For a while I've wanted to pour out everything in my heart, but it's been bottled up. Out of fear, humiliation, and hurt. What I've encountered in the past few days is one of the hardest moments of my professional life, but I need to address this face-forward.
There are truth and lies swarming the internet and I need to take a moment to clear the air. But before I do that, I need to apologize to anyone I've offended. Knowing I've let people down is one of the hardest things to accept. Beyond all else, I've let myself down and the shame I feel is overwhelming.
Firstly, I need to address the most pressing matter at hand. For the past seven years I've blogged 1,500+ posts. I was passionate about creating a blog to share content I learned along the way. I placed an inordinate amount of pressure on myself to write and produce content every day. This {self-imposed} pressure led me to compromise my ethics and publish four blog posts using content I sourced from other blogs. I absolutely should have cited the sources, but didn't. I was wrong. I totally admit this is my fault and I'm humiliated by my actions.
The posts (three posts written in 2012 and one in 2013) were removed, I contacted the publishers of each blog, and I apologized. I offered to make amends any way I could and, thankfully, they responded gracefully.
Since then, a petition has started to remove my name from a list of speakers at WPPI. The petition is unnecessary because I've removed myself from the speaker list. This was a difficult decision to make, but I love this industry too much to see a group of people use my flaws to polarize photographers.
Secondly, those accusing me of stealing a photo to promote a workshop are wrong. I've never used someone else's photo as my own. In 2010, I was invited to speak at a workshop (hosted by a magazine and I was an invited guest) and they created marketing material on their own. The magazine used an image to promote the event. I spoke for free, gave of my time, and didn't have a say as to how the event would be promoted.
Thirdly, on August 16, 2013, I addressed and apologized for misleading my Twitter followers. You can read the entirety here:
Lastly, for anyone who has accused me of using a fake name is wrong. I was born Jasmine Star Juarez, and later changed it to Jasmine Star DeLaTorre (my married name). I've never hidden this fact, and have chosen to use my first and middle name for business purposes.
I appreciate those who've stood by my side during this time. It's been a humiliating lesson, but those who have encouraged me to move forward are priceless and I appreciate it more than I can express. My actions are entirely my own and I accept full culpability. These explanations aren't suppose to justify my actions, but merely commit to making better decisions and bring full disclosure to the situation. Again, my sincerest apologies.
But not without consequence...
"You have done a lot for photographers in this industry"
Correction: You have done a lot of harm to the photography industry.
Please wake up tdayley. I hope one day you will realise what a total fraud the Jasmine Star brand is.
You're a major inspiration to me Jasmine. I am behind you and I will continue to read your blog. Thank You for all your help.
Jasmine * is hot.
We are all trained professional photographers, well some of us are anyway. Mostly, we're not professional writers, bloggers, or speakers although this industry makes us feel like we all need to blog and spill our guts about how beautiful the event was, how beautiful the bride was, what emotions there were.... Blah blah blah. If your photography is good enough, your pictures should illustrate how beautiful the event was....
Mistakes made, apologies accepted, move along.
Did I mention Jasmine * is hot??
Yes she is.
So if she was less attractive, you would be less Okay with this?
Awesome...............................................ffs!
I love how her other apology for stealing tweets was not on her blog, but on her Facebook page and this apology is on someone else's blog. Man she has some rabid fans. She has built quite the brand on occasionally stealing tweets and content.
The tweets she posted were on Facebook, so it would make sense that she would apologize there vs. her blog. She posted her response here on Fstoppers because it has a greater reach to our industry than just her blog. I'd say doing what she has done takes a lot of courage. She is not trying to hide behind her fans on her blog. Instead she is putting herself out there in front of all of us and publicly admitting her mistake.
Well if it was on her blog, then brides would see it. This way she keeps both clients separate and the PR continues.
The articles that were on her blog that she is being criticized for were for the education of photographers. It is photographers attacking her, not clients. It would only make sense she address photographers, not clients. Stop trying to find more reasons to criticize her. Do something else with your day.
can i get an amen?
I have never heard of this person until yesterday but I think some people are dismissing her past (multiple)actions just because she issued an apology.
What she did was not a MISTAKE. She did it intentionally and many times. That being said, I don't think she needs to keep getting beaten up over it. If she does it again, or more things come out against her, then by all means... have your witch hunt.
