As a House Sitter, Is it necessary for me to get permission from Home Owners to post photos of their pets on my Profile? So far, I have asked my HOs’ as a courtesy but I’m wondering if there may be any ramifications if I post photos without their consent?
In the UK, ( and probably around the world), there is something known as Intellectual Property. This includes photographs. If you’ve taken them, the images are yours.
As an amateur photographer, I make it my business to know this. So @Provence your reply is not strictly accurate I’m afraid.
I take photos of the HOs’ dogs with my pro equipment and if I want to use them, I will. The images are mine. One HO has even used one of my photos of her dog on her advertisement on THS! she has never asked me for my permission to do this. I could make a fuss bu5 I’ve house sat for her several times now. Plus it’s a great photo … but it’s still mine!
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You are misinformed. My photos are mine. I’ll use them as and when I want. Taking photographs of children or of vulnerable adults, or of landmarks which might identify HomeOwners’ personal information or location is something I would never do, but taking a photo of their tabby and posting it on my face group to friends is my business. If they ask me not to take photos, fine, I have no issue with that. I take photographs at major dog shows throughout the UK and at Crufts and the Kennel Club in the Uk gives me express permission to do this. As long as I don’t then try to sell those images for profit I am free to put those photographs where I please. They are my Intellectual Property. They remain so until and unless I sell them.
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In the US, photos are intellectual property of the photographer and they retain the copyright to that photo. Photos that contain the likeness of people, cannot be used to sell or promote a product or service without the person’s consent.
Photos taken in public are public and have no expectation for privacy.
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I’d be more concerned about dog owners for whom I’ve taken a beautiful photograph of their dog, spent hours editing it in Adobe Photoshop, carefully placing my watermark on the image to identify it as my property. Then I find that they have tried to remove that watermark and the data embedded and passed it off as their own or are taking full credit for it without any reference to me at all. The images are my intellectual property and remain so.
@lmhale thank you for asking, great question.
I’ve checked with Membership Services to see if there is anything in TrustedHousesitters T&C’s regarding this and the team’s guidance is this, “while it is not compulsory It is both polite and considerate to ask the owner’s permission to publicly share any photographs you have taken on a sit”
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Thank you, Angela, for clarifying this matter. I will certainly continue to follow the TH guidelines.
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Hi. I choose to always ask the pet owner if I can use any photos of their pet I’ve taken for my blog. I assure them that the focus will be the pet, and not their home. One owner asked that I copyright mark each photo, she explained why, and I complied. I also note on each blog post that I have that permission. Regardless of any legal aspect, that is my comfort level. I also choose not to use any of those photos on my profile listing. I use photos of animals where I have not been the sitter. Again, my comments are my approach, rather than any legal comment.
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Similar to @Snowbird, we always ask. It’s one of our video chat questions because, by then, the HO has generally viewed our housesitting page. We can refer to that and ask if it would be OK to post their pets’ photos there as well. All HOs have agreed, but one asked to see the photo first. I just realized, while reading this question, that I had NOT shown the photo to that HO before posting and became very upset with myself. Thankfully, the HO had already seen it and liked it, and when I sent an apology note she replied that she couldn’t even remember making that request and all was good. Phew! But I would never want to post and have an HO discover the photo and be upset. To me, it’s just courteous and the right thing to do to check first.
There you are @Provence, there is no ‘must’ requirement to ask a HO if you can use a photo of their pet you’ve taken. It might be polite to do so, but legally, you are not obliged to do so.
Hi @Provence … I ask permission for House Sitting Magazine because I do not own the photos. Out of respect I would not post a picture (or a quote) that belonged to someone else without first asking them. Other photos come from photo websites where permission is granted to use without credit.
I ask our homeowners if we can post pictures on our personal website and social channels, again out of respect. We personally don’t take photos that would identify a home or the people that live there.
If you search online you’ll find all the info you need about this and it can vary in different situations. If you take a photo in a crowded street, you don’t ask each of the people in that photo if you can use it, but sometimes you are asked in public places not to take photos, some museums etc. There are so many privacy “rules” these days it’s sometimes hard to find your way through it all, but I’m with the THS guidance… it’s polite and considerate to ask 