Website: http://www.lisasaad.com/

PetaPixel article on this case: https://petapixel.com/2019/02/13/award-winning-photographer-lisa-saad-accused-of-stealing-photos/

Capture Magazine articles on this case: http://www.capturemag.com.au/latest/photo-stealers-site-targets-top-australian-photographer

and

http://www.capturemag.com.au/latest/aipp-disqualifies-lisa-saad-image-from-national-awards-the-appas

and

http://www.capturemag.com.au/latest/another-competition-strips-photographer-of-first-prize

Inside Imaging articles on this case: https://www.insideimaging.com.au/2019/grave-accusations-for-leading-melbourne-photographer/

and

https://www.insideimaging.com.au/2019/lisa-saad-image-disqualified-by-aipp/

and

https://www.insideimaging.com.au/2019/learning-from-photo-comp-mistakes/

Google Doc of Lisa’s Awards: https://docs.google.com/document/d/10dJbdWrWIB3KNjFM_EZpEBpv3rNMFumClISx_Upub5g/edit?usp=sharing

Update Log (because this is getting so long)

30 images found with items not 100% Lisa’s original work

2/17 @ 1AM EST: added 3 new images

2/17 @ 5PM EST: updated AM20 with railing source

2/18 @ 11AM EST: added link to SWPP announcement that Lisa lost her awards and titles.

2/20 @ 7PM EST: added AIPP’s press release stripping Lisa of all points, awards, titles and prizes.

2/21 @ 9AM EST: Added a love note I’ve received.

2/28 @ 6PM EST: Updated award doc, added articles, added NZIPP’s press release stripping Lisa of all points, awards, titles and prizes.

3/10 @ 7PM EST: Updated award doc and added the new awards Lisa has won from International Color Awards.

4/15 @ 3PM EST: Added reviews and replies from Lisa’s Google Reviews.

This was brought to my attention a few days ago but since my Imaging USA trip I’ve been down and out with a virus so it’s taken me a few days to get the brain cells firing enough to make sense out of what happened here.

It’s pretty simple once you see it and it’s infuriating because this image won the silver with distinction award at AIPP this past fall and a gold award at The Societies of Photographers as well as nominated for Best Illustrative Photographer of the Year by the same company.

The original photographer was not asked, nor did he give permission for his image to be used in this competition image. Per his interview with Inside Imaging, when he asked Lisa to send him her RAW files she responded with a different image that was traced to another photographer on Google.

Interestingly, the image no longer appears on her website or social media although Google Reverse Image does show it on her website via a search. The only reference to the image I can find that is still attached to her social media profiles is this newsletter she sent out after her win. If she didn’t use the other image, why remove it?

There are going to be people who argue it’s a total coincidence and she just happened to photograph someone in the same museum (in a different country) at the same time of day, and she stood at the same exact spot, with the same lens focal length, on the same day of the year so that the light and shadows were the same and on a day with the same weather conditions. That’s an awful lot of coincidences that have to line up, especially given the image’s disappearance from her social media and website. You decide.

Original source

Google search showing the image USED to be on her website

And finally, if you remove the doves, TinEye pulls the original source as the image source.

Finally here’s a quick video overlay of the photos in question:

Another more detailed video overlay is here: https://www.dropbox.com/s/3lvfhplb4ipds4a/IMG_3453.mov?dl=0

Update 2/5 @ 10:30PM EST

Well. It’s been a bit of a wild ride since I hit post on this image on Sunday evening. If you’ve been over on the Facebook Page you’ve likely seen some of the shit flying around in the comments. The gist is basically “HOW DARE YOU!” and “this is a TOTAL coincidence!”

To be fair, I do not fault Lisa’s friends for sticking up for her.

To be honest, it merely being a coincidence is what I thought it was when this all started over a week ago when it was initially sent to me. I kind of fluffed it off because it just seemed like something that was probably along the lines of the lighthouse photo and it wasn’t the exact same thing.

But the more I dug in (and the more my sinus infection cleared up) the more I realized the “window” element in question in her composite image was the same source image. The overlay video is really what opened my eyes to it. The lights, shadows and designs were identical. Even with the lighthouse incident, you can tell the images are different due to the slight difference in angle and shutter speed.

