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.
i have been a huge follower and fan of Jasmine for many many years, she is part of the reason i decided to take my chances and get into my passion as a business, I will continue to follow her, be a fan and supporter of hers! I can not wait to see the amazing things she will continue to do! mush love to her and her family <3 Jasmine you will be in my prayers!
Where are all Jasmine* supporters? I remember my first WPPI 2011 and there were close to 2,000 in attendance. I attended the Fix seminar and cities were SOLD out to hear her speak. She draws huge numbers to Creative Live every time she's on there. She had to REPRINT copies of her magazine because she sold out first printing. I'll admit it I am intrigued by her climb to ROCK STAR level via social media. As a business owner in the event industry I have to be right? But what shocks me the most in this whole situation is that I haven't seen one petition or movement by her 'fans' to support her. Not one? All her see is 'everyone makes a mistake' or 'time to move on and forget'. Really? Where's the support? She's helped many of you build your brand. Build your business? She inspires the YOUNGER mostly female photographers. She's one of the reasons why photographers get respect in the industry and get to charge what you're worth! I write this not to START the movement. But more in shock that her supporters are not fighting back. I wish Jasmine luck and this will pass in a few weeks. Stirred up again during WPPI 2K14 but then again gone.
Sarcasm:
"OMG that's the worst thing anyone has ever done!"
haha
Well done for the public apology. I hope everyone can let it go.
The one who is without sin may cast the first stone,
There is something call redemption, and i think we can all learn from that. I think there should be a petition that she goes to conference. Take this as an opportunity to speak to us Jasmine, not only to become better wedding photographer, but also a better person, andlLearning to respect our limits.
Forgiving someone does not absolve her from the consequences of her choices. We should forgive, but that does not mean she shouldn't face the punishments. Her brand has taken, and will continue to take, a big hit and that will cause her pain - that will be the punishment and it's something that's hard to overcome. As mentioned previously, her actions from this point forward will dictate how, or if, she can move forward and fix what's she's brought on herself.
I find the comments here and elsewhere about this very disturbing. The level of schadenfreude is astounding... borderline sadism.
Equally disturbing, though, is the defenders. It is really scary the amount of loyalty some people have for someone who doesn't even know they exist.... people who attended one of here seminars or watched a video and now think they are besties with Ms. Star.
This is possibly the harshest thing I have posted on Fstoppers, but it really is disturbing to me. Stop the hate, but stop the sycophancy, as well.
WHAT IS CITATION?
A "citation" is the way you tell your readers that certain material in your work came from another source. It also gives your readers the information necessary to find that source again, including:
information about the author
the title of the work
the name and location of the company that published your copy of the source
the date your copy was published
the page numbers of the material you are borrowing
WHY SHOULD I CITE SOURCES?
Giving credit to the original author by citing sources is the only way to use other people's work without plagiarizing. But there are a number of other reasons to cite sources:
citations are extremely helpful to anyone who wants to find out more about your ideas and where they came from
not all sources are good or right -- your own ideas may often be more accurate or interesting than those of your sources. Proper citation will keep you from taking the rap for someone else's bad ideas
citing sources shows the amount of research you've done
citing sources strengthens your work by lending outside support to your ideas
DOESN'T CITING SOURCES MAKE MY WORK SEEM LESS ORIGINAL?
Not at all. On the contrary, citing sources actually helps your reader distinguish your ideas from those of your sources. This will actually emphasize the originality of your own work.
WHEN DO I NEED TO CITE?
Whenever you borrow words or ideas, you need to acknowledge their source. The following situations almost always require citation:
whenever you use quotes
whenever you paraphrase
whenever you use an idea that someone else has already expressed
whenever you make specific reference to the work of another
whenever someone else's work has been critical in developing your own ideas.
From: http://www.plagiarism.org/citing-sources/whats-a-citation
I want to say that it should be the victims that get to press charges, and that the community should merely criticize, but I can also imagine it being difficult to ask for compensation/resolution when the perpetrator comes out publicly with pretty words and a head-bowing apology.
Might I offer a suggestion? I'm new here. I work in the theatre/film world and photography is a love of mine. But what exactly was 'stolen'. She just talked about something someone else talked about right? With something technical like describing photo shoots, there are only so many words that mean certain things and only certain words or phrases can be used, therefore repeated often. Working the Arts Education field most of my life, Copyright laws and 'plagiarism' nono's were embedded in my DNA. One thing you may consider instead of fighting, or gossiping is sharing. In the teaching artist world, we work everyday to establish a common language within our disciple. This helps to better define your profession, unites like creatives, and may keep you out of trouble. You guys were way to hard on this woman.
