Where can I find orchid pictures that I can use?

[ronaldhanko]

Just linking to a photo on Flickr or crediting the photographer is NOT sufficient if you are using the photo for commercial purposes, neither does a photo with a Creative Commons license give you the right to use it for commercial purposes. The fact that photos are public on Flickr does not mean they are for public use. The best thing to do is ASK and if the photographer does not want you to use it, don't. And taking pictures of the picture on your computer screen to use commercially is a callous disregard of the photographer's rights.

[ronaldhanko]

I should add that I am usually willing to have people use my photos for non-commercial purposes, but it really irritates me when people use them without even asking.

[lambelkip]

Originally Posted by ronaldhanko

Just linking to a photo on Flickr or crediting the photographer is NOT sufficient if you are using the photo for commercial purposes, neither does a photo with a Creative Commons license give you the right to use it for commercial purposes. The fact that photos are public on Flickr does not mean they are for public use.

The advanced search I linked to allows you to search specifically for pictures which are allowed for commercial use. This makes it particularly easy to find pictures for which permission has already been granted. (and there are lots of them)
check the box labeled "Only search within Creative Commons-licensed content", and check the box below that labeled "Find content to use commercially"

Originally Posted by ronaldhanko

The best thing to do is ASK and if the photographer does not want you to use it, don't. And taking pictures of the picture on your computer screen to use commercially is a callous disregard of the photographer's rights.

you're right, taking a picture of another persons photograph is a blatant violation of copyright. Taking a photograph of a computer screen displaying the image would be considered an unauthorized derivative work. see the wikipedia article on Appropriation Art for information on the legal issues involved in taking a photo of an image on your screen.

[ronaldhanko]

Kip is correct that many Creative Commons licensed photos can be used, but you have to be sure (1) that you do not have to pay for their use, and (2) that the CC license allows commercial use. I only meant that a CC license is not a Carte Blanc permission to use any and every photo and to use them commercially.

[Gin]

I have found a few of my pictures on e bay not one asked to use them or said sorry when i let them know about it ...... aggravating...

[stefpix]

I disagree that taking a photo of a photo is a blatant violation of copyright. One thing is of you do a reproduction, but if you photograph a computer screen and you actually see the pixels etc or it is cropped it is not just a reproduction. Well Richard Prince had been sued but it was a matter of million of dollars.
Best way would be to ask for photos. I have seen some on ebay that put a link to IOSPE photos.I saw different sellers like Kawamoto that use a photo that someone else is using.

Also commercial use is relative. I am a photographer myself and I do not think there would be viable income at selling photos for orchid sales on ebay. One thing is if you take photos for some huge nursery that caters to Walmart or Home Depot and you are shooting for their catalog.
It makes no sense to charge for ebay.
You could probably get away by cropping a photo with the plant and use only the flower.

I think ebay listings that are occasional and for low amounts should fall into the fair use category.

The time wasted for dealing with this is worth less than the money that someone could be paid.

Well if someone did a catalog of teh most common orchids and you coudl buy it for 40 / 60 / 100 $ and then you can use it for limited online auctins it would make sense.
If you feel bad you can use a link on ebay to a web page that displays the flower you want to show.


Anyway, I trust more the vendors that show the plant with their own photos of the actual plant.

[lambelkip]

Originally Posted by ronaldhanko

Kip is correct that many Creative Commons licensed photos can be used, but you have to be sure (1) that you do not have to pay for their use, and (2) that the CC license allows commercial use. I only meant that a CC license is not a Carte Blanc permission to use any and every photo and to use them commercially.

(1) All of the creative commons licenses allow use without paying for it. The licenses were designed specifically for artists who wish to allow royalty-free use of their work.
(2) Yep, you need to be sure that the license allows commerical use. The fact that the license explicitely states what you're allowed to do with the picture means you don't need to contact the owner before using it. A CC license for commercial use is permission to use it for whatever you want.

here's an example of searches on flickr:
(1) Laelia purpurata (currently returns 1,129 results, most of which are not licensed for use)
(2) Laelia purpurata, CC license (currently returns 28 results, free for non-commercial use)
(3) Laelia purpurata, CC license for commercial use (currently returns 10 results, all of which could be used on ebay)
as you can see from the results, 99.1% of the Laelia purpurata photos are not licensed for this type of use, but you really only need one to sell an item on ebay.

Originally Posted by Gin

I have found a few of my pictures on e bay not one asked to use them or said sorry when i let them know about it ...... aggravating...

report the post to ebay as a copyright violation, and include a link to your original photo. ebay will remove the listing, and may ban the seller from ebay.

stefano, let's not turn this into a discussion of what copyright should be like. we all have our own opinions on that subject, and I tend to agree with you for the most part. however, the fact remains that there is well established case law, and if the photographer decided to file a suit, you would likely lose, and you also risk being banned from ebay.

[Call_Me_Bob]

when i shop on ebay, i like to see pics of the actual plant, and a pic of the prospective bloom. if i were shopping for and orchid on ebay, i wouldnt want to buy it if there is a pic of a computer screen with a pic on it.

[stefpix]

I am all for copyright enforcement, just saying it is not worth doing paperwork to earn some pennies. I post a lot of my photos online, now i put a watermark with my credit in the lower corner. It can always cropped out or photoshopped out. Sometimes m photos have appeared here and there and I always appreciated people that asked me. In this day and age photographs have became so available that the value really decreased. I feel these days a photographer makes money for something commissioned rather than selling through an archive. Or selling prints as artwork...

It is always best to ask.
But what would you really do or want if a stranger asked to use a photo that you took for an ebay listing?

In a listing probably I would use my photos, if i have no blooms i would put a link to IOSPE or some Wikipedia page which display the blooms
or i would consider [but unlikely do] find some generic photo with multiple blooms and crop one out so the composition/ lighting of the original photo are non existant anymore.

Well that whole issue of the Obama "Change" poster by Shepard Farey that took some generic news photo cropped Obama out and made an iconic image... ?

[Call_Me_Bob]

i think a pic of the plant right now, plus an iospe link should suffice