On Monday morning I received an email from Lisa’s lawyer stating that I was to remove my post, publish their drafted apology and to also pay Lisa for all expenses incurred related to the incident. I have 28 days to comply or they will continue forth with her lawsuit against me. I replied requesting proof of the RAW or unedited EXIF data from the JPG of the window in question in order for me to agree to their demands but I have not heard back.

Now, I’ve been told, loudly, it is unfair of me to request the RAW file and Lisa shouldn’t have to show me it to prove the image is actually hers. However, I think it’s a reasonable request since her lawyer is demanding not only an apology posted that they’ve drafted but what is also likely to be a large sum of cash.

If you’ve been around this blog for longer than a minute, you know that it’s often the case that a photographer will claim the image is theirs despite undeniable proof the image is not theirs. Case in point, I’ve had my own work stolen and to this day the photographer STILL claims the image is hers despite there being not only RAW files but also news footage of me taking the image in question.

Sorry for all the wordy wordy stuff but after an article was published today claiming that I am often wrong I’m feeling a bit wordy because that is one thing I have never been on this blog is wrong. I take this seriously and I don’t throw down names on this blog until I’ve researched and researched and researched again.

The real reason for this update is to post another version of this image that has been credited to Lisa by the AIPP when she won her award back in August. This image is the same basic concept as the “dancer” image as I’m calling it. However more of Marcel’s original image remains and there is one of Lisa’s “anonymous man” in lieu of the dancer.

The rest of the image appears to be the same sourced building from the “dancer image” which is reportedly an image/images of the Walt Disney Theater in LA that Lisa took.

Curiously, once this image was pointed out on Facebook AIPP was quick to remove it from their Facebook and Instagram accounts. I cannot find this image anywhere else on the AIPP website, Facebook and Instagram.

The image in question:

Marcel’s image at the same size so you can compare:

Also, what is curious is that if you “enhance” the image from the AIPP FB/IG post there’s a curious thing that happens around the image of the man with the pixels.

Somehow I feel this isn’t the whole story and that tomorrow more is going to come down the pipes but for now, this is as far as we go tonight.

I need a cocktail.

Crap.

Literally as I am typing this I just received a message from another artist.

The image on the left is one Lisa won an AIPP award for in late 2016. The image on the right is from the spring of 2016 on behance but the client that the illustration was created for shows the design being used online in October 2015. The images that make up the puzzle pieces of the heart are different but the shapes and sizes of the geometric heart are strikingly similar.

This image is in the book Lisa sells calls The Anonymous Man which won a Gold with Distinction award at the AIPP in 2018. You can see it being judged here.

She talks about its creation on her blog here.

Original source

Here is a video of the images overlapped with the green lines showing what is the same between the two images. The green blobs are the trees/greenery.

The above really makes this article from Peta Pixel ironic.

Update 2/7/2019 @ 7PM / 11PM

To be very very clear I DO NOT KNOW if Lisa has purchased the proper rights to use the stock images and clip art that has been found in her award winning images.

What I DO KNOW is that per the rules of the competition/s these images were not permitted to be entered since they were not her own original photographs that made up the compositional images.

I am NOT saying these images were stolen. What I am saying is that they broke the competition rules.

For each image I have listed what award/s it won and where and with the first listing of a particular company I have also listed the rules. Across the board you will find they all require the same things, that the images that make up the image must have been created by the owner of the print.

For reference sake, this is a link to Lisa’s stock images for sale and here is another.

This image won Lisa Illustrative Photographer of the Year from The Societies of Photographers in 2018. It also won for 2019.

The competition guidelines for The Societies clearly states that: “Any entry which has been reproduced from an existing photograph, portrait, graphic or any other artwork produced by another person is a violation of the competition rules and will be disqualified.”

This image also won Lisa a silver award with the AIPP in 2017.

The competition guidelines for AIPP/APPA for that year state that: “All elements in an image must be the work of the photographer” and “The use of stock photography, purchasable digital backgrounds, skies, borders and textures is prohibited.”

This image also won Lisa a Silver with Distinction at the NZIPP 2018 Awards in the Illustrative category.

The competition guidelines for NZIPP in 2017 state that: “All content and images must be 100% photographic, from original exposures made within 24 months of the Online Entry Registration closing date, and created by the entrant (photographer). This includes all composite elements of an image, including backgrounds, skies, text, overlays and textures.”

