The "Faux-tographer" exposed...

Fauxtographer.
Fake photographer.

Fauxtographer is a word commonly used to describe someone who is portraying themselves to be a professional photographer.  Many photographers dislike the word because it also has been inappropriately tagged onto new, up and coming, photographers at times.  Today.. this is not the case.

I personally watched this travesty unfold over the past few days and I can honestly say, I was shocked and saddened by all of this.

A wedding photographer here in the USA was living her life, posting beautiful photos quite frequently of her recent shoots.  Well, that is what her followers thought, anyway.  It turns out that the majority of her photos did not belong to her. In fact, the photos belonged to many other photographers around the world. There were hundreds and hundreds of images stolen. Entire wedding albums, even. This photographer had made a horrible business move.  She decided that she would take copyrighted images from other photographers and place them on display on various social media outlets, claiming them as her own work. She was deceiving literally thousands of people.

Huge mistake.

A few nights ago, it caught up to her. One person saw images that belonged to someone he knew. He informed her and she in turn verified the allegations and found them to be true. She told people, who told others... and the story went viral overnight on all of the social media outlets.

Needless to say, by the time the accused photographer woke up the next morning, her twitter account and Facebook pages were swarming with hundreds of comments calling her out on the theft.  The pages, all accounts and even her website were taken down.  Later that evening, her Facebook page was restored, and included a public apology, where she admitted her wrong doings and stated all of the efforts that she is making to attempt to make amends.  Some people are understanding and forgiving. Others.. not so much.

It isn't up to me to judge anyone. There is no doubt that this lady has made one of the worst decisions that she possibly could have.  As photographers we all want to showcase stunningly beautiful work on our blogs and websites because we want others to admire it and hire us.  But this.. this is something taboo in the world of photography.  Photographers put their heart and soul into each and every photo they take and publish.  Their work is their baby.. and you just don't take someone else's baby. It's more than wrong.. it's offensive to every photographer who works hard and does things the right way.

I cannot imagine the hurt felt by the photographers who actually own the photos, as well as the hurt that each bride and family feels that was showcased in those photos.  My heart goes out to them.

If anything good can come from this upset in the world of photography, I hope that someone who might be thinking of displaying someone else's work as their own, gets a huge reality check.  Work hard, learn everything you can, and take your own beautiful photos to represent yourself.  There is no other acceptable way. Because all in all, it's just not worth it to take what isn't yours.

No one wants to be branded forever as a fauxtographer, and in this case.. it's very likely she will be.