Today I present a cautionary tale about internet use. Back in 2011 I had the pleasure of photographing the wedding of my friends Kaitie and Ben. It was a beautiful wedding and one of the most intensive and fun photo projects I have ever been tasked with. Afterwards I started to prepare some of the photos for posting on my blog and it was during a time when I was not at all concerned about my images being stolen by a second party. I figured my blog was just being viewed by my close friends and family so I decided to post some images at a rather large size. Fast-forward to 2014 when my friend Ben sends me an image of one of my wedding photos being used in a jewelry store in LA. This store somehow found
my blog post from 2011 and proceeded to use my image in one of their store displays. I have since contacted this store seeking compensation for the illegal use of my photo, but have (to little surprise) not heard back. So, please, if you are a photographer or artist be careful about how you post and what you post on the internet. If it can happen to me then it can happen to anyone and it might just be a matter of time. And if you live in the LA area, drop by
El Palacio de Oro y Diamantes at 718 1/2 S. Broadway to see a free exhibition of my photo work and tell them that Mark Pariani sent you. Thanks for reading and stay alert about your internet posting. And be a pal and don't support photo theft - Keep it REAL.
