What would you do?

knoxknocks · 2nd July 2009

The thought of someone using my images as their own work has never crossed my mind before, but it's actually happened to me! A couple who recently met me said they saw the photos I was showing them on the website vitalmomento.com - 74 of them in fact!

I've screen captured all the 74 pages before they took it down and am speaking with my lawyer about this. These kinds of action hurts us photographers and it's a shame that it's other photographers doing this to one another. They were selling their Perth prewedding with these images on their site!

razor · 2nd July 2009

expose them!!!

i wonder how many couples have been fooled by them also. outright cheat!

thomas990 · 2nd July 2009

SniperD · 2nd July 2009

wah.. seems that this photog copied a lot of styles from everyone....

enghong17 · 2nd July 2009

Damage control?

http://www.singaporebrides.com/cgi-b...77#POST3769077

shojibake · 2nd July 2009

Sometimes i really wonder about these people. In a place as small as singapore and still try to leech.

SniperD · 2nd July 2009

Originally Posted by enghong17

Damage control?

http://www.singaporebrides.com/cgi-b...77#POST3769077

hmmmm... shifting the finger-pointing?

Cheesecake · 2nd July 2009

pls sue them. everything else from them are jus excuses.

Ninja · 2nd July 2009

Why they put a WPJA banner, when I couldn't find their listing in WPJA ?

waderbreak · 2nd July 2009

wow this is ridiculous. i hope you get them to rot in hell, they don't deserve any better.

sjackal · 2nd July 2009

Please update us on the results.

IMHO, you should not give them chance.

What is WPJA stand on misusing their banner?

In the thread over there at SingaporeBrides.com, they said you are their 'friend'. These people likes to push the blame to their 'web site developer' their student intern shooter, their assistants... Thieves and when caught, "no not me! its my friend!" yucks.

I am sorry for your situation dude.

BlueFly · 2nd July 2009

Blame your photog skills! Your photos are so beautiful the culprit fell to temptation and lifted your photos.... so in a perverse way it is acknowledgment of your pg talents! (*grin*)

OK, OK, just kidding you ! I know how it feels to be a victim.

And I don't condone leeching, not one bit.

So, as passing-off is a serious offence, ask your lawyer to send the culprit a letter demanding compensation or face a lawsuit. Cost approx $100-150 in lawyer fees. Or waived if you have a lawyer friend. You could also claim possible defamation, loss of earnings, etc coz you met someone who alerted you to the theft. She cld be yr witness.

Also, perhaps you could look into using flash-based photo galleries.. that will make copying of yr photos practically impossible, if not more difficult. PM me if you need help on that.

All the best to you !

xziredmp · 2nd July 2009

but on their website is only actual day ?

i mean people do make mistakes, and i do believe they do deserve a 2nd chance or even a chance to explain themselves.

as much as i would love to know the full story, seems like everyone here is defending the mod/victim.

and yes i know leeching is wrong too... but that doesnt mean it hasnt happened before right ? i've been in CS for quite a while, and seems like such things do happen now and then. It depends on how we handle the issue only.

rather den just crucify the "whoever did it" and burn him alive. why not everyone just wait and listen what he has to say ?

Chris Lim · 2nd July 2009

Spoke to the guys from Vitalmomento and understand that the matter is being looked into at all levels. As such they have decided to shut the site down for the time being as well.

So until further actions and corrections have been made. Lets all leave this for a moment and allow both parties involve to sort this out. No point adding fuel to the fire when all is very unclear to us as a 3rd party viewer.

euphoria2004 · 2nd July 2009

Well i think i should back Yushin up on this, who happens to be my bro-in-law.

Apparently, this guy was engaged by my BIL for RAW photos conversion all these while. That may explain why he had access to all the high resolution photos. But according to the latest post in SGBride, he claimed that someone else has sabotaged him??? See link .

