06/01/2026
As a small business owner and professional photographer, I believe strongly in supporting and uplifting fellow creatives. Photography is so much more than simply taking a photo — it involves countless hours of planning, designing, investing, marketing, and creating something unique from the ground up.
Recently, I became aware that promotional images from one of my custom kindergarten graduation sets — featuring my own child — were shared and used by another business to advertise their own services without my permission. While inspiration is a natural part of any creative industry, there is an important distinction between being inspired by someone’s work and using another artist’s images as your own marketing material.
I wanted to take this opportunity to gently educate and remind others of a few important things:
• Photographs are protected creative work and cannot legally be copied, reposted, or used for advertising without the creator’s permission.
• Images of children should never be used for business promotion without proper consent from a parent or legal guardian.
• Supporting fellow creatives means respecting the time, effort, and investment that goes into original work.
As photographers, we all bring something unique to the industry, and there is room for everyone to succeed while still operating with professionalism, honesty, and integrity.
To my wonderful clients and supporters — thank you for continuing to value original work, trust small businesses, and support ethical creative practices. It truly means the world to me.