Original source of bike, unknown original source of tree 1 – possibly this PNG pack, original stock source of tree 2, original source of tree 3, possible original source of trees 4/5 (left side mirrored for symmetry – something Lisa mentions doing on this video here), Original source of snowflake, Original source for ladder, Original source of cloud

This is another image from the Illustrative Photographer of the Year from The Societies of Photographers in 2018 award (rules seen above).

This image also won the 2017 Epson Signature Gold Award.

The Epson Awards state that: “Examples include images taken to illustrate a magazine article, scientific publication, website or book cover, but may also be outtakes from assignments, stock photography or part of a personal project. ”

This image also won Silver in the Illustrative category for WPPI in 2017.

The WPPI rules state that: “No third-party imagery, stock photography (skies, clouds, props, nature, architecture, illustrations, border, or backgrounds), or stock footage is allowed.”

Original source of girl on bike, original dog clipart source, unknown original source of tree – possibly this PNG pack

This image Lisa won the Silver with Distinction at the NZIPP 2018 Awards in the Commercial category.

It also won The Societies of Photographers 20 x 16″ Open Photographer of the Year 2019 award and 2nd Place Overall at the same event.

Original source of the tree (which has been mirrored), original source of the bench, original source of fence

This image Lisa won the Silver at the NZIPP 2018 Awards in the Illustrative category.

This image is in The Anonymous Man book which won a Gold with Distinction award at the AIPP in 2018. You can see it being judged here.

Unknown original source of tree – possibly this PNG pack

This image won Lisa Third Place at WPPI in 2017 in the Illustrative category.

This image is in The Anonymous Man book which won a Gold with Distinction award at the AIPP in 2018. You can see it being judged here.

Original source of the tree, original source of fence, original source of swing

This image won Lisa Silver at WPPI in 2017 in the Illustrative category.

It also won the highest scoring print with a 99/100 at the VIC Epson State Awards in 2017 where she also won the 2017 Victorian Epson Professional Photographer of the Year and Illustrative Photographer of the Year.

This image is also in The Anonymous Man book which won a Gold with Distinction award at the AIPP in 2018. You can see it being judged here.

In this interview Lisa talks about this piece in particular stating that she made this diving board from bits of walls (49:00 if you want that spot in particular).

Original stock source of diving board, original photo source of manhole cover

Update 2/8 @ 2PM

Lisa won a Gold with Distinction at the 2018 AIPP Awards for her Anonymous Man book. This book is made up of a series of images Lisa has created entitled Anonymous Man.

The judging of this book can be seen here – the images below are the ones inside that have elements that break the rules of the contest which it won.

The 2018 book page from AIPP has been taken down but here is the link to the Google Cache version of the page which states that: “The book must have been published in the previous two years, but the images may have been taken at any time and may include ‘found/historical’ photographs which are not the work of the entrant. Such found/historical photographs are acceptable where these images are used as reference or as supporting material for the primary photography in the book, which must otherwise be 100% the work of the photographer.”

The book was also on Go Fund Me. It was funded for $19, 725.

It is also for sale here.

Below are the various prints included that aren’t shown separately above.

This page being judged at AIPP is shown here.

Original stock source of hot air balloon

This page being shown at the AIPP here.

Original source of tree

This page being shown at the AIPP here.

Original source of books, original source of book

Update 2/9/19 @ 2PM, 7PM

I have added additional awards the above images have won and the rules for the book category.

I also found another tree for the first “grass circle” image and added the source.

I also found an original photo for the “sunken” photo and added the source.

I also added another photo to The Anonymous Man book above since it makes more sense to keep that all together.

Below are more images which have won awards with content that is not Lisa’s own creation.

This image won the gold award at the VIC Epson State Awards in 2017 where she also won the 2017 Victorian Epson Professional Photographer of the Year and Illustrative Photographer of the Year.

Original source of clipart ducks (mirrored), probable source of tree, original source of cloud

This image won the gold award at the VIC Epson State Awards in 2017 where she also won the 2017 Victorian Epson Professional Photographer of the Year and Illustrative Photographer of the Year.

Possible original source of the bike

This image placed in the 2016 NZIPP Iris Awards where Lisa won International Photographer of the Year but I cannot find an active link so the graphic below is the only “proof” I have.