Some people were harsh yes, but it doesn't change the fact that she used other people's content, verbatim, to enhance her image and thus, build her brand. You can see the tweets in question here: https://www.behindtheshutter.com/what-we-can-all-learn-from-the-recent-e...
Plagiarism is about stealing ideas. Her posts didn't just talk about the same things, they used the same structure and expressed the EXACT same idea in extremely similar way.
Essentially she just re-worded someone else' work. Which is plagiarism.
Yes, everyone quickly got out their pitchforks, and that was wrong, but plagiarism is still plagiarism. I teach in higher education, and honestly, plagiarism has increased exponentially over the last few years. This is a huge problem.
Thank you. I'm in graduate school and people get expelled for this.
Not enough people get expelled for this in my opinion. I see it at undergraduate level mainly, and in a way I feel sorry for the student because no one has ever called them on it before or even told them it is wrong and why it is wrong. However, schools are extremely reluctant to intentionally remove students, but someone has to insist on ethical standards at some point.
No she didn't. BECAUSE she re-worded it's not plagiarism! Yes, maybe she should have gotten a negative tweet or two about making it sound like she originally and creatively thought of shot set up on her own, but that is a totally different thing! She 'had' to copy them in sense! I would value the learned information she passed on instead of accusing her of something she didn't even do. Point a finger or a swat of her hand by no one else than her bosses is all that should have happened.
It do get it though. Photographers are always on the look out for the most interesting trick, or work really hard to establish their own artistry, so I can see why the big upset. But as an outsider. Take the lesson, and learn from it. And establish common words and techniques in the written form. That's the only way to fix the tension. Otherwise, the photographer sneer will always exist, impeding creativity.
Working together is better. All I'm saying.
You are right about the level of vitriol.
But I am afraid you are very wrong with your definition of plagiarism. Re-wording isn't enough.
"like"
My last reply was too short, so here is something more in depth.
In order for a work to be original, it has to start original. Where as you might be inspired to write an article about depth of field by reading a very good article on depth of field, you must then start from scratch writing that article-- a blank sheet and an original structure. You start by organizing your thoughts. You decide what to include, what is important, and what you have to add to the subject. You then organize the article with an outline or free writing. You then re-write to make it more organized and specific about what you are trying to say (you remove extraneous things and clarify others).
By plagiarizing through re-writing, you have skipped all the steps until the rewriting stage. You have relied on someone else' thoughts, organizing, outlines, and original ideas. You have basically edited an article that someone else wrote, not written an article. More importantly, you have done so without the author's permission and you have passed off all the work until the re-write stage as your own.
There is no excuse for plagiarism, especially on the internet. So many blog writers are looking to drive traffic that they are willing to have you use their work in some way... only they want permission, credit, and a link. The only reason someone would have to plagiarize (especially on the web) is to receive the benefits of work they did not do.
To the consternation of her followers on Fstoppers- I agree with you. Plagiarism is wrong.
Ms Star enjoys blogging-so citing another's work (e.g., according to Mr. X, or "as Ms. Y wrote...") would only have added a few more words to her posts and avoided this brouhaha. Citing other's works would have given her blog posts a bit of extra depth, shown that some research had been done. When in doubt-cite!
The only problem is that goes against her business model. As I see it, Ms. Star's brand is built on a cult of personality where she is the authority. Citing would diminish her perceived authority. I mean, some of these blog posts are probably not even written by her (she probably has employees), and I can almost guarantee that she uses employees to write some of here tweets— that's just the way of the business— but I doubt that she would ever admit that. It goes against her message and the the notion that she is in THE authority for her followers.
I am not trying to hate on her, it is her chosen business model. I am free to take it or leave it. However, I think that, more than anything, is what is going to bite her in the butt.
Jasmine, I am not a wedding photographer and had heard of you but never really followed you. Sadly, the first time I really became aware of who you are was through the craziness of social media coverage. Our culture tends to hide behind social media and flog people "publicly" because we are basically anonymous which makes us feel empowered. Unfortunately, it has made us a culture of hateful, unforgiving, mean people. I, for one, don't feel the need to forgive you because I do not take offense. Everyone makes mistakes. No one, including the haters, are perfect; and honestly, the fact that they continue to express anger and hatred shows the depth of their own imperfections. Blessings to you and your business in the days ahead. I pray that you can find peace in the midst of this storm.
