Photographers, are your online image proofs costing you more than you realize? Pat Miller dives straight into the revenue-killing screenshot epidemic with volume photography expert Carl Bott.

Episode Highlights 🎤💡:

(04:41) - The screenshot theft problem

(08:49) - AI watermark removal is accelerating

(12:55) - What happens when clients get caught

Connect with Pat Miller ⬇

LinkedIn | Website

Connect with Carl Bott ⬇

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I'm Pat Miller and this is The Professional Photographer podcast. There's something really bad going on and I think in your heart you know that it's happening, but it's bigger and worse than you think. Right now your clients are stealing from you. If you deliver your images to your clients online, inviting them the opportunity to buy that image because it's got your watermark on it, they can't steal it and like, use it, right? Wrong. They can and they do. Today's guest, Carl Bott, is all over this. He shares just how prevalent this situation is and it's literally costing you money. But unlike all of us that might just say, you know, this stinks. I wish someone would do something about it. Carl actually did. He built a piece of software called SnapShield and it is solving this problem like that and it's going to protect you and your images, not only for what's happening now, but six months from now, where will AI watermark removers be? Way better than they are today. Carl is on top of it, and he's going to share everything about it here live at Imaging USA 2026 inside the Sony Cinema Line studio using the monitor and control app. They made us look so good. Big thanks to Sony for setting it up. Okay, Carl is standing by. We'll get to him next. Carl, welcome to the show, man. How are you?

Yeah, thanks. Doing well, Pat. Appreciate being here, appreciate the opportunity, and yeah, things are going well.

It's kind of fun to do it in person at Imaging USA. Has it been a good conference for you so far?

Oh, my gosh. Imaging is, I mean, it's the leader, right? It's most people biggest expo. You know, honestly, the speakers are incredible. Yeah, it's just, it's been great. I mean, the Expo is always my favorite part, so.

Oh my gosh, you could get lost in there.

It's insane. Just, I need extra coffee just to just get through it.

Refill. Halfway through. Earlier this morning, my wife, who's a photographer, she came up to me and she's like, well, I went to the Expo and like, how did it go? Well, I got a few things. A few things turned out to be Santa's Christmas list rolling down the steps, but that's what it's there for.

Yeah, yeah, it's more dangerous because I live here, so I don't have to ship anything, so I can just take it home. Yeah, it's dangerous for sure.

Just throw it in the back.

Yep.

Excellent. We're going to talk about an Industry trend. That is not good news. In a minute. Yeah, but you're doing something to fix it. That is the good news. But before we get to that, if someone hasn't met you yet, tell them who you are and what you do.

Yeah. So, Carl Bott. I own Legacy Photo Company here in Nashville and we are a high volume photography company. We work with youth leagues, little league programs, schools, dance studios. Basically the way I explain volume to people that aren't familiar with it is any that creates a line. So obviously we're not lining up weddings, we're not lining up birthday parties. So. But we are on track. We're contracted for almost 100,000 kids. So we're a fairly, fairly large company.

Wow.

Yeah. And considering 10 years ago I was sleeping in the streets in Nashville for about eight weeks, I was homeless. To now owning this company that's just thriving. It's been an incredible journey. So that's kind of, that's my story in a nutshell.

Yeah. That's incredible. Incredible story. Congratulations on the success.

Thank you. Thank you.

It's really exciting. 100,000 kids. That's a lot of kids.

Yeah. Yeah. It definitely keeps us busy. We've got a great team. I've brought some of my team here to imaging so they can see the bigger spectrum of just the hustle and bustle of what they're used to every day. So it's been incredible for them to see this. And yeah, it's been good.

I'm trying to do the math in my head, but that's more than 1% of the kids in Nashville. We're talking high single digits of all children in Nashville are your clients.

Yeah. So Davidson county alone, which is the county right here in Nashville, has about 130 schools. So it's, I mean it's, it's massive. And, and we, we really don't even do a ton of work here in Nashville. It's a lot of the outer cities. Sure. And so it's, it's just crazy. Like we, we've just scratched the surface of what we actually could be doing here in Tennessee.

