Copyright and Image Theft

All images appearing in the NPN galleries and forums are the copyrighted work of the respective photographers and are presented here for your viewing pleasure. Please do not copy, download or use these images for any other purpose without the express written consent of the photographer!

The only exception to this is when you post an image in the critique category you grant limited rights to other paying members to download your photo for the explicit purpose of demonstrating post-processing techniques such as color adjustments, contrast, cropping, etc. Any other use is prohibited! The re-worked photo remains Copyright of the original photographer and you agree to delete the file after demonstrating the proposed changes.

Protecting Your Images from Theft

The reality of the Internet makes it impossible to prevent the unauthorized copying and use of any photo posted on a website. However, there are certain steps you can take to render your photos of as little value as possible to anyone taking them without your permission;

  • Your watermark with a copyright mark should be placed on all images for ultimate protection. The watermark can be done as a semi-transparent layer in most image editing programs, such as Photoshop.
  • Keep your images as small as practical. The NPN posting guidelines allow images of any size (in pixels). Most of the time, an image sized to 1200 to 1500 pixels will be more than adequate for display on in our forums and galleries.
  • Use compression when saving your image for uploading. The smaller the JPEG file size, the less information the file contains and the more difficult it becomes to use it for any other purpose. A quality setting of 6 (Photoshop) or 60 (Lightroom) will maintain visual acuity for on-screen display while reducing printed quality.
  • Fill out the metadata, this will remain intact for anyone who downloads your image. This should include your copyright notice along with all of your contact information.
  • If you have valuable images that you cannot put at risk, do not post them here or on any other website.By posting your photos on NPN or on any other website, there is no guarantee that your images will not be taken and used without your knowledge. However, as outlined above, you can take steps to ensure that image file you have placed on the Internet will have minimal value to those who wish to illegally profit from it.

    Now that we’ve covered that, relax and enjoy your participation in the NPN galleries and forums!