It also won 2nd place in the Illustrative category at WPPI in 2016.

Possible original source for dove

Update 2/11 @ 5PM

Every time I think I’m finally done spending so much time on this something else hits my inbox.

Let’s start with another award winning image’s sources before I get to what came to me today.

This image, The Anonymous Man #6, is in the Gold with Distinction AIPP Book in 2018, won Gold at the VIC AIPP Awards in 2016 (where she won photographer of the year), Second Place at WPPI First Half 2016,

Unknown original source due to being an HD wallpaper of tree and hills that is ALL over the internet, unknown original source of golf flag – google’s link is broken for the flag photographed, may be an edited version of this flag

So, today’s developments…

As you may know, Lisa also gives workshops teaching the craft of compositing. As part of this class her students would also allegedly receive three folders of images that allegedly Lisa claimed to have taken ALL herself that she gave permission for her students to use these images as pieces of their own compositions. At 1:42 you can hear Lisa herself refer to this (he used the tree and birds).

ETA, Lisa has taken her video down. Here is the video.

One of these folders, entitled “Images for Composite” is full of PNG files, again that Lisa has allegedly claimed to have photographed herself.

Since this is an update you should know where this is going, not all of the images within are her own. However, some images are her own work. Even if she had the rights to use these stock and clipart images for her own work she likely did not have the rights to resell them, especially as her own work.

I was able to source another award winning image from the above files due to being able to isolate the source. I was able to also go back and add more sources in for images already listed above. Since I’m operating on about 3 hours of sleep for right now I’m just adding the links to the collage sources but will go back and add in the photos and make new collages in the next day or so. Please bear with me. It’s been a hell of a week.

This image, Letters of Life, won Silver Distinction at the 2018 WPPI Annual awards, 2018 The Societies of Photographers Pictoral and Fine Arts Photographer of the Year, Gold at the June 2018 The Societies Monthly Competition, Gold at the 2017 VIC AIPP Photographer of the Year Awards, and Silver at 2017 WPPI First Half.

Original source of the bench, overlay video beneath of bench, Original source of the paper airplane

Here’s the sources I can find for the composite image folder that Lisa allegedly distributed to her students. MANY are clip art or stock png files that are all over the internet. However, there are a few original artworks here as well, which really is disappointing for those artists who not only had their work taken but redistributed as work of another artist.

I think there may be a few more images where Lisa used some of these files for her composite work but I need to sleep so I will work on that tomorrow as this was an epic undertaking.

Possible original source of clipart cat

Original source for tree

Original source for tree

Original source for tree

Possible original source of cat – too many hits to know for sure

Original source of unicorn

Original source of cat

Original source of camel

Original source of leaf

Possible original source for tree (everywhere, hard to source)

Possible original source for tree (everywhere, hard to source)

Possible original source for hummingbirds (everywhere, hard to source)

Possible original source for pine tree (everywhere, hard to source)

Possible original source for boy silhouette (everywhere, hard to source)

Original source for bench

Original source leaves

Original source fence

Original source leaves

Possible original source of flock of birds (is a meme, hard to find original)

Possible original source of tree

Possible original source of leaves

Possible original source of birds

Possible original source of birds

Possible original source of bike

Possible original source of apple tree

Original source of bench

Possible original source of girl running

Possible original source of tree

Original source of birch leaf

Original source of tree

Original source of umbrella

Original source of grapes

Original source of bike

Original source of child running

Original source of bike

Possible original source of tree

Original source of snowflake

Original source of tree

Original source of bike

Possible original source of tree

Original source for bike

Possible original source for running girl

Probable source for butterfly

Possible original source for tree

Original source of phone booth

Original source of birds in tree

Original source of bare tree

Original source for ladder

Original source for ladder

Possible original source for umbrella

Original source of pennant flag

Now, I don’t have video proof of Lisa handing over these files to a person but what I do have is an image one of the students of her class posted of her artwork from the above folder after the workshop.

Update 2/12/19 @ 3PM

This is the thief that doesn’t end,

yes it goes on and on my friends,

I started digging not knowing what it was,

and I’ll continue digging forever because…

I finally slept more than a couple hours and am back to sourcing the bits and bobs that are still left. There’s a few photos that I found used sources from the folder above. There’s a few photos I found new sources for.