So, yeah, congrats on the success.

Thank you very, we're very blessed.

And because you have a hundred thousand kids, you see today's industry trend problem up close every day and you did something about it. So I had not heard of the screenshot situation. Give us the background before you share the fix. What is going on?

Yeah, so I don't know that this is necessarily happening in the portrait realm as much as it is the volume side of things. But what we're finding is a lot of the parents are taking screenshots of their images online. So those photographers that are using proofing parents are going online screenshotting the image, and then they're using AI and other artists outside of the country to remove those watermarks because it's cheaper to go on fiverr and, you know, pay them $5 to remove the watermark than it is to pay US$100 for the download. All right, so that's really been the issue. And it's, it's copyright, it's theft. A lot of it is education. I mean, I think there's, you know, there's honest people that are doing it that just truthfully don't understand and don't know that that's the theft. But, you know, there's some that just don't care. And so that's, that's really the battle on a volume side that we're running into. And truthfully, just seeing this trend coming up, I mean, I would give it three to five years. And our industry's in a lot of trouble if we don't stop this now. You know, it's one of those issues that we can't wait until it becomes a major issue because at that point it's too late.

Yeah, I think when you talk to a creator, it's easy to understand this is theft. Of course they're stealing your work. When you think of it as a consumer, it is somewhat a part of the culture that I'm old enough to live through the Napster days. Right. So, you know, kind of old. But when that whole first generation of stealing content started, I remember being of the age of, well, I'm just going to download the album. I've got it on Napster, whatever it might be. And there was a little backlash of it, but it seems as though as we've moved forward, it has become way more normalized to just right click and save someone's photo on Twitter and reshare it or whatever it might be. But like I say, when you talk to a creator, especially at an imaging or an environment like this, it's very grounding to understand who you're actually taking from. So it's not just an industry issue. It's, as you say, it's also a cultural issue.

Yeah, yeah. And I think that's the biggest thing is the more that it becomes a norm and we set that precedent, the harder it's going to be to dial it back, to say, hey, pump the brakes. This isn't supposed to be happening. You know, this is theft because it's kind of like the music industry where people were downloading music illegally. You had a lot of honest people that were doing it just because everybody else was. And so, yeah, it became a social norm. It became okay to do and people just didn't understand, you know, the impact it was making on these artists. And it's hard enough being in the creative realm, you know, so it's like this is just adding a whole nother level of difficulty to the jobs that we do and how we support our families.

I love the fix that you have and we're going to talk about it in a second. But you talked about how fast all of this is coming on. As Generative AI improves, it won't be long until I'm right click and saving and it prompts me before it even downloads it. Would you like me to clean this up? Would you like me to put bunnies on it or whatever? It might be like the technology's coming so quick. If we don't find a way to fight, could lap us.

Yeah, yeah, absolutely. And we're already seeing the trend of a lot of photographers volume photographers that are going from proofing to prepay on paper order form. So they have to pay up front in order to even see their photos. Just to give you an example, when I was doing prepay order forms, I was making about $22 an order. Now that I'm with got photo and I'm doing proofing, I'm at like a 54, $55 average. And so it's a massive increase because the parents, they, they know, they want the photo. So the ones that are, are honest and that are purchasing them the way that we're expecting them to. Yeah, it's an incredible change to go to proofing, but we now have to weigh in. Okay, does that 30 increase offset the theft that's happening? Because we're online right now? I still say yes, I think, I think it is. But again, a couple years from now, as this becomes a trend, I think that goes away completely.

Yeah.

So yeah, it's, it's an issue.

What you've created is almost going on offense in a way. You're not doing an education campaign. Hey guys, you really shouldn't. You're dismantling their opportunity to steal the images. So tell us about SnapShield and what it does because I want to hear the backstory of how you built it. But let's start with what the product is and what it does.

