05/09/2026
A really disheartening post to have to make today 😔
I’ve had two people send me posts from the same person advertising their pony for sale, using screenshots of photographs taken from my website.
My watermark very clearly states that screenshots of my photographs are stolen images. There really shouldn’t be any confusion about this.
I spend thousands of pounds on cameras, lenses and equipment to be able to provide the quality of images I do. I spend countless unpaid hours travelling to events, standing outside in all weathers, working long days, editing hundreds (sometimes thousands) of photographs and then staying up late uploading galleries so that you can have your photos available as quickly as possible.
I do this because I genuinely love photography and horses. My goal has always been to provide top quality images at affordable prices for ALL… which is something I take great pride in and would say I do very well and I’m incredibly proud of the business I’ve built.
But having my work simply screenshotted from my website and used elsewhere — particularly to advertise a pony for sale — is incredibly frustrating and, quite honestly, makes me question why I bother. Seeing this today has made me want to sell all my gear and not bother again.
Please understand that screenshots are not a free way of getting a photograph. They are theft of someone’s work.
If you want to use one of my images for advertising, social media, sale adverts or anything else, please purchase the image or contact me about licensing it. I’m always happy to help where I can.
From now on, I will be taking a much firmer stance on this. Anyone found using stolen/screenshot images of my work will be added to my ‘DO NOT PHOTOGRAPH’ list. This means I will not photograph that rider at future events.
I really don’t want to have to do this and make a ‘whingey’ post. I want people to enjoy their photographs and support small businesses like mine. But I also need to protect the time, money and effort that goes into creating them, because time and time again I’m having images stolen from me 🤯
Please don’t screenshot photographers’ work. If you love the image, buy it. ❤️
Thank you to the people who have taken the time to flag this to me today. I genuinely appreciate you looking out for my work 🫶🏼
**Photo of my beautiful daughter at BSPS Summer Champs last week.. I could’ve taken my camera but I didn’t.. I purchased photos taken by the Official Photographers because they are just 😍 and I appreciate all the time and effort put into this stunning image so thank you Equinational Photography!