I also have made this Google Doc to highlight just how many awards Lisa won using images that were not eligible for entry. I highlight this because I feel that one of the important pieces of this story is all of the photographers that lost to Lisa while they played by the rules. There are SO many awards that she won that rightfully should have gone to other photographers who then in turn should have been able to turn those wins into being sponsored and on down the line. The ripples of this whole mess are unending.

I’m just sad for so many people. I’m sorry that Marcel had his work stolen and then was called a liar and hater and THEN had Lisa’s lawyers send him a threatening letter. I’m sorry for the other artists who had their intellectual works stolen and in some cases resold. I’m sorry for all the photographers who lost to Lisa. I’m sorry for all the photographers who looked up to Lisa. I’m sorry for all the photographers who took classes from Lisa. I’m sorry for all of the clients who bought one of these prints or books from Lisa thinking they wee investing in a hard working honest artist. I’m sorry for all of the people who like me have spent the past week losing sleep and sanity trying to sort this whole mess out. I’m sorry for all the photographers who were judged by Lisa who now question the validity of the scores she gave. I’m sorry for it all.

Most of all though, I’m sorry that Lisa didn’t feel confident in her work enough that she felt it could stand on its own. She obviously is quite talented in graphic arts an I hope that she uses this whole disaster to start anew with honesty and integrity in her work.

There is also this link that was sent to me (note the date is 2015 which is prior to Lisa’s creations) and the similarities of this artist and Lisa’s work are quite striking.

Now onto the new additions.

Anonymous Man #5 won Gold at WPPI First Half 2016, Silver Distinction at WPPI Annual Awards 2016, Silver Distinction at WPPI Annual Awards 2017 and placed somewhere at the 2016 VIC Epson AIPP Awards in 2016.

Possible original source of flock of birds (is a meme, hard to find original) – from Lisa’s composite folder above.

Project 11 – Cooper won Gold at the 2018 AIPP Awards, Semi Finalist at the 2018 Moran National Portrait Prize, Portrait Winner at the 2018 Australia Photography Awards, Gold at the September 2018 Monthly Societies Awards, and Winner of Portrait and Portrait Children at the 2018 The Societies 20×16 Awards.

Original source of pennant flag – from Lisa’s composite folder above

Project 11 – Bridget placed at the 2018 VIC AIPP Epson Awards, Semi Finalist at the 2018 Moran National Portrait Prize, Runner Up at 2018 Rangefinder The Portrait, Runner Up at 2018 Rangefinder Fine Art, and First Place 2018 WPPI First Half.

Original source of pennant flag – from Lisa’s composite folder above

Anonymous Man #35 placed at the 2018 VIC AIPP Epson Awards and is included in the Gold With Distinction The Anonymous Man Book at the 2018 AIPP Awards.

Original source of tree

Anonymous Man #9 placed at the 2018 VIC AIPP Epson Awards along with winning Silver at the 2016 WPPI Second Half Awards.

Original source of the paper airplane

Anonymous Man #15 is included in the Gold With Distinction The Anonymous Man Book at the 2018 AIPP Awards.

Original photo source of manhole cover

Anonymous Man #18 is included in the Gold With Distinction The Anonymous Man Book at the 2018 AIPP Awards.

Original source of umbrella

Anonymous Man #20 is included in the Gold With Distinction The Anonymous Man Book at the 2018 AIPP Awards.

Original source of bench, possible source of railing

Anonymous Man #28 is included in the Gold With Distinction The Anonymous Man Book at the 2018 AIPP Awards.

You can see her create this image on You Tube here. I’ve linked to where she inserts the crow.

Possible original source of crow

Update 2/13/19 @ 9AM

One of the bigger issues in the early days of this post was some naysayers saying that sure the heart design of Anonymous Man #11 is super similar to that of the original design from Montage Studio but she could have just unwittingly done it or overlaid and created her own so it’s not really stealing.

This piece has gained Lisa a lot of attention, I’d argue it’s one of the most notable of her Anonymous Man series.

