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Realism plagiarism guide. Need help
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Message
Posted
Hello, I am a newbie. I m keenly interested in creating realistic art from pictures that stir inspiration. The problem is that painting from a photograph taken by someone else, as per my knowledge, is considered plagiarism. I want to paint from the picture and not plagiarize. As when a writer refers to the original writer in his content so that plagiarism can be avoided, can anyone please guide me how I can refer the photographer when I create a realism from his work. OR is there another way to do realistic art.
P.S I believe painting from a photograph should not be considered plagiarism. Realism is the painting of what someone has already created either it is a vase in a photograph or a vase present at your home.
Posted
I believe that if you copy the photo directly you are creating a 'derivative work' and thus infringing the copyright of the person who owns the rights to the photo. You have a couple of options:
1) Take your own photos.
2) Buy the rights to the photo.
3) Use the photo, perhaps in conjunction with other photos, to create something that is sufficiently far from the photo that no one can tell.
For practical purposes, I expect you'd get away with painting from the photo as long as you don't try and sell the result.
Also, if the photo is of a commonly photographed scene or object, how would the relevant people know that you'd copied their photo and not someone elses.
Posted
So a painting from a photo is a "new creation'' - If only - it is for the courts to decide in each case based upon statutory provision and with reference to case law. To avoid uncertainty, whilst practising I would always advise (and still do) adopting the opposite as good practice - don't copy if you want to place the resulting artwork in the market place or you could find yourself in potential breach. My comments above apply.