Yeah, so SnapShield is a, it's a screenshot protection. It's unfortunately not prevention because there are some privacy laws, especially with the. With mobile. You know, there's. There's some things there, but it's. It's a huge protection. So what it does, there's two different. There's two different options that you can choose. You can choose a blackout option. So anytime they try to take a screenshot, it's actually going to black out the screen.

Wow.

Before they can actually take the. The screenshot itself.

Yeah.

And then there's a blur option. So if you don't want to use the blackout because you're afraid somebody's going to a snip, which again, it's an external thing, so it's not completely foolproof, but it's that next layer of protection. So the blur option actually blurs half of the image. And then when they press a button, it says, see the top of the image. It'll actually flip it so they can see the top. And so it gives them an option to see the entire image, but if they screenshot it, they're actually getting a blurred image, so it doesn't matter. But there's a. Before that, even it actually. Going back to the education piece, there's an option to build in consent boxes. And so before they even look at the images, a consent box comes up and it's fully customizable. So you can say something along the lines of, you know, just to let you know, screenshotting is. Is a copyright issue. We feed our families this way, you know, however you want to label it. And then they actually have to consent to that before they ever see their images.

So smart.

And so for me, it was one of those. The ones that are kind of on the fence and they're being honest, but they're still doing. They're going to instantly say, ah, there's that little piece of guilt that hopefully keeps them honest. Sure. Now, let's say they go on. They say, I don't really care. They still do a screenshot. What SnapShield does is actually sends a report back to the photographer that lets them know that a screenshot was attempted along with, currently it's pretty foolproof on GotPhoto. Again, I only say GotPhoto because that's a platform that I use. And so it was very easy to go in and test that. But we're trying to integrate this with some of the other bigger, bigger platforms as well. So it actually extracts the access code. So I know the child that was, you know, the screenshot was being attempted on. I've got their IP address. And so I have that proof that, nope, this was in fact you. And then there's a send to evidence. So for every event that happens, I can actually click that send to evidence button and it compiles it all into a folder. So now when I remove the photos online and I call Mom and I say, hey, I just want to let you know, you know, we've removed your photos. We've. We've recognized that there's been some activity of screenshots on your account. And mom comes back and says, well, yeah, I accidentally this and that and the other. It's like, well, you did it 52 times, so I don't know that that was an accident. But we'll send you out a paper order form, you know, if you want to pay us for this, you know, so on. But like you said, it puts the photographers back on the offensive side versus waiting for it to show up in a Facebook group where they're doing watermark removal. And then all of a sudden we're trying to chase these people that the work's already been done. Yeah, I mean, at that point, truthfully, I think the watermarks are, you know, the old film cameras. It's just kind of a dying, dying thing. Not to say that we shouldn't use watermarks. We still should, even with SnapShield. But we have to get to the point where we're starting to protect and prevent these screenshots from happening to begin with.

So if 10 people try and steal one of the photos and they get caught, how many of those 10 end up saying, oh, my bad, I'll buy it? Do they all, once they're caught, they're like, okay, fine, here's my money. Or do some of them get mad and go away? What's been your experience?

Yeah, so what we do is we, we put a little pressure on them, you know, and so I've got it in my terms and conditions. Our download all for our sports is $99. We actually put it in our terms and conditions that if you are caught screenshotting, you owe us double what that, you know, original price was right. If you get pulled over, that's your slap on the hand. That's your ticket. Okay, Go pay your ticket. Do you know, do your due process. You got caught, right? No harm, no foul. We're not going to mark your account. So now you owe us 198. We're going to send that in an invoice that's due in 15 days, if you don't pay the invoice, then we're going to proceed and say, hey, look, obviously you're okay with stealing this. So now we need to push this further, you know, and if we need to get an attorney and take this to small claims, and we take it to small claims. But, you know, and it's so unfortunate that that's where we're at. But again, I think if we don't start pushing back on this, we're allowing it to happen, we're creating bad behavior, and we're going to lose our industry. And that's. That's a terrifying part to me. I mean, we've poured our hearts and souls into. I mean, look at imaging. There's what, 10,000 people here?

