At some point in her career, an escort may be unfortunate enough to experience the violation of having her images stolen. Anybody who has been through this negative experience knows what a problem it can be, and the distress it can cause.

In my time as a private escort I had my images stolen, and experienced first hand what it was like having my photos used in an unauthorised manner. Although unaware at the time that my images were being used by another escort, I was fortunate that one of my long term clients contacted me, alerting me of the fact. My first reaction was shock, which quickly turned to anger.

Having my images used by another escort upset me for many reasons. I had paid for a professional photographer, which I knew was such an important investment for my business. I worked very hard to establish myself as a reliable, professional and trustworthy escort, and now through the wrongdoing of somebody else there could be an element of doubt over the authenticity of me and my photos.

Above all, it was a violation of myself as an individual. Somebody was using me to promote their interests.

It is most unfortunate that some ladies do not have the imagination or the decency to come up with their own photography, and instead decide to steal the images of others. It is acts like these that make this industry so much harder for genuine trustworthy escorts to operate in, and harder for the clients.

Now as the director of Scarlet Blue, I see escorts on an almost daily basis submitting their profiles to our website, using images that do not belong to them. Some escorts have even taken this to a new level, submitting stolen “selfie” shots to make their images look even more authentic. But try as they may, Scarlet Blue will use all tools available to us to detect fake or stolen images, and reject the ladies who partake in this unacceptable and deceptive practice.

Why do these ladies take this path, when there are so many other options available? Escort photography does not need to cost the earth, nor does it have to be taken by a professional photographer. All it takes is a little bit of imagination, good lighting and a nice, sensual pose to capture a seductive image.

Some ladies feel it is okay to use photos of somebody else, to protect their privacy. Privacy concerns are still no excuse for using another person’s images. A good photographer will use light and shadow, careful pose and the right angles to produce an erotic, sensual image – all while hiding your identity.

If you want to minimise the chance of having your photos stolen, there are some important things you can do:

• watermark your photos. there are many photo tools you can use to make your own watermark, and you can select from a variety fonts to suit your personal style
• make sure that the escort websites you are advertising on use a watermark. most reputable escort directories will watermark your images, as they understand the importance of protecting them from theft and misuse.
• some websites that do not use a watermark will use a technology to disable the right click, in order to make it more difficult for people steal your images. Be aware that although this may minimise image theft, it is still very easy for people to get around this if they have just a little bit of computer knowledge.
• free classifieds are the number 1 place that escorts will use fake images, and they will be looking at stealing yours if they are not watermarked. Only use watermarked images on these classifieds sites.

In the end, the person who must be responsible for your images is yourself. So be aware of the risks of image theft, and take necessary steps to protect yourself.

In the event that your images have been stolen or used in an unauthorised manner:

• contact the website in question, and ask that the images be removed straight away.
• contact the person who used your images, and advise them that they are in breach of copyright laws.
• give them a time frame that they must have the images removed, and tell them if they don’t that you will be taking legal action.

For more information, a great blog can be found on KVA legal: Hey, Thats My Photo! The Importance of Owning Copyright.