USVI-On-Line

I am making a photo book from our March STJ trip. I don't take underwater photos . I would love to include some of turtles, eagle ray,fish etc. Is there a legit way ( or any way) to use someone else's. Or does anyone have a few that they would like to share? It feels like cheating since they aren't my own, but what photo book of stj
would be complete without these?

Thanks for your help. Ellen

I would think that it wouldn't be a problem as long as they weren't copyrighted or professional pictures.....but I'm not an attorney and I don't play one on TV. I think you'd need to check that out with whoever will be doing the photobook for you since they might have some rules. I'm no techo-geek either, but if you download pictures taken by someone else and mix them into a file of your own photos is there a way to tell?

Here is my public folder page 6 might have some stuff for you but you are welcome to any of it.

http://good-times.webshots.com/album/55 ... Z?start=48

Just search my user name "vav" your free to use any pictures you want!!

Thank you all so much. Ellen

You can take any of ours from augie's trip reports! Or if you have something very specific in mijnd let me know- it gives me an excuse to go third our pics before the trip!!![/i]

Your photo book is going to have some fabulous underwater scenes thanks to the generous offers of some forum members!

The sharing of photos on the internet and specifically on this forum has recently been on my mind. A few years ago, a talented, amateur photographer forum member told me that he didn't leave photos on open sites long because of the potential for misuse... when he left the forum he removed all the photos he had posted (of course a photo can be copied the moment it is posted).

Personally, two experiences have made me even more aware that anything, once posted, is available to anyone. I was happy to allow Casa Bueno Villa the use of several of my photos on their website; they asked and I agreed. They didn't use my name, but did say "taken by a recent guest". Good enough!
My avatar here was shot one morning from from the villa I called home on my third trip to STJ; I was quite surprised to see it on the villa's website a few months later. While flattered, I would have loved being asked to use it or at least for some credit to have been given... I have wondered how many folks may think that I had snatched THEIR photo.

I guess that we all should realize that unless a photo we post is watermarked or copyrighted, it is fair game to the virtual world. Yet, it is a kind show of courtesy to ask if you wish to use someone's posted photo and then to give them credit.

Have fun composing your photo book, Ellen; it should have some gorgeous underwater photos, and you can enjoy it fully because you have been given all the images... making them yours!

lprof - I had the same thing happen to me. One of my photos from my flickr feed taken at Guavaberry on Virgin Gorda showed up on the front page of their website a few months later. I couldnt be upset because I didnt place any restrictions on them, and in fact I was flattered, but it still wouldve be nice to get an acknowlegement

Ellen - I will PM you a link to some of my UW stuff on picasaweb you are welcome to use if you want to. I believe that if you log on using a gmail account (create a dummy account if you dont have one) you can select "Download" and save option. if you need higher resolution files let me know - - OK?

As a Photographer by hobby and an Art Director professionally. Here are some general rules to keep in mind for images from the web. Unless the photo has a Creative commons license, you cannot just grab it and use it (well you could, but ethically you shouldn't). If you go back through the photo hosting site (Flicker, etc) you can usually see if the person has put a copyright notice on the image. Even then if it doesn't say it, doesn't mean it's up for grabs. While it might not get noticed in a personal book, posting it on your website without permission opens you up to possible problems.

The ethical and legal stuff out of the way, if someone posts an image you like, common courtesy would be to ask them if you can use it. Usually images posted on the web are low resolution files, so by asking you may even get a higher resolution file for reproduction. WHY? see the next paragraph

(TECHNOBABBLE ALERT)
Printing requires higher resolution files unless you want bitmapped or pixelated images. The general (professional) rule is 2x the line screen (offset is 133-150 line screen) so you need at least 260-300 pixels per inch. So that 480x640 image you just grabbed is only going to look good 3 inches wide.

Since the viol forum folks are a friendly bunch and willing to share, it looks like you have plenty to good stuff to choose from. My trip reports (2muchsnow) include links to my STJ galleries, you're welcome to take a look, and if find something you like, let me know I'll send you a High res file.

2muchsnow

2muchsnow: I sent ellena a regular email with a pic of the manta ray attached. Will that be a good enough resolution for a print? I'm obviously not tech savvy. It might be good for her to know, before she spends the money on a photo book.

mindehankins, not seeing the file and knowing the size she planning to use it, it's little hard to say. But if it was the original image file from the camera at the highest quality setting it should work great. When I post images to my Flickr gallery I usually export them at a screen resolution setting for quicker uploads. Not everyone goes to the trouble.

I've made a few photobooks, and usually if there is a resolution problem with the image, the software will let you know. (At least with mac iphoto and aperature books that I have done)

how big was the attachment file?

The attachment was 809k.

Thanks for all your help! Valuable discussion! Ellen