Slightly better, fair. But I still rankle at very strict moral imperatives for paying for any form of reference or only using stock photos. I still don’t think it’s actually a healthy mindset to try to commodify all imagery to that degree and to limit interactions with imagery to that degree.
I’m not actually saying your instincts are not correct either, it’s more that we all live in a space with very different conflicting instincts about how we should approach these issues.
For instance I wouldn’t feel at all weird for charging for modeling or even for access to my photos in certain forums. (I am a person who is naked on the internet in a number of places.) But I would feel pretty weird about trying to charge someone just to paint or draw something using a photo that I took or a photo of myself. I do tend to mark my photos as such when appropriate.
I don’t like the idea at all that I just need to give up on a piece if I can’t put together everything I want from a stock site, or that I’m not allowed to be inspired by random finds. It’s just so clinical and pecuniary.
I might get an angry letter one day, I probably won’t ever be important enough to notice. It really is only a handful of works where I think it would even be possible for someone to notice.
I’m also not saying I’m right, just really tired and frustrated. I have terrible social anxiety. I don’t want to email randos. I don’t want to make anyone mad. But I also don’t want to work in strict constraints that feel super artificial and frankly paranoid after a point.
And the internet is full of people with even stricter ideas than you have. There really is no safe line in the IP discussion. Even taking your own photos there are people who believe you should get the permission of architects, clothing designers, or furniture designers. That you can’t paint objects or clothing you own if they are or use recognizable characters or design elements. I’ve had a copywrite claim on a painted self portrait because I was holding a Hello Kitty doll in it.
I’m admittedly over emotional about the subject based on my anxiety issues.
