I have a question mainly about putting photography on the internet. I'd like to post some pictures on a photoblog, and offer high-res versions for people to use as a background if they'd like. The problem is, is there any way to stop people from just stealing these and claiming them as their own? Obviously, I could put watermarks on the pictures, but that'd really take away from the effect. If somebody were to steal an image, how could I prove that I'm the rightful owner? I'll take any advice you have to offer.
How are you offering this on the photoblog? Free or pay per download? Are you in control of the photoblog? Can you code? Is there a signature on the image? What are your terms of use for the image (back link, etc...)? How would you define stolen (not paid for, false signature applied, false credit caption)? There is no way to completely ensure that your images can't be stolen. Depending on how you plan to offer these images you can do some things to make it less "stealable". However, if you are just going to give it out for free, then there's not a lot you can do. At best, you can keep the casual thief from taking it. People that know what they are doing will always be able to get it. As far as proving that you are the owner. If you have not given it out yet, post it on a private site with a time/date stamp. Put it in an envelope and mail it to yourself (do not open it). Fill out and pay for the copyright forms. That can be expensive, but while copyright was attached the moment you made the image it can be hard to enforce without proof. What software did you create it in? If it is photoshop, it might not be a bad idea to mail yourself the PSD file with the separate layers (if that is how it is). That would be more difficult to fake with a complex picture (more difficult than a fake date stamp). If you created it in photoshop, consider using it in its various stages for a tutorial post. Then you would have a page that shows not just the final product, but the development stages as well. Even having the copyright forms signed, submitted, and approved is no gaurantee that your copyright would hold up in court, but every little bit helps.
I have had several images ripped from my site and that is why I only post fairly low quality images to the web. If you want to "give away" larger versions of your photos for wallpapers etc, then I would recommend that you do the following: Put a watermark of some sort on them. Only offer 1280x1024 as the maximum size. Only upload low quality jpg images (set the jpg compression to be quite high - say 50-60%) Make sure you embed your copyright info into the EXIF of every picture. Make the terms very clear on your website about the allowed usage. You will not stop people "ripping them off" but you will make it so that they cannot derive a high quality image that has commercial value from your photos.