I'm just scrolling through Instagram at the end of my day when I notice my photograph with ZERO PHOTO CREDIT. "This is bullsh*t! I worked so hard to take that amazing photo and now they don't even respect my work enough to give me credit!" I'm thinking.

I'm sure a lot of people don't even realize what they are doing. But, they're STEALING my WORK and not giving me credit for it! Usually, when I reach out to them and ask them to properly credit it, they either refuse or get REALLY weird about it. All I want is proof that I was the one who took that photo. What if a band sees this on their Instagram and wants similar photos? If my name isn't there, there is ZERO opportunity for them to contact me, which could limit my future journalistic endeavors. If any bands see my photos and are interested in working with me, I absolutely want them to contact me and that cannot happen if you don't give me photo credit when you repost my photographs!

Photographers work HARD to get quality photos and it's disrespectful to take them without asking OR giving photo credit. If you don't ask or give me credit, you are stealing my hard earned intellectual property, which isn't very cool.

So, the next time you go to take a photographer's work without asking or giving photo credit, remember that you're STEALING their hard work for your selfish gain. The photographer will definitely be upset when they see it and with GREAT REASON. It's like taking someone's writing and claiming it as your own by not giving the author credit. It's absolutely unfair and you are exploiting someone's else works for your personal gain.