This is what she has to say about it in this blog post:

“This image is dedicated to my mother (it is her bonsai that sits so proudly at the top) She pushed and pulled me my whole life making it almost impossible for me to understand what my next step or success was. ”

Original source of bonsai tree. Note, this image was taken in 2009 so not only would it disqualify her based on the fact it isn’t her original intellectual work but also was taken outside of the 2 year rule that most of the contests have rules about. The licensing appears to allow the use of the image, with credit but that still is against the various contest rules.

Finally, this website and my work here is a labor of love. I am extremely passionate about protecting the intellectual works of not only photographers but artists as a whole. That’s why I put in so much time and effort into this site. It may seem like this is an easy thing to do but a lot of time goes into each post (this one the most of any I think I’ve made in 7 years).

I don’t do this for the money, despite what those outed here may think. I generally only make about $10/month here in ad money.

Many have asked for ways to donate to the cause, which is very lovely to say the least. You can find my Patreon here or you can make a one-time PayPal donation here.

Adding the demands that Lisa made to me via her lawyers since I’ve been asked a few times about what they requested specifically.

Update 2/14/19 @ 12PM

Yesterday I quietly added 3 more photos to the day before’s sources that I had found and updated the Google Doc. I think except for about 2 photos that I’ve found possible but not definite sources for I have found all of the award winning images in which she broke the rules with. There may be more but I think (and hope) that this is as thorough of a comprehensive list as I can make.

As you may have heard, AIPP has officially stripped Lisa of the award she won with Marcel’s “Runner” image yesterday.

WPPI has officially “decided to rescind one member’s past WPPI awards and Honors of Excellence points. She will not be permitted to enter any WPPI competition for 5 years.”

Now the additional photos…

Anonymous Man # 1 won Gold at the 2016 VIC AIPP Awards and placed 9th at the 2016 World Photographic Cup.

Original source of papers

Anonymous Man #10 placed at the 2018 VIC AIPP Awards and Silver at the 2016 WPPI Second Half Awards.

Original source of engine

Missed Opportunities won Silver with Distinction at the 2016 VIC AIPP Awards.

Original source of papers, Original source of cloud

Update 2/17/19 @ 1AM

I’m really beginning to hate being on AUS time zone without having any of the sunshine.

A couple of these images were added on the 15th, the rest through the day on the 16th and the final just now.

I’m dreaming in Google Images and clipart.

I wasn’t going to make a proper update for these and instead slide them in without a fuss but some of these knock various Photographer of the Year standings into question so here we are.

Anonymous Man #17 won Gold with Distinction at the 2017 AIP VIC Awards, Gold at the 2017 WPPI Annual Awards, Entrant at the 2017 World Photographic Cup, Gold with Distinction at the 2016 AIPP Awards, Third Place in the 2016 WPPI Second Half Awards, and Gold at the 2016 WPPI Annual Awards

Possible original source of beach scene, it is an HD wallpaper so hard to find the original source of, original source of plane

Anonymous Man # 13 has won Highly Commended at the September 2018 SWPP Awards, Gold at the 2017 VIC AIPP Awards, Silver Distinction at the 2017 WPPI Annual Awards, Gold with Distinction at the 2017 AIPP Awards, Silver Distinction at 2017 WPPI Second Half, and Silver Distinction at 2017 WPPI Annual Awards.

Original source of UFO

Touch or Puff (I’ve seen it named both) won Gold Distinction at the 2015 AIPP Awards and placed at the 2015 VIC AIPP Awards. She won Commercial Photographer of the Year with both using this image in her portfolio.

Original source of cloud

Anonymous Man #25 / ANZAC doesn’t appear to have won any awards but it was in The Anonymous Man book that won Gold Distinction at the 2018 AIPP Awards.

Original source of tank

Anon Man #2 won Gold at the 2016 VIC AIPP Awards (part of the portfolio that won her photographer of the year), Nominee at the 2016 Silver Black and White Awards, Gold at the 2015 AIPP Awards and entry at the 2015 Lens Culture Awards.

Original source of elevator

Update 2/18/19 @ 11AM EST

The Societies of Photographers has issued a statement. They have disqualified all images, her fellowship distinction and membership.

Update 2/20/19 @ 7PM EST

Per the AIPP’s press release as of 2/21/19, “With immediate effect Lisa Saad’s membership of the Institute will cease indefinitely; all accumulated points, Awards, Titles and Prizes are rescinded. Ms. Saad will not be permitted to enter future AIPP State or National Awards.”

