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.
She made the mistake MORE THAN ONCE, she should have stopped after the FIRST one and not after been caught out after many stolen and then asked to say sorry and forgive me....
What about dumping hundreds of commentors from her web site? Deleting posts I could see, but silencing dissent rather than addressing the issue is one of the reasons she's having to grovel in the first place. Apologize to those offended? How about a simple apology for plagiarism and unethical behavior? Why isn't this apology on her own web page?? I do applaud the disclosure with documentatiin.
If she had put this on her blog people would be complaining that she did it there to hide behind her fans who would love and support her. She did it here on one of the most popular photography blogs - with far more readers than her blog and twice the number of Facebook fans - so she could reach as many as possible in our industry.
In many "professions" her actions would most likely lead to having a license revoked or a lifetime ban on participation and membership of professional associations. A bit hard with photography as it is a weird mix of professional, part time professional and enthusiastic amateurs all claiming to be professional photographers.
Hopefully she will never present in any professional forum again.
Those who choose to follow the blog of someone with no regard for true business ethics and honesty will continue to do so and good luck to them.
Sound more like forced attrition... Maybe she can rebound, but her reputation is seriously tarnished. She lied and stole from within the industry which she purports to serve. Tough road ahead.
In the grand scheme of things its a non event. She does good work that's all that matters and its time to move on. The only people who want to keep going after people like her are unsuccessful people. Im not one of those therefore i move as should all of you.
You don't getting better by doing things right you get better from doing things wrong.
TTFN
(1) Who is Jasmine Star? (2) Who cares? (3) Who cares who Jasmine Star is!
I don't trust her or her soapy apology.
Am I the only one who thinks she didn't actually write these blog posts? I'm guessing it's worse to admit you have an intern, assistant or social media marketer writing your blog than to admit you 'accidentally' stole some writing.
You are an inspiration. You live life honestly and humbly. We all screw up. Bless your heart for owning things. Let it go, now. You have too many fabulous things to do, to share, to teach, and to create. Let you light shine, friend. Thank you for all you do to help photographers be better. Blessings to you, Jasmine.
Kelly Beal
KellyBealPhotography
Oh god i almost threw up reading your comment Kelly.
Read the "apology" over carefully. Not once does she ever say she is sorry. This is not semantics....there is a big difference between being sorry and giving an apology.
It really doesn't matter what she wrote Bruce. You would have found fault with whatever words she chose.
I love you Jasmine. You are an icon in the photography world and your every move will be scrutinized, whether it is good or bad. You are obviously a good person, and your other 99.9% of content should be validation enough that you know what you are talking about, that you are sincere, and that you are a good person. Moving along to the next drama in this crazy world of crazy artists :)
Another blind worshipper.
You are a class act, through and through. I appreciate how difficult this must have been, but in true Jasmine fashion you accepted fault where it was and are moving forward gracefully. Removing yourself from the WPPI speaker list is going to have such a strong impact on our "community" as it shows how seriously you are taking this and serves as a reminder of how we are representing ourselves. I appreciate you as a person and as a professional. Best of luck in all that you do!
all she did was twitter stuff that was said before, she apologized, lets move on, she didn't steal a pic, she just never cited the sources and basically plagerized, like most of use do on our term papers in college, she speaks out and helps noobs like most of us to become better
so lets move on, we have better things to do like argue on topics like:
Which is better: Canon or nikon?
if we keep bashing each other, we do not become better photogs
It's okay because she "Basically plagiarized"?
You are part of the problem.
she apologized and thats that
move on
stop being a hater
we have better things to talk about, but if you continue to bash, does that make you a better photographer... so stop all the hate and move on
I'm
a big proponent of forgiveness and second chances. Lord knows I've
needed a few of my own over the years. But I do take issue with one
element of this apology-- the assertion that she "sourced" from other
blogs. Sourced? I think a full apology for
something needs an accurate statement of what the person did wrong. She
didn't "source" these posts. She copied them. She plagiarized them.
Technically, she violated copyright laws-- repeatedly. Apologies are not
the time for euphemisms. I'm willing to take this at face value, and I
wish her a quick recovery from this. I don't doubt she's learned a valuable lesson, but I still find this to be an
incomplete apology.
Dear Jasmine. What this all comes down to is envy.
You have made an indredible career both as a high end photographer and a teacher, You have become an icon. But you know how a lot of people feel about that - In Denmark we have a saying: fly high and fall hard (or something to that effect) - a saying designed to not make people follow their dreams and soar and become succesful. How sad is that?
