Why is it wrong to re-edit a photographer's image?

As a photographer or aka digital creator. As we can’t control our images being edited. We pride myself with the work we put out in the world ( social media). With the point showcasing another masterpiece. But what happens when someone change our work. This is not a good thing. Some photographers including myself spend hours if not days editing an image. But what happens when someone else edits one of your images? Well, there is nothing that you can really do. You can send a message to the person and let them know what they have done. But I can guarantee they already aware of what they have done. So, why is it that people re-edit a photographer's photo? Okay, so let me throw out some hypotheticals.

Okay, let’s look at this on the other hand. You seen a colorful image on social media and figured it would be better in black-and-white? Now, the photographer who posted the image vision was for this beautiful, colorful image and was proud of their work. But you feel the image would also look good in black and white, so you download the image and add your two cents to their work. So, is this wrong? Well, not really. What makes it wrong is when you send it out in the world as the original image owner's work or you take full credit as if it was your work without the photographer's consent.

Okay, so let's look at it in another way. What if you had hired a professional photographer for your family photos and you got the images from them and started posting them on social media, and you do not want to have all the pictures in color? So, with your professional editing skills on your phone (joking). You turn them to black and white with one touch of a button. Then, post them on social media as the professional photographer works. There is a strong emphasis on the name, professional, which means he has years and scale set on photo editing.

Yes, it’s the photographer's work, BUT you altered it, and it’s no longer the photographer's work.

Now, most photographers, including myself, would not care what you do with your photos. But here comes that work BUT, it’s really not the photographer work. So, if a potential client looks at your photos, the photographer did it for you on social media and knows what a good edit is. The photographer may lose out on a client with your amateur photo editing of the photographer's work.

Now, if you’re thinking, it’s my photos and I can do what I want with them, which is true. But let’s try this. Ask if the photographer can do some black and white during the consultation with the Photographer. Or if you have already done the shoot and got your photos. Put a little disclaimer that you have added some of the photographer's work.

Ok, ok, last idea. Maybe you hired a photographer who is still learning photography because they were in your price range. You do the session with them, and you receive your photos. The photos were not what you envisioned from the shoot. So you try to make them look better by doing a little editing of your own.

So, I am saying. maybe think about re-editing a photographer's photo and posting it on social media as the photographer's work.