Their full statement:

The Australian Institute of Professional Photography has made a further determination on images submitted by Melbourne-based photographer Lisa Saad in the Annual APPA and State Print awards, following an initial disqualification for her 2018 Commercial Photography entry last week. The added images are from the 2015, 2016, 2017 and 2018 AIPP State & National Print Awards. Ms. Saad was given a further week to provide adequate evidence to support her entries’ continued validity; the requested files were not made available by the nominated time. Not admitting guilt, she requested the images be withdrawn. Such an action automatically disqualifies the images and all respective awards. The matter was immediately referred to the AIPP Compliance committee, as foreshadowed in an earlier announcement. After an extraordinary meeting called last night the AIPP Compliance Committee has made the following recommendations, which are accepted by the Board

of Directors of the AIPP. With immediate effect Lisa Saad’s membership of the Institute will cease indefinitely; all accumulated points, Awards, Titles and Prizes are rescinded. Ms. Saad will not be permitted to enter future AIPP State or National Awards. The Institute finds that there has been an ongoing breach of rules over a number of years, which have not only now brought the AIPP into disrepute through no fault of the AIPP, but more importantly, adversely affecting all those who might otherwise have been announced as winners or awardees at the time. The AIPP is now going through the large number of categories and awards over the relevant years. It will soon announce revised winners in a number of State and National Awards. The AIPP has the required judging records and point scores from the relevant awards events. To the best of its ability the AIPP will work to make good on the rightful winners and category entrants directly affected. The scale of the corrective action required means not all matters can be resolved or adjusted immediately. The AIPP has studied a sample of images judged by Ms. Saad in recent years and is satisfied that the remainder of the 5-member judging panel plus panel chair and assisting chair would have drawn similar outcomes after deducting her input, due to the way the scoring system adjusts for any one of the five judges and chair surveillance. As a result, no changes to awards points for an individual picture of which Lisa Saad was a judge will be made. It should also be noted that judges are not able to question an image’s validity in the Awards after its acceptance. The acceptance relies on the entrant’s firm agreement to rules. Judges have worked within those guidelines and there is no basis for some of the unjustified attacks on judges that have appeared in social media in recent days, which the AIPP deplores. The Institute has discussed whether there is a need for any changes to rules. If someone agrees to the rules and acts in good faith the rules remain effective and do not need changing. What will change, in progressive steps, is additional audit and review processes of images, using additional independent checks and technology. As some 70+ awards globally have been involved across 6 different awards bodies, this is not isolated just to Australia. This must be seen as an opportunity to further strengthen validity of entries for the benefit of the vast majority of honest and compliant photographers entering photographic awards. John Swainston, National President.

Just in case anyone thinks that it’s been all “yay Corey! You are the BEST” I am going to share the love note I received this morning.

Can you please explain publicly on your facebook page how you can steal others peoples photos to put on this website for your gain? Have you had permission to use these photographers images on your website? No???? Did I hear No?

A bit ironic don’t you think? It’s very contradictory. The fact that you are using other peoples photos for your gain is dissapointing… No Gain you say……so why do you have a donate button. “Did Photo Stealers help you out? Donate to the cost of running the site (or to a cocktail at the end of the night) here.” proof you are using this site for your gain. The relentless persuit of this latest attack on Lisa Saad shows that you are a pathetic individual. You’ve proved your point……So no that you’ve done that and ruined her life for your gain….Your website would have had so many hits and publicity. Maybe now these photographers will get back at you for using their images because all you have done is copied her entire image and pathetically picked on individual elements of the image… You’ve used her image that she’s created without her permission. So who’s the lesser person here. As far as I’m concerned, you are lower than her. The relentless attack on her without one shred of evidence is unbelievable. Looking at an image is not proof. Some of your reference photos aren’t even anywhere near what is in her images. You’re pathetic…. you’ve got your 5 minutes of fame so now you can fuck off.

Fair use is a thing. Look it up.

I’ve made about $700 in the 3 weeks I’ve been working on this case. Considering the hours I’ve put in, it hardly is a windfall but it’s nice that people are appreciative of my work.

Finally, I have the balls to own what I say under my own name without using a VPN and fake email. Try it sometime if you actually want to have a conversation.