Yeah.

I mean, goodness, you know, so there's a lot of people that are riding on these photos to support their families, and we're just, you know, we got to do something.

So putting it in the terms and conditions is brilliant. And I guess I'm trying to get after. How do they react when they're busted? Like, I'm trying to figure out, do they feel, oh, I'm sorry, here's my money, or do they get belligerent about it? Like, what has been your experience?

Yeah, so I. I've had one that was. That was very upset, you know, that I was spying on them and so on. So, you know, we. There's going to be excuses. Right. Most everybody. It's always. It's a mistake. I didn't mean to, you know, this, that and the other. And. And so, you know, we try to just, you know, take that with a grain of salt again. But that's where the reporting comes in. If they. If they pressed it two or, you know, two times, then, yes, they. They probably accidentally pressed a button that, you know, they weren't supposed to. Sure. But again, if they come, it comes back and it was done 30 times.

Yeah.

I've got a little more leverage to say, you know, that's not the case. Like I said, most people now that they press that consent button, I think it puts them on the guard and they know if they're reached out to, they don't really have a leg to stand on. So, again, makes it easier for us to have that conversation.

It's awesome that you did this to address a problem that you have seen and others have seen as well. So you're doing something about it. So plus one for being, you know, aggressive about it and figuring it out. But how did you do it? Are You a coder at heart or like, how did this all come to be?

Yeah, no, I'm not. So. But you know, when I first started in photography, I wasn't a trained photographer. I worked for a company and I just kind of fell in love with the industry and I got good at it. You know, I'm a sales guy, I worked in sales, I did door to door sales. You know, I'm good with people, I love working with people. So when it came to the coding side of things, we had built a couple apps just for photographers on the volume side to, you know, help with spreadsheets and you know, help with separ, operating team photos, things like that. So just really small apps. And then I said, well, okay, I'm starting to kind of get this knowledge on, you know, the coding side. So, you know, let's, let's take a stab at this. And I mean it's, it's been probably a year and a half, two years now. I've been really working on this. So it's, it's, it's been a process but it's, it's really come out to something that I'm very proud of.

But you should be. I would imagine that if a photographer used this, they can plot from here to here where their revenue goes because the theft is gone, the leakage is gone. I don't know if you know any numbers or can you share a success story or either in your experience or someone else's experience of I didn't have the tool, now I have the tool and here's what it did for me.

Yeah, in fact I, I had somebody that purchased it and she actually held off. She had a director that wanted a. All access code to see all the photos and she was really nervous about it. And so she reached out to me and she says, hey, how would this work situation? So I told her, I said, well, you know, if they have the one single access, it'll let you know as long as it's specific to that person. And sure enough, she had, I think it was 30 or 40 screenshots that came through. And so she was right on point that that's what was going to happen. And so she reached out to him and sent him a bill, you know, and so, yeah, I mean it's, it's absolutely working lifetime with real photographers. And you know, I mean, as sad as I was that it happened, I was glad that she had that, you know, feedback and protection to be able to say, okay, I'm not accusing you, I, this actually is Truth, you know, so it's, it's not, you know, because I feel like so much of, so many of us are just in the dark and not knowing actually what's going on. So again, it gives us that confidence that, you know, we can stand behind.

Being a hustler, good salesperson, problem solver. I can see why you solved it, but I'm curious, if everyone knew this was going on, why wasn't it solved before you came along? And I don't mean that disrespectfully, like, good for you, but if everyone knew this was going on, I would think someone would have solved this by now.

