I posted some images of my artwork to a social networking site. Is that a bad idea?
The web has been known for issues of infringement related to images on social networking sites, the most common example of which is the use of images taken from these sites in advertisements, without permission.
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Artists should be particularly mindful of the risks and benefits posting pictures may create – and that means clicking on and actually reading those links at the top or the bottom of a social networking home page entitled “Privacy” or “Settings” or “Terms of Use.”
Many artists assume they are protected when they have uploaded photographs into an account. Read the policy to find out. Whether you want your pictures used is another story. On one hand, you may risk giving up control of your work. What right you give an advertiser depends on how the privacy settings are worded.
Often, you have no say in what capacity companies may use your works and you may not even know who the companies are (especially for access through applications). If you have an established portfolio, these uses could potentially dilute the reputation of your work and could lead to a reduction in the price people are willing to pay.
On the other hand, this may give your works greater exposure. After all, any publicity is good publicity, especially for an up and coming artist. Plus, some companies are willing to negotiate usage rights if the photograph is a good fit for their ads.