The thing that irritates me more are her supporters. You sit here and defend her and say that people make mistakes and people can change but I honestly get the impression that she's getting a pass because she's somewhat attractive or has a bit of notoriety. People's hard work, whether it be words, pictures or other intellectual work gets stolen every day by people you have probably never heard of before and may never really know until it's blown into a big media storm.What she did was no different than any other theft of I.P. and it's one of the things that any creative artist community should fully stand up to and make an example of to protect integrity.
Just because an attractive and/or nice person stole another's work, it's still stolen.
That's a part of her brand.
Don't know her, don't follow her career, gay male.
I support her because she's owned up to a mistake and would like to move along. As another human being who's made his own fair share of mistakes, I empathize. But hey, if you're perfect, congratulations. I suppose that's admirable.
So if I admit I'm imperfect, I can steal your work, make money from it and inspire others, you'll be okay with that?
Steal my work, then apologize for it sincerely, and yes you'll be forgiven. That's what good people do Jason.
I hope you're not serious...
I don't take anonymous posters seriously, that's for sure.
Yeah well you can't take Showiteers seriously either.
Awesome! Look at all the court cases we can throw out now.
All you have to do is apologize and everything is just peachy. No repercussions, no penalties, just an apology for something you have done multiple times over a year's time and throughout 1500 blog posts and only apologize for after being called out.
You have just solved the world's problems in one sentence. +1 Internets to you.
/End Sarcasm
My problem isn't even with Jasmine. It's with her followers/defenders and their blasé attitudes about what transpired.
Also, it wasn't my content that she stole so I am in no place to forgive. I have never purchased her work or attended her seminars. She owes me nothing. I can judge her/his/their actions because these people make money from clients and followers based on their trust and assumptions that she is the real deal.
I have no doubts she and the others will rebound just fine and more power to them. This can only help them by making them stronger and more aware of how to proceed in the future.
I don't even come close to pretending to be perfect but I do fully expect my ass to get roasted if I did what she did.
I think her ass has been roasted enough. Plus she roasted her own ass which is even better. And yes, believe it or not, there are still some people in the world for whom a sincere apology is sufficient.
And if you're "in no place to forgive" then you're also in no place to judge.
"roasted her own ass"
Really? I read a lot of whining about how busy she's been moving into a new house, etc. Not much of a mea culpa...but whut ev's.
A lot of whining? I don't think one sentence can qualify as a lot of anything. I'm not a JS fan but the fact of the matter is she made a stupid mistake, she got caught, she apologized, and wants to move on. She seems sincere in wanting to move forward and fix her mistakes through her future actions.
The lack of forgiveness and compassion in the world today is astounding. Move the f on already!
Well said
Another thing. When you contact the person and try to make restitution then you are at their mercy before going to court. They obviously showed her mercy and grace so why still judge her according to your own standards. People make mistakes, people learn from them, then there are those who do them on purpose and show no remorse... those are the ones that need legal action. That is wrong with people these days, just because the outcome of things does not go the way they wanted, does not mean that we are to "re-try" a case that has been closed... just sayin
Being forgiven by the victims is not the same as being dealt with by the judicial system. So I don't think that's what Brian_Bray meant. People who commit misdemeanor or felonious crimes are at times forgiven by their victims. The criminal will often express remorse. But that doesn't exempt them from punishment by the courts.
She was punished by the blogosphere (sp?) and will probably continue to be on some level. She may even lose business as a result. Will Creative Live have her back? Who knows.
I don't think self-imposed pressure gets you a pass. And I'm not sure she totally got one. Her financial bottom line will bear that out. But my thing is if you are overwhelmed by thinking you have to post daily, then write a post saying you're going to dial it back to a couple days a week or less. That's if it was truly the "pressure" that "made" you use someone else's work and not give them credit. Hell, your post could have just been something along the lines of
"For todays' post I thought I'd discuss ___________ and I can't think of no one else better than (insert educator here and link to their blog) to explain the topic. In my experience shooting weddings and engagements, I've run into these same situations and took this information to work around various issues...blah, blah blah."
Bingo.
She didn't make a mistake. She didn't lose a memory card, or file her taxes late, or forget to call a client back. She CHOSE to steal. Not just once, either. I think the people who are cynical about her apology are people who have had something stolen from them in the past - whether it be content, material, imagery, or visual identity. She should be tarred for it, as far as I'm concerned. She's hugely successful as it is, she didn't NEED to steal to put food on her table - she chose to because enough is never enough sometimes.
Amen to that. That is forgiveness
Such a perfect response. Couldn't agree more.