Lets see what he has to say. Waiting for a good explanation from him.

knoxknocks · 2nd July 2009

Mob lynching was not the intended objective of this thread. I was truly hoping for some ideas on how to deal with this but it appears that legal recourse is the best option at this juncture, although I'm not out for blood.

This issue does not have anything to do with being a mod. Mods are human beings too, and mods who photograph for a living need to put food on the table. I'm all for giving 2nd chances, but I'd also like to make sure that what has happened to me does not happen to someone else easily. On a selfish note, I have my interests to protect too!

Whilst I don't rule out extenuating circumstances, I would certainly like someone to own up to this and take responsibility for it so that he/she learns that this is not right.

I think I've gotten a feel of what needs to be done. Locking the thread as it's served it's purpose.

2nd July 2009	#1
knoxknocks Moderator Join Date: Sep 2004 Location: lalaland Posts: 3,906	What would you do? The thought of someone using my images as their own work has never crossed my mind before, but it's actually happened to me! A couple who recently met me said they saw the photos I was showing them on the website vitalmomento.com - 74 of them in fact! I've screen captured all the 74 pages before they took it down and am speaking with my lawyer about this. These kinds of action hurts us photographers and it's a shame that it's other photographers doing this to one another. They were selling their Perth prewedding with these images on their site! __________________ work.http://www.tinydotphotography.com . life. http://www.tinyjourneys.com. wpn. http://www.wpn.sg Last edited by knoxknocks; 2nd July 2009 at 03:02 PM.

2nd July 2009	#2
razor Advertiser Join Date: May 2003 Location: Woody Land Posts: 1,610	Re: What would you do? expose them!!! i wonder how many couples have been fooled by them also. outright cheat! __________________ My Web : www.razin-photography.com My studio is available for rent

2nd July 2009	#3
thomas990 Member Join Date: Jan 2007 Location: CCK Posts: 219	Re: What would you do? shame. "copyright 2009 vitalmomento all rights reserved"???? __________________ ThomazCreations . Last edited by thomas990; 2nd July 2009 at 03:30 PM.

2nd July 2009	#4
SniperD Senior Member Join Date: Oct 2002 Location: Behind the viewfinder... Posts: 5,954	Re: What would you do? wah.. seems that this photog copied a lot of styles from everyone.... __________________ EYE-DEAS

2nd July 2009	#5
enghong17 Member Join Date: Jan 2004 Location: 39 Haji Lane Posts: 1,183	Re: What would you do? Damage control? http://www.singaporebrides.com/cgi-b...77#POST3769077 __________________ B:39 Voices W:39 East FB:Fanpage Last edited by enghong17; 2nd July 2009 at 03:43 PM.

2nd July 2009	#6
shojibake Member Join Date: Dec 2004 Posts: 385	Re: What would you do? Sometimes i really wonder about these people. In a place as small as singapore and still try to leech.

2nd July 2009	#8
Cheesecake Senior Member Join Date: Aug 2003 Location: I live in a haunted house!!!!! Posts: 12,835	Re: What would you do? pls sue them. everything else from them are jus excuses. __________________ You'll Never Walk Alone! 初恋的感觉杀很大! Last edited by Cheesecake; 2nd July 2009 at 03:52 PM.

2nd July 2009	#9
Ninja Moderator Join Date: Jan 2002 Location: Bukit Panjang Posts: 40	Re: What would you do? Why they put a WPJA banner, when I couldn't find their listing in WPJA ?

2nd July 2009	#10
waderbreak Member Join Date: Feb 2009 Posts: 161	Re: What would you do? wow this is ridiculous. i hope you get them to rot in hell, they don't deserve any better.

2nd July 2009	#11
sjackal Member Join Date: Jul 2008 Posts: 1,000	Re: What would you do? Please update us on the results. IMHO, you should not give them chance. What is WPJA stand on misusing their banner? In the thread over there at SingaporeBrides.com, they said you are their 'friend'. These people likes to push the blame to their 'web site developer' their student intern shooter, their assistants... Thieves and when caught, "no not me! its my friend!" yucks. I am sorry for your situation dude.