Other's succes can be hard to watch, especially when they themselves are struggling, and it only takes for you to do a few wrong moves before they see their chance to make you fall hard.
On this little isolated island of photography (and blogging), what you did seams to warrent the highest penalty: exclusion and having your name and reputation ruined. It has happened to so many before you in the general public eye outside photography: For instance,Tiger Woods and other public figures having to apologize even for the most private or miniscule things in order to please the public - some of them peoplewho love to see stars fall.
4 out of 1500 posts and a few tweets hardly makes you a hapitual criminal.
This doesn't change who you are and your ability to take amazing photographs.
There will always be people wanting to tear other people down. Long before this I did read some posts wrinkling their noses for you using "Jasmine Star", when your last name is Juarez. COME ON!?! Ever heard of a "Business name" ?- As if "honeyandpiephotography" is the actual name of the photographer. Petty stuff.
And then assumptions about you using others photographers' work to promoto you, before looking into the facts. Sad stuff.
I hope you will come back stronger from this and keep on fighting. You are going through a tough time right now and you are being hit way harder than you should, imho.
But it all comes down to envy and some people who get a thrill watching someone fly high and fall hard.
ETA:
You don't have to apologize anymore. Those truly affected by your actions will accept your apolgy, but the rest will question your credibilty and sincerety. You can't change that by keeping apologizing, because they will always question your motives. Forget about them and move on.
I couldn't care less that she reposted stuff, that's what people do on the internet, the only thing I see wrong with this is that she didn't give credit to the source (which admittedly is a big thing).
What I dont get is all the haters, Jasmine creates blogs and videos for free for people to learn from. I'm not a fan boy, ive only watched a few but it seems people aren't interested in that, they just see an opportunity to bitch and create drama about another photographer, something that seems to be rife in the photography community.....
I wonder, if one would write articles similar to the topics in question....wouldn't it be likely to unknowingly compose phrases existent at the time of writing? How many ways are there to express a technical description of EXPOSURE, APERTURE, ISO, HOW TO SHOOT, etc.?
This is in no way a defense for Jasmine. The reason I ask is because I know for a fact that there is software specifically written to check phrase matching on internet articles. The main purpose for this software is actually quite perverse: to produce a unique derivative of existing articles on the same topic (without repeating a phrase) as an SEO (Search Engine Optimization) tool...producing a somewhat garbage article. It is quite prevalent outside of the Photography industry.
On a similar note, how many books have been published, by different authors, with the same phrases about the said topics are there?
So now that you guys have the taste of blood in your mouths who are you going to go after next? Can't wait to follow that soap opera.
I have to say I really admire Jasmine. This is the best possible response, I suspect she put quite a lot of thought into it, if not even asking a PR how to deal with it. She washes herself from sin, minimizes it, creates a martyr out of herself by signing herself out of the WPPI and gets back into everyones hearts by owning up to her wrong doings. Bravo! This is amazing PR and Im sure she will gain a lot of new fans from it. Im not going to be one of them, but thats just me, I think this is way too scripted and not really personal, just damage control on a highest level.
i'm wondering what JS's lawyers would be doing if someone ripped her content..............
Burning them in hell I'm sure.
I've two points to make:
One: This industry depends heavily on copyrights; in order to be taken seriously by our clients who buy licences we have to keep our own house clean. Do as I do, and so on.
This is not about witch hunting, it is about integrity of a business.
Two: I'm missing the second part of an sincere apology.
The first part, mea culpa and ashes on my head was acceptable. The second part of any apology however goes:
"How can I make it good again?"
Just my two cents...
Lets move on... dwelling more in the past will ruin our day... Let go and Let God :)
you look great, in a slutty way, i want to have sex with you. can we meet?
Im great the internet is such an honorable and beautiful place. All of a sudden, we have entered the world of youtube commentary
Could care less really. But she is freakin' hot. To me at least. Seriously though, she committed the act most loathsome as far as artist go - stealing. Is she a child murderer? No. Does she deserve to be stoned? Certainly not. She apologized (and yes, only because she got caught.) That said though, all of the other stuff about her talent and how well she markets herself is pointless. She's great. She's mediocre. She sucks. She's fantastic. All pretty relative and just a matter of opinion. The marketing thing.....if she's GREAT at that, then who the hell would ridicule that? HALF if not more of a professional photographer's career/craft depends on marketing. If she's an okay talent but stays working and is able to make a living, so be it. I'll close by saying......I just think there's something very hot/sexy about her.
