A quiet moment in a Phoenix coffee shop made me rethink a habit I thought was harmless.

I was sitting there, finishing a project for a client, and I realized I'd been using a picture of a local mural from a photographer's blog for three years without ever asking or paying them. The credit line was tiny, and I figured it was fine since I wasn't selling it. Then I saw a post from the actual artist, talking about how often their work gets taken and how it hurts small creators. It wasn't a legal thing, it just felt cheap. How do you guys handle using other people's creative work when you're not making money from it?

4 comments

4 Comments

the_wendy4mo ago

Just ask, it's easier than feeling cheap later.

jana_shah1mo ago

People act like not asking is some huge character flaw but it's really not that deep. Maybe someone just doesn't want to bother the other person or they're still figuring out what they actually want. Plenty of folks skip asking and still feel fine about it later.

jade_jenkins4mo ago

Totally, @the_wendy is right. Just be direct.

jasonallen4mo ago

Asking can backfire if the person is bad at saying no. Some people feel pressured to agree even when they don't want to. You might get a yes but create quiet resentment. It's not always the clean fix people make it out to be.