Everyone has a limit to their patience, and it seems we may have reached ours.
It has been brought to our knowledge that a certain other photographer in Singapore has been indulging in less than ethical business practices, and has literally been copying almost every single element of our photography style in their maternity sessions without giving us the slightest hint of credit.
At first, when that photographer was brought to our attention, we gave them the benefit of the doubt. Perhaps they were merely inspired by us, or by other photographers similar to us, who specialize in a rustic and Bohemian style of maternity photography. But then, we noticed other styling elements like throw pillows and blankets, wall-hanging decor such as flower wreaths and macrame wall hangings (placed in exactly the same position as they were in our photographs, mind you) and even the outfits of our mummies, being almost precisely replicated. Finally, there were some of our favourite poses for our mummies and daddies that were being imitated, as well as our social media posting style down to eerily similar captions!
We put our heart and soul into creating our own personal style of photography, and have taken many small steps over the years to relentlessly improve on our range of photography session offerings. Sure, we have also been inspired by our own share of mentors, and have taken great pains to giving them credit for their work. Many of the elements our mummies and daddies have grown accustomed to such as our “signature” poses, newborn props, maternity outfits and even deliverables such as our {Memory Box} and packaging style have been painstakingly refined over several years of experimentation. This is why we are so thoroughly upset and somewhat disheartened when another photographer just takes all the elements we’ve perfected over time, and copied them in such a deliberate fashion.
While other professional photographers we’ve spoken with on this issue have advised us to do everything from letting bygones be bygones, to taking legal action, we don’t think those are the most ideal ways for us to move forward at this point. So here we are, hoping to inform and educate our current and potential clientele that there is a copycat in our midsts.
We genuinely hope nobody has mistakenly enquired with or tried to book a session with this other photographer thinking that it was us they were engaging. Or if you were hoping to get a similar style of photography and service from them but were disappointed due to your expectations of the Bows and Ribbons Photography experience, we apologize.
Let’s just clarify one thing: We really don’t mind other photographers taking an idea or two from us and using it in their work if it inspires them. We don’t want any credit. What we will not accept is if your business model relies so blatantly on outright copying.
To the photographers in question (if they should read this): If copying the work of others is your idea of running a photography business, you really should consider whether you’re doing this for the right reasons. Because if it’s someone else’s passion your channeling, or someone’s work you’re claiming credit for, you’ll eventually wear yourself out from exhaustion since you really aren’t doing anything to satisfy your own personal desire and ambition to create.
If you’ve read all the way and stuck with us through this slightly long post, we would like to thank you for supporting us and for being as invested in our work as we have been all these years. If you were surprised to see us veering towards bitterness in this post, we’re sorry about that. We’re really just human–we hurt when something gets stolen from us, we get upset sometimes, and we, hopefully, grow. Especially so when it’s something that means so much to us.