This faux-apology comes weeks after hundreds of photographers were removed and banned from the Restart group. It trivialises her theft, and I don't believe for a second that it was only four blog posts out of 1500. It's statistically improbable. It makes excuses, and she never REALLY apologised, not even to those whom she ripped off (publicly or privately as she claimed). She is also lying about stealing images for promoting that workshop of hers. One, she is JASMINE STAR (not to mention a narcissist) so she is going to have final approval over any promo or marketing materials. Second, it’s ON HER BLOG. Thank you to WPPI for taking a stand and forcing her and DG out. PPA is next.
Miss_Rissa, go back and read the letter. You are addressing things that she has already spoke about. It is obvious you came in here to comment without even reading this "faux-apology" as you are calling it. Sad.
I doubt she would have apologized if she hadn't been caught/called out.
Bottom line is this... This is 2013, the choices we have in today's marketplace and world, are virtually endless. This avenue of marketing and selling popularizing is the road this woman chose to take.. Doesn't mean you have to hook you're wagon to her train.
You either find some value in what she does and produces.. or you don't. Past actions notwithstanding. So to sit on you're keyboards and hurl judgements blindly not face to face, is just childish and futile. Make the jump one way or another, follow and enjoy. or bail out. But keep the self-righteous 'better than thou' horseshit to a minimum. You are the consumer, and NO ONE forces you to do, follow, buy, but into.. ANYTHING.
Yeah Its Fine ... Lets Just keep moving.
I still love you :) You have been such an inspiration for so many photographers and I appreciate your honesty, realness, and everything you have done for the industry. Keep your chin up <3
The irony is you can buy a magazine published by JS called EXPOSED that '[Details] the first two years of her business--everything from learning to shoot manually and posing tips, to being betrayed by allies and accused of copying someone else's work--Jasmine reveals a personal side to becoming a photographer and following her dreams.'
http://www.jasminestarblog.com/store/?page=magazine
Oh dear.
Show us your boobies and we'll call it even?
OK I don't get this hatred thing... seriously people. She is doing great for herself - a lot of us can go learn some marketing techniques from her. The fact that she got where she is through perseverance should be an inspiration to the rest of us still hacking to get to the top. I agree - stop this silly witch hunt.... she copied good information and shared it - she learned her lesson that citing a source is the right way of doing it and she had the grace to apologize - Jealousy is a nasty monster and if you don't like her work... scroll on - she has her market and style. At least she's not a Fauxtographer....
I wonder how many people that are upset at Jasmine's actions are using or have used stolen versions of software on their computer. I know it's a pretty common practice in our industry that so many people turn a blind eye to.
Are you saying that as long as we all steal this is OK?
We have no stolen software here. We pay for any music we use (As a side note songfreedom is fantastic. And I have never stolen a song.
So can we start casting?
As for Jesus and getting stoned ... Why can't anyone find any stories from say the last 2000 years or so? Ones that someone can prove happened would be nice.
Get real, she is a liar and a cheat, just like her friends.
I assume you are one of them since you run with DJ and his crowd?
Sounds like you are perfect then. Go ahead and start casting your stones.
Perfect? No... A law breaker? Maybe the occasional speeding ... but if I get a ticket I pay the fine.
I tried to apologize to the police officer, he told me to tell it to the "Judge".
I've got my share of tickets myself. Word to the wise, stay under 80 while driving through Virginia.
+1
I agree with you in principle that the vitriol has been a bit much (that seems to be the way of the internet), but I feel I need to remind you, not everyone shares your belief that morals and ethics are or should be based entirely within the holy Christian bible. Using Christian scripture is only valid to those who follow scripture. Bible quotes are not a valid argument in an open discussion about ethics, morals, or societal mores.
I am not attacking your beliefs. That is up to you, but if you are going to try to convince people to take it down a notch, everyone has to be having the same discussion. I imagine this blog is filled with people of all types, race and religion. What can you say to those that don't share your belief in— or even your interpretation of— Christian scripture?
I realize that DeathNTexas. I just shared the story not because it's scripture but because the message of the story. I do want to take this opportunity though and thank you for always taking the time to put together thoughtful comments here on Fstoppers. I have noticed time and time again that rather than just spew hate you always put out interesting content and I enjoy reading it. So thanks again.
“What is evil? Killing is evil, lying is evil, slandering is evil, abuse is evil, gossip is evil: envy is evil, hatred is evil, to cling to false doctrine is evil; all these things are evil. And what is the root of evil? Desire is the root of evil, illusion is the root of evil.” - Hindu Prince Gautama Siddharta, the founder of Buddhism, 563-483 B.C.