I'm sorry, but this is not a life mistake. This is business. She is operating as an entity and not a person. Just because you own the business and it's operating under your name does not make this a personal mistake. This was a business decision to steal. And what does being gay have to do with anything?
There is nothing special about business that excuses you from being human.
And my mentioning being gay was in response to your accusation that people give her a free pass out of sexual attraction. Sorry, I thought that was pretty obvious.
Why did you have to make it "Sexual" attraction? Just because you can see someone as being attractive doesn't mean you have to be sexually attracted to them. Grow up and stop making my assertion into something that it's not.
There are many articles about the subject but here is one. You can easily find more.
http://www.youbeauty.com/relationships/columns/the-rules-of-attraction/a...
I don't think she's attractive and I didn't know who she was until this blew up. I'm letting it go because at this point she's done all she can do. It was 4 posts out of 1500 posts so she's not a fake. She's made a full apology, she's contacted the original bloggers, she's withdrawn from the conference. Other than killing herself or saying she'll never take another photograph or write another blog post, which would be ludicrous, what else can she do to appease the blood lust?
Are you sure you're still upset BECAUSE she's attractive? Are you sure your issues aren't driving this desire for more absolution? Because if the original bloggers can forgive her, and she's done absolutely nothing to you, what's your dog in the race? And if it was you, what exactly would you do to make it right? What is she not doing that you want her to do?
PREACH!!!!!!!!!!!!!!
Will her third apology be for not reading any of the books she says she reads? What blog will she apologize on then?
Jasmine Star, you are still amazing in my book. All is forgiven, but the hardest part is forgiving yourself. You deserve forgiveness and compassion from all who surrounds you. I am human and I have made oodles of mistakes. Many I still hold. But truly you are are ready forgiven in Gods eyes. Accept His forgiveness as your own and turn this mountain into learning for everyone. Honestly, you are an amazing teacher, even when it hurts the most. Love You J*!
No such thing as god. We're not little kids in story time. It's time to grow up and stop saying such creepy, creepy things.
So now we are telling people stealing is "OK" as long as you say you are sorry? Really, people? If you steal a car you go to jail sorry or not. So all of you are "Okay" with someone stealing your work if they say they are sorry afterwards? What a bunch of brainwashed idiots you all are.
Can't speak for others, but yeah that's what I'm saying. It is okay to make a mistake. Humans do it all the time. You apologize and move on. It's way healthier than holding hate in your heart.
Really? You're fine with it that someone steals your work, markets himself/herself with your pic and makes profit with it? Someone makes money with your work...okay. Well, I'm not fine with that, not at all!
That's not what I said at all. No, it's not okay to steal someone's work and profit from it. But if someone does it, then apologizes for it and means it, I accept that. Is something about this unreasonable?
She did contact the people she pulled from and worked it out with them. So it sounds like the people she stole from are satisfied and have moved past it.
correction: one of the people she "apologized" to has told me that she did not apologize. She sent him an email with an insincere apology, exactly as this one reads if you read through the lines!
Ouch! That's not so good.
Its not a car.. its articles about help on photography.. geezus.. why do people use ridiculous analogies to compare. if its not okay for her to say sorry what the eff do you want her to do? go to jail for not citing helpful advice..? frankly i dont care where its from - if it helps other people, good on ya.
Did you know that the penalty for copyright infringement is greater than car theft? $150,000
"ihatedavidjay" - Did you know that plagiarism is not copyright infringement? According to Wikipedia, "Plagiarism is not the same as copyright infringement. While both terms may apply to a particular act, they are different concepts. Copyright infringement is a violation of the rights of a copyright holder, when material restricted by copyright is used without consent. On the other hand, the moral concept of plagiarism is concerned with the unearned increment to the plagiarizing author's reputation that is achieved through false claims of authorship."
Oh Sorry - "Plagiarism is a crime – that is a fact.
Just like with other forms of theft, the legal penalties for the
crime vary depending on the severity. Going into a store and stealing a
pack of gum is a lesser offence compared with stealing a car.
From plagiarism.org:
Most cases of plagiarism are
considered misdemeanors, punishable by fines of anywhere between $100
and $50,000 — and up to one year in jail. Plagiarism can also be
considered a felony under certain state and federal laws. For example,
if a plagiarist copies and earns more than $2,500 from copyrighted
material, he or she may face up to $250,000 in fines and up to ten years
in jail."
So where did your original $150,000 figure come from?