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How to show samples of art photos to prospective buyers

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kw-kwcalm

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10.3
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How do professional photographers who want to show their work to prospective buyers provide
versions of the photos online, by DropBox, or email.


The buyers need to see a beautiful image online, but not be able to download an image to make their own 'quality' print.
I don't want to deface the photos with a watermark.


The photos are edited in Adobe Lightroom.

The originals are RW2, with resolutions for example 3968 × 2232

What is the best way to do this?

Thanks.
 
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kw-kwcalm said:
The buyers need to see a beautiful image online, but not be able to download an image to make their own 'quality' print.
Click to expand...

Be aware that if an image is viewable online, then it is downloadable (given a bit of technical know-how). The only way to prevent someone downloading and making a "quality" print is to only provide a low-resolution version. There is a trade-off between "quality" and "resolution", and only you can decide on an acceptable compromise between the two.
 
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prbimages said:
Be aware that if an image is viewable online, then it is downloadable (given a bit of technical know-how). The only way to prevent someone downloading and making a "quality" print is to only provide a low-resolution version. There is a trade-off between "quality" and "resolution", and only you can decide on an acceptable compromise between the two.
Click to expand...
Agreed. A good compromise is to have the long side of an image be between 1000 and 2000 pixels. Yes, they can make a print from a file of that size, but not necessarily a good quality print at a large size. And it looks good on most tablets. But I agree, if it is on the web, a crafty person can usually make use of it for printing.

--Ken
 
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Some services such as Fine Art America shows the customer a low res full image but then allows the customer to "zoom in" on a small section of the image to see that small portion a full uploaded resolution to check focus and detail.
 
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Also, since the customer is viewing with it's own screen and computer (PC, tablet or phone) you can almost be sure he won't sse the image exactly as you see it on your screen.
The customer's screen may not be correctly calibrated, or he might not be viewing the photo via a color managed application, the ambient light is different... And even on a calbrated screen screen with a color managed application, the image might still appear slightly different than on your screen...
The only way to be sure is to show it on your screen (but it's not what you want to do!).
 
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In other words it can't be done! That said, I can't remember the code because it's been too long but, I used to operate my own online image gallery (website). I had a script (code) that disabled right clicking on the site. I'm sure if you Google or Bing "disable right click java code" you can probably find the code.
Also, consider using something like Flickr where you can upload photos and designate who can access them and at what resolution. In the end make sure your clients understand that what they are seeing is not printable quality and to see good quality they need to visit you or pay for proofs that you control printing. That's what I used to do. As for watermark keep the opacity low and the client can still see what they need to see which is general composition and color. If they need to see more, than charge for a proof print or they come see you. That's the business.
Good luck
 
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As an aside, I wonder how well LRC's new "super resolution" feature would do trying to enhance a lower-resolution version of one of these prints ?
 
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You can disable right clicking, but if your user is savvy they can display the html, and it may then be possible to spot the url that takes you direct to the photo
 
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As soon as the image is displayed on the screen of the PC, it is somewhere IN the PC (in memory or in disk cache). Someone with enough knowledge will be able to copy it.
In short, as long as the image can be displayed on a PC, there is no way to fully avoid the image to be stolen and modified.
 
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Nothing is full proof. At best all attempts to block or disable downloading are like locking your house, hiring a security guard, and the death penalty, a deterrent at best.
 
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