Let’s talk about those free images on Facebook
My students are always looking for subject matter to work with and well let’s be honest, so am I. Facebook has several pages where people post images were you can use other peoples’ photos for free and they are not copyright protected. You should cite the photographer when you use them, it is polite but, what are the pitfalls of using these free photos?
First of all, if you are a hobbyist; you really don’t have much to worry about. Sure, you might sell between 5 to 10 pieces a year at group shows but the chances of having others creating duplicates from the same source can be pretty slim to none. You are probably not going to worry about entering those into national contests and thus you don’t need to worry about having to create art from your own images. If you are entering in national competitions, it is a huge issue. Many competitions expect you to paint from your own material. You have to do the work, to do the work; as it were.
Secondly, as a professional; you might end up working from a photographic image that other artists are using. Let’s face it, it is incredibly tempting to use those fantastic images to paint from. It hasn’t happened yet but one of these days, I expect to see 2 paintings by different artists from the same reference material. It happened to an artist that I knew when I was very young, she took her work to a show and while she was wandering around looking at the competition; she found herself looking at the same image she painted, done by someone else. She marched right back to her display and pulled down the offending image. As a professional, it didn’t look professional and it also looked a bit lazy. It was her choice to pull her own down, and given how many pieces she painted in a week; it didn’t really cause her much distress. Trust me when I say, it doesn’t matter if it was done in two different mediums. You can always tell when two people used the same reference.
It is worth using those free images for practice but if you are working to be on a professional level, make your own reference. There are places in national parks where everyone stands in the same place and takes the same picture. Put in some clouds, change the trees, adjust the lighting, by god; make it different in some way or another than the photo you took while standing with everyone else. It shows that you are conscientious about your professional integrity and that you have talent!
So here it is, there is a reason you can’t submit work in competitions from workshops; it is because it will be the same as everyone else’s. The other reason is because it won’t be your own work. The instructor may not have done much with you but he took the photo, it was his material, i.e.; his work. We carry a cell phone in our pocket everywhere we go now so using other people’s material as a professional is just plain lazy. If you want to paint a place that is different than where you live, go there.
No here is an exception to this blog, I have a very appreciated friend who feeds us artists photos. She keeps records of the photos she give us so that none of us are getting the same photo. The caveat of this is; I cannot use the pieces I paint in some competitions because I didn’t take the reference. I am still grateful for her kindness and paint what she gives me. Thank you Karen!