Update 2/28/19 @ 7PM EST

NZIPP has released their own statement regarding this matter.

“The NZIPP Honours Council has now concluded their investigations into allegations of Iris Award rule breaches by Australian photographer Lisa Saad. While the NZIPP Honours Council appreciates that some may see the announcement of this outcome as slow, it was essential that the investigation follow a thorough and rigorous process around what has been a complex situation. The allegations first came to light following anonymous emails sent to a number of organisations around the world, including the NZIPP Honours Council. In the days that followed revelations were made by Corey Doyle Balazowich, through her Stopstealingphotos.com website in support of these allegations. We acknowledge the significant amount of work undertaken by Ms Balazowich, which reflected the complexity and depth of the analysis required to investigate the allegations. Ms Balazowich’s work was a major catalyst for both the NZIPP Honours Council and other organisations commencing their own investigations into Ms Saad. The allegations revolved around plagiarism and copyright, and this was also the focus of the initial investigations carried out by the Australian Institute of Professional Photography (AIPP), Society of Wedding and Portrait Photographers (SWPP) and Wedding and Portrait Photographers International (WPPI). Each of these organisations subsequently disqualifying Ms Saad’s entries. The second component to the AIPP investigation concluded when Ms Saad failed to submit the requested files by their imposed deadline. The failure by Ms Saad to supply these files resulted in an automatic breach of entry rules and an across the board disqualification. Her membership of the AIPP was immediately terminated, and all points, awards, titles, and prizes rescinded. A ban from entering future AIPP State or National Awards was also imposed on her. The investigation undertaken by the NZIPP Honours Council took a slightly different route, where Ms Saad chose to submit a number of the requested files, withdrew entries where she was unable to provide files for all of the elements, and more recently, did not provide all of the remaining files as requested by the designated deadline. Members of the NZIPP Honours Council have worked day and night over recent weeks to carry out a comprehensive review of all files and images that were submitted, assessing these alongside the allegations and information shared on the Stopstealingphotos.com website, as well as the rules outlined in the Iris Awards Call for Entries document. The NZIPP Honours Council investigation revealed compelling evidence of breaches of rules and entry conditions by Ms Saad. Furthermore, Ms Saad’s conduct indicated an intent to deceive and mislead the outcome of the investigation. Based on these findings, the NZIPP Honours Council has now disqualified all of Ms Saad’s entries. Subsequent to this disqualification, NZIPP has decided that effective immediately, all awards, titles, prizes, accrued merit points and Honours Distinctions received by Ms Saad through the NZ Iris Awards be revoked. In addition, a life ban is to be imposed on Ms Saad, meaning she will no longer be eligible to enter any future NZ Iris Awards competition. Following this outcome, the NZIPP Honours Council will now commence the process of re-assigning awards to the revised and rightful winners. Information on this will come through in

the weeks ahead. This has been an unprecedented situation, but throughout the process the NZIPP Honours Council has proven that both the Iris Awards entry rules and the systems in place to enforce

those rules have stood up to the investigation. As such, aside from the annual review of entry rules, there is no reason to make any significant changes to what currently exists. Ultimately, the onus falls on the entrant to read, understand and follow all entry rules, with consequences should they choose not to. Finally, while this event has affected many people, the NZIPP hopes that through the NZIPP Honours Council now reaching an outcome, all those who have been impacted and affected by

the situation are able to move on in a positive light, trusting that this has been an isolated case and that entrants who enter the Iris Awards in the future do so with honesty and integrity. Ollie Dale, FNZIPP

NZIPP President”

Update 4/15/19 @ 3PM EST

It appears in the past few weeks Lisa has made a push to have clients (both those who hired her as a mentor and those who hired her as a photographer) leave positive Google reviews on her Google Page to bump down her negative feedback.

Reminder, I do NOT condone leaving negative reviews for anyone listed on Photo Stealers unless you are a client or are directly involved (in my humble opinion if someone steals images from your business you have full rights to leave a negative review).

However, since Lisa is stating that this post a “trolling event” and the fact many of her awards were rescinded “ill-informed” I felt it was worth updating her post.

Since I’m in the US I do not have access to her Google Page.

To see all of the reviews click here: https://imgur.com/a/CkEoXZG