Yeah, I mean, there's. There's some stuff out there. I know Waldo Pro has, you know, built into their program. You know, they've got a protection. The difficulty is if it's not app based, then you really can't, like, you can't detect mechanical presses. And, you know, there's so many limitations. So a lot of these platforms aren't thinking app based, they're thinking web based because there's so many benefits to that. So now they're having to completely restructure to fit everything into an app. And so, you know, if you think of Captura and got photo and photo day and all these, you know, big companies, it's. It's a task, you know, to try and reinvent the wheel now and go back in time and kind of almost start over. So, you know, I think that's a big piece of it. But yeah, I think some of us are still in that mindset of, well, it's not really a huge problem right now. Whereas again, I'm trying to look at the trends and say, yeah, but once it is a problem, it's too late, you know, and so that's why I wanted to jump on it. And honestly, I was talking to someone the other day, I feel like I'm almost a year behind. Like, I wish I would have had this last year because then we could have really nipped it in the bud before it got, you know, to be a hot topic.

Well, if you think about your hundred thousand kids that you have under contract, if 5% of them are right click and saving like, or trying to at least, that's 5,000 people at 100 bucks ahead. It's a $50,000 problem. I think I did that math right. 5,000 times 100. Yeah, that's 50,000. Yeah, yeah.

Much. It's way too much. I don't care if it's 5,000. It's too much, right?

And I'm sure if I wanted the software, it's not $50,000 a year.

No, yeah, no, it's. So right now we've got it priced. We've got two different levels. One's at 19 a month and–

Wait, hold on.

What? I know,

Okay, sorry, I didn't mean to interrupt but like, okay, 19 bucks a month.

And yeah, so that gets you the protection. So that'll get you the blackout, the pop ups and the, the blur options and then the $30 a month, $29 a month is going to get you the reporting. So again, truthfully, I think the reporting is the meat and bones of it. I think the, the, the blur and the blackouts are definitely deterrence. I think it's going to make people think twice. I think the pop ups are also going to make people think twice. It's going to keep the honest people honest. Right? And then the reporting is really kind of the heart and soul of the platform. That's what gives us the offensive side to say, look, I know this is happening. So. But yeah, for $29 a month. I mean and we do have yearly options. So I tried to make this as affordable as possible. Right. You actually get two months for free. So the yearly for the reporting is 290 and then it'd be 190 for the protection.

So that's, that's crazy. That's crazy. And so affordable. I mean one session with 200 soccer kids and you stop some of this theft could easily pay for it.

Yeah. And that was, that was kind of my thought with it was, you know, at the 390, I mean if you're doing a download all the hundred dollars, if you, if you save four screenshots a year, you just paid for the entire program for sure.

So yeah, if someone wants it, where do they get it?

Yeah, It's a get snapshield.com, yeah, it's pretty easy to sign up and if anyone has any questions, I'm so easy to find. Tall ginger with a Hawaiian shirt. So you can't miss it. No, you can't, you can't. But I've also got, I've got a Coffee with Carl Facebook page, and I also have a YouTube channel that's called Coffee with Carl as well. I do a lot of tutorials and stuff on there on automation sales. But yeah, I love talking to people. I love mentoring, I love teaching. I think that's, that's why the good Lord put me here.

Congratulations on your success. Thank you for leading the industry and thanks for coming on.

Yeah, absolutely. I appreciate it.

Thanks for tuning in to this week's episode of The Professional Photographer Podcast. Live from Imaging USA inside the Sony Cinema Line Studios. A big thanks to Sony for doing all the hard work to make us look good now. Now, if you're still watching the episode, that means you enjoyed the show, which means you should be a subscriber of the show. So click subscribe on whatever platform you're on. Also, leave us a like and a comment so we know what the guest said that really resonated with you. The other thing is, if you're not yet a member of Professional Photographers of America, what's going on here? Because PPA offers terrific benefits like incredible equipment insurance topics, top notch education, and a supportive community of photographers ready to help you succeed. Join now at ppa.com. That's ppa.com. I'm Pat Miller, host to the show and the founder of the Small Business Owners Community. I appreciate you tuning in. We'll see you right here next time. Take care.