Stock Photos
When I’m out photographing a home I often look at the map on my phone and see if there are any interesting community features — a park, a community center. Or if I see anything on the way like a nice sign for the neighborhood.
If I have time, I’ll take a shot of it and add it to my collection of stock photos to provide to other agents when I photograph something in the same neighborhood. Part of the service I provide. Something like this:
That being said, these are probably my most stolen photos. I’ve added them all to Pixsy so I can find out when they’re used. Most of the time they’re found in the listings who properly licensed them, but I find a few used without permission regularly.
But here’s a conversation I had with a REATLOR® about that recently…
Me: You’re using my photo in your listing without licensing. I provide pictures like that to my paying customers. Please remove it.
Agent: It’s a picture of the park.
Me: Yes, and I took it and own the copyright.
Agent: Anyone could take the same picture!
Me: Then remove mine and go take your own.
They eventually removed mine, after I suggested I could send them an invoice for the picture. I’d like to point out that my shot was quite the stand-out from the rest of the cell phone pictures for the listing.
The fact that I (and countless other real estate photographers) have to have this type of conversation, though, suggests that REATLORS® aren’t being educated in even the basics of copyright. Agencies, Associations of REATLOR®, and the National Association of REATLOR® should be addressing this.
Oh, and by the way…you’ll notice that I put ® after every mention of REATLOR® or REATLORS®? That’s because they are trademarks and they are very serious about protecting that. Too bad they’re not as good about protecting the rights of photographers.