Kim Van Dam
"Pixsy helps me navigate the legal system so more illegally used photos are found. Plus, by negotiating with infringers, I get paid more often."
- Career: 22+ years
- Kit: Canon 5D Mark III Fujifilm X-T2
Over 22 years, Kim has worked as a travel photographer and journalist for various national Dutch newspapers (AD, Telegraaf) and national magazines (Nouveau, Cosmopolitan, Zin, Gala, FietsActief, etc).
Through photo agencies, her photos have been published all over the world, from Saudi Arabia and the United States to England and India in several mediums.
With the introduction and increase in stock agency sites, Kim Van Dam noticed the prices of professional photography consistently decreasing. Kim saw this trend accelerating in recent years, with businesses knowingly choosing to illegally use photography found on the internet.
As a result, Kim noticed she was selling fewer images through agencies. Instead, her work was being used by businesses without her approval. An image Kim took at Keukenhof was constantly being used online. Keukenhof, found in the Netherlands, is one of the world's largest and arguably most beautiful gardens so it comes as no surprise that images of it are in high circulation.
Getting paid more often with Pixsy! Early on when Van Dam began identifying infringements, she attempted to reach out on her own, but her requests went unanswered and ignored. Using Pixsy has helped her to easily pursue infringements and recover lost revenue.
Adding Pixsy to her toolkit means that although Kim's selling prices for images may be lower, the decrease can be offset by the revenue earned from infringements. Kim used Pixsy to upload her images and pursue the theft of her Keukenholf image. Pixsy was able to find this image used on the internet 45 times, Kim was able to submit 42 cases against the infringers and quickly began to see resolutions, and most importantly revenue.