2nd July 2009	#12
BlueFly Member Join Date: Nov 2004 Location: Singapore, Melbourne Posts: 65	Re: What would you do? Blame your photog skills! Your photos are so beautiful the culprit fell to temptation and lifted your photos.... so in a perverse way it is acknowledgment of your pg talents! (grin) OK, OK, just kidding you ! I know how it feels to be a victim. And I don't condone leeching, not one bit. So, as passing-off is a serious offence, ask your lawyer to send the culprit a letter demanding compensation or face a lawsuit. Cost approx $100-150 in lawyer fees. Or waived if you have a lawyer friend. You could also claim possible defamation, loss of earnings, etc coz you met someone who alerted you to the theft. She cld be yr witness. Also, perhaps you could look into using flash-based photo galleries.. that will make copying of yr photos practically impossible, if not more difficult. PM me if you need help on that. All the best to you !

2nd July 2009	#13
xziredmp Member Join Date: Oct 2006 Location: Singapore Posts: 574	Re: What would you do? but on their website is only actual day ? i mean people do make mistakes, and i do believe they do deserve a 2nd chance or even a chance to explain themselves. as much as i would love to know the full story, seems like everyone here is defending the mod/victim. and yes i know leeching is wrong too... but that doesnt mean it hasnt happened before right ? i've been in CS for quite a while, and seems like such things do happen now and then. It depends on how we handle the issue only. rather den just crucify the "whoever did it" and burn him alive. why not everyone just wait and listen what he has to say ? Last edited by xziredmp; 2nd July 2009 at 05:36 PM.

2nd July 2009	#14
Chris Lim Senior Member Join Date: Oct 2005 Posts: 3,021	Re: What would you do? Spoke to the guys from Vitalmomento and understand that the matter is being looked into at all levels. As such they have decided to shut the site down for the time being as well. So until further actions and corrections have been made. Lets all leave this for a moment and allow both parties involve to sort this out. No point adding fuel to the fire when all is very unclear to us as a 3rd party viewer. __________________ email: Chris@CoffeestainsPhotography.com Website: CoffeestainsPhotography

2nd July 2009	#15
euphoria2004 Member Join Date: Mar 2004 Posts: 278	Re: What would you do? Well i think i should back Yushin up on this, who happens to be my bro-in-law. Apparently, this guy was engaged by my BIL for RAW photos conversion all these while. That may explain why he had access to all the high resolution photos. But according to the latest post in SGBride, he claimed that someone else has sabotaged him??? See link . Lets see what he has to say. Waiting for a good explanation from him. __________________ Work-www.topixstudio.com.sg Blog-stanleykls.blogspot.com Last edited by euphoria2004; 2nd July 2009 at 08:25 PM.

2nd July 2009	#16
knoxknocks Moderator Join Date: Sep 2004 Location: lalaland Posts: 3,906	Re: What would you do? Mob lynching was not the intended objective of this thread. I was truly hoping for some ideas on how to deal with this but it appears that legal recourse is the best option at this juncture, although I'm not out for blood. This issue does not have anything to do with being a mod. Mods are human beings too, and mods who photograph for a living need to put food on the table. I'm all for giving 2nd chances, but I'd also like to make sure that what has happened to me does not happen to someone else easily. On a selfish note, I have my interests to protect too! Whilst I don't rule out extenuating circumstances, I would certainly like someone to own up to this and take responsibility for it so that he/she learns that this is not right. I think I've gotten a feel of what needs to be done. Locking the thread as it's served it's purpose. __________________ work.http://www.tinydotphotography.com . life. http://www.tinyjourneys.com. wpn. http://www.wpn.sg Last edited by knoxknocks; 2nd July 2009 at 08:29 PM.