Hmmm for all the people who think the public should forgive & forget consider this:
There are numerous examples of people who built careers (lucrative) by misleading others. Look at Eliot Spitzer....tough on crime and all the while partaking of hookers. Then there is Anthony Weiner...Bill Clinton and the list goes on and on.
A mistake is something you do once or twice. You hopefully learn and move on. Repeating it time after time is a deliberate act and I don't think that should be forgiven or forgotten. Not when you earn a living teaching/inspiring others to be "Authentic" and "True to Yourself".
Having said that, I don't think some of the vicious, obscene things I've read from some people is warranted. Some are making fun of her skill with a camera etc...as if making a good image is purely a matter of technical correctness. Would love to see some of their work in comparison.
She apologized, albeit on the late side. Time to let it go and move on. At the end of the day try and remember...some of you lead pretty disgraceful lives also.
Your defending someone by citing the acts of dirty politicians? Thats a weak argument.
You need to take more time with your reading and comprehension skills.
I haven't defended anyone. The examples were meant to highlight the fact that dishonesty goes across our entire society. It isn't unique to the subject of the FS poster.
Perhaps read my reply again. You will see that I do not support forgiving her behavior, no do I think it should be forgotten....unless of course you can't read.
Good for you Jasmine for telling it how it is.
We have all made mistakes in our lives. We're all going to stumble at times. This is an opportunity for the blog owners to grow, create safeguards, and become more savvy about what to do when this happens. When Jasmine expressed remorse for her mistake, we need to remember that none of us are perfect. We've ALL made mistakes. Some more public than others. What happens now is what's important.
Funny it's been several weeks since her most recent case of theft and not a single statement or apology has been issued, once a petition is created to remove her and Doug Gordon from WPPI suddenly a few days later she's issuing an apology. This is why I don't buy it. If you had integrity, if you meant the words you would have issued this several days after the most recent case of theft, not wait until now. She also seems to blame everything else except herself and continues to call repeatedly thievery a "mistake". At this point it's not a mistake, it's something planned. It all seems extremely fake to me, just like her.
I wonder who has time to check articles line by line and highlight the parts just to screw someone else...
Jasmine did wrong, she apologized...end of drama.
Of course she is apologizing because she got caught... of course she wouldnt be apologizing of leaving WPPI if she hasnt been caught...
Has it never happenned to you... that you apologize until you get caught... judging for the amount of drama some people make you would think they inmeadiately apologize after each thing they do wrong... people are amazing....
I think the point people are making here is that the apology seems to be for being caught...and not for doing what led to being caught. So, yes, for the apology to be free of that taint an admission of wrong doing would come before being caught.
I get that that ain't human nature...but you asked.
I didnt ask for anything... :-)
It really bothers me that people refer to disappointment over plagiarism as "hate." I was inspired by Jasmine during her CreativeLive sessions and even purchased a few items from her. But I'm really sad she didn't cite her sources, therefore ripping off intellectual property to build her brand.
Thanks Jasmine, you are a Star in my book. Takes a strong person to humble themselves and apologize in from of a mob mentality crowd. Time to move on, Let any of you who lack sin cast the first stone. "I THOUGHT SO"
wow, that's all i can say.....
WTF? I have been missing the whole thing....so she wrote 1500 blogposts of which 4 she copied/stole/used from some one else? Pfffffff, well yeah 2000 years ago this dude had a nice story about those without copying anything ever from and on the internet ever throwing the first rock or somefink like that....Big deal, move on, you did well Jasmine
Cheers
Jasmine, now would be the time to focus on being a photographer, worthy of the following you still have. Stop trying to be Miss Popular, and let great work be what speaks for you. I am not a follower, I can't recall any iconic images associated with you, but what you have been know for, is being amazing at social networking, blogging, etc. This is why the backlash you now find yourself in. So stop trying to impress the masses with your words, and do it with your images. This is the second such apology, let's not have to see a third. Good luck.
