neighborhood Watch Program.”
The more connected our industry becomes with social networks and more transparent web identities, the easier it will be to put this fire out.
Stealing photo’s will only become more difficult to build a business around.
Nice topic.
Wow, terrific information for any person in the event industry.
This is a great article for brides and grooms to be when they’re shopping around for a wedding photographer. I’m glad I found while watching a video on your website. Thank you for writing it!
Great Article! I linked to it in the section for my clients explaining the difference in licensing between web and print images.
Thank you!
Really great article!!! I have yet to encounter this problem…. however, I have encountered other photographers saying they have “worked” with me. After stating that to a prospective client, the client booked with the photographer thinking it was with my business. Yes I may have taken your photos… but you have not WORKED with me. It truly is a sad world we live and work in. Thanks for the insight and information Mike!!!!
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Great article, Mike. ESPECIALLY poignant with recent events on our filmmaker side of the fence. Due diligence!
I own a professional photo lab and have been catering to wedding and portrait photographers for the last 30 years. In the film days wedding photographers needed to know the technical aspects of photography as well as artistic aspects. However the digital age made photography easier and more accessible to everyone and anyone. The WPPI photographers convention attendance has increased from 3000 attendants in 2002 to almost 9000 attendants in 2013.
Today we have far more wedding photographers on the market than ever. Many of these photographers came into the industry because of losing their previous jobs in the bad economy. Frankly, becoming a wedding photographer doesn’t require much. Buy a used DSLR off eBay, print up some business cards, a flashy website with wedding images that you can buy off stock agencies, and good selling skills. And change your name into a more artistic two first names. You need no licensing or certification and very little investment. That’s why the business of wedding photography has changed from a service to commodity. I don’t see the art in today’s photographers work and I see a lot in my business. Basically they all look the same because they all follow the same trend. If you are starting out in this business, just go on line and look at many photographers websites and pick up and learn some posing technics. This wasn’t available years ago and photographers had to develop their own look and style. As far as technical skills, I remember once a wedding photographer told me that “P” on the camera was a setting for Professional. In the film days the photographer didn’t see the image right away on the camera, and he needed to know and control exposure (shutter, aperture) as well as depth of field, color temperature, reciprocity failure, background luminescence and Etc… not to mention using a totally manual medium format camera. Furthermore, there was no Photoshop to rescue you from disaster. Now its all justified as candid or journalistic BS. I remember once a bride complained to me about her photographer that she shot 25 images of the brides toes and shoes, but forgot to photograph her grandma.
Face it, wedding photography is basically documenting and event. The images that are created are absolutely worthless to any one else on the planet except the people that are in it. Other categories of photography (Photojournalism, landscape, sports, Etc..) have artistic values since the images are valuable and can be sold globally. Wedding photographers have the worst reputation among photo labs as well. Why? In the film days labs offered terms to the photographers because they had the benefit of keeping the films hostage until they got paid. Today with digital images the collateral has disappeared. Accounts Receivables is the biggest problem many vendors have today dealing with wedding photographers.
Of course not all wedding photographers are as such, There are many photographers which are honest and believe in and honor their profession and they take pride in their work
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