Generic photo copyrights

Question

If you have a close up of a label, food, etc. Is it copyright protected?

Let's say it is a close up of french fries. There is no way to prove who took the photo, so the photo cannot be copyrighted? Let's say there is a photo of the stars, same issue.

I'm not looking for loopholes for copyright law, just trying to remain ethical. Thanks for your help.

Answer 1

Look at it this way.  If I were a professional photographer, and my specialty was photographing products, I'd have spent hundreds of dollars on special lights, a tripod and backdrops.  Also, I'd have had to pay for the french fries, and I'd have taken time to arrange them as artistically as possible.  After having done that, you bet I'd copyright it.  I couldn't copyright the concept of french fries, which have been around for decades, but I could certainly copyright the image of french fries that I produced.

And, having done that, I'm sure I could recognize my work later, and I would not appreciate someone else just using the image for free.  If you want to show a picture of french fries, either take it yourself, find a royalty-free one, or pay for it.  The other option, of course, is take a chance that you won't get sued for copyright infringement.  

As for photos of the stars -- I'm assuming you're talking about astronomy, not celebrities -- my guess is that someone who specializes in astrophotography would be able to recognize their own work, and the same concepts would apply.

Answer 2

If you didn't take the picture, you don't have a right to reproduce it without permission from the person that did. From an ethics perspective, that is all there is to it.