Seriously Some of you are so perfect that you've never in your lives done anything wrong? I'm willing to bet that when you did do these wrong things, that you didn't have the girth to publicly apologize and take FULL responsibility. The fact is that there are simply not enough people like this in the world today!! It takes some serious class to own up to doing something wrong. Most people would just shove it off and hope it goes away, but this one... She accepts it, she owns it, and she feels true remorse. I know maybe 1 or 2 people in this world in my life that would actually have the class to do something like this--and I know a lot of people. You people shouldn't be crucifying her. She knows what she has done, and she has apologized. What more do you want? Should she get up on that cross so you can watch her suffer more? No, you should be thankful that people like her still exist today in a world where so many people will just steal and never admit to it, or feel any type of remorse. Seriously, a lot of you should be ashamed of yourselves.
I think everyone in and out of the industry needs to shut the hell up. Who are any of us to judge someone else? Who out there is perfect and has never made a single mistake? It is so easy to watch someone who has made a mistake fall and then point our crooked little finger at them. It is simple to rip them apart with the anonymity of being online. Perhaps we are the ones who should be showing humility and grace not #Jasmine Star!
When someone asks us to give them money we get the right to judge them.
Really Display_Name, then you are judging God because you are asked to tithe in the bible. It is my understanding that both requests are a matter or choice and not mandatory.
I can't give money directly to God. So I will judge any church that asks me for money. I will judge them to make sure they do things with the money that i want to be a part of. Judging is not a bad word. The bible asks us to Marcie's judgment.
Mr no name, we can agree to disagree. Because if you can use the bible and judgement in the same sentence as a positive and keep a straight face. There isn't much we will agree on. Walk a mile is someone else's shoes before you cast the first stone.
God calls us to make righteous judgments. Please as your pastor and read 1 Cor 10:15. If someone is trying to sell me tutorials that lack depth and does facilitate the improvement of my skills I will make a judgement and I will not buy. We judge everyday. If you interviewed candidates for a job. I have and I make a judgement and I pick the best candidate. If your religious leader tell you you should not judge be careful. These is one of the reasons why we have churches with priests who rape kids and a quiet congregation. There have brain washed people and made them believe that they should not judge.
Absolute nonsense.
Please keep religion out of this discussion about photography. It is totally irrelevant!
hey buddy read the thread... I did not start it... :)
Do you know what year it is? Really. There are no gods and magic creatures. It's so scary for me, and those like me that just try and go about our day, and then stumble upon comments like this, and people like you. It's jarring. It's like those old Twilight Zone shows where there's one person who wanders into a town and everyone is part of a kinda crazy hive mind that bring new people into a cave somewhere to drink their blood at night. It's hard to believe that people like you exist in 2013, that would quote fairy tales and honestly believe something that was just made up by ancient people. So many religions are gone because of how absurd they are, and it baffles our minds how long it's taking for these few to die. If you were born in a different part of the world, or even to different parents, your beliefs would change. That should tell you something. Please think for yourselves people. You're frightening the rest of us. These stories you quote that must be on your minds all the time to bring up, clearly show some kind of mental illness. People shouldn't be like this :(
Wow the_pro_amateur your are truly naive. By reading your post it is like you assume that I grew up in a fairy tale with loving parents and the perfect life. Not even close. The fact that I can still have hope in this day in time is a miracle in itself. I believe we can live a life without bringing others down to build ourselves up. I believe that you shouldn't kick a person when they are down. I believe that if you live your life without a single belief or hope then you will end up just and jaded as you. So enjoy your blood in a cave and I HOPE that one day you find something to believe in.
na·ive
1.(of a person or action) showing a lack of experience, wisdom, or judgment.
Such as believing in stories with no basis in reality. Please copy and paste where I said anything about parents or your life. I can't seem to find it. Also, I said nothing about hope. Also, also, I wasn't kicking anyone and I don't know if you're inferring that you're "down", but I'd have no way to know that. Finally, copy and paste once again where I said I, or anyone, shouldn't have "any beliefs". It's easy to turn the other person into the bad guy when you make up points for them. All I said was that the single belief that I know you have, that you shoehorned into a public online forum post, is unquestionably flawed.
If you were born in a different part of the world, or even to different parents, your beliefs would change. I am guessing you aren't a proof reader?
You wrote: "you assume that I grew up in a fairy tale with loving parents". I said nothing about YOUR parents or your childhood. I was saying (correctly), that if you had different parents, or grew up under any other circumstances than the exact ones you had, you would believe in a completely different religion, no religion, or any other variation you'd like to consider. The fact that you "believe" is only because someone told you. This train of thought is hard for people who, when faced with difficulty, like to fall back on the "god's god this one, no need to think about it" approach.