Something I’ve noticed—I won’t say lately, because it has been going on for some time now, but it’s been brought to my attention more lately—is that people will take the Film Simulation Recipes that I’ve made and claim them as their own.
In all fairness, it’s entirely possible that two different people could make identical Recipes independently of each other; however, with all of the variables, the odds are rather slim. Yes, it could happen, and probably has happened a couple of times, but it’s not something that should happen very often, mathematically speaking. For example, there are over 360 possible White Balance Shifts, let alone all of the other parameters, such as film simulation, dynamic range, color, etc., etc., etc.. I don’t know exactly how many possible Recipes there are, but it’s a staggering number, whatever it is. Just from the various white balance options, there are over 270,000 possible Recipes, all other settings being identical.
I want to be clear that I love seeing this whole Film Simulation Recipe community build and grow. It’s amazing that so many photographers are using Recipes, and many find the creation of Recipes to be an enjoyable endeavor. It’s having a notable impact not only with Fujifilm, but it’s beginning to spread across much of the photography world, too. I’m extremely honored to have a front row seat to it all; perhaps my seat is even the driver’s seat. The thrill is real!
But, sometimes someone will post the Recipes that I created on their website or platform (or even in an app!), and they won’t credit that it came from Fuji X Weekly. Then, when someone comments at how good the Recipe is, they’ll say “thank you” as if it was made by them (instead of taking the opportunity to state where it actually originated). They’ll take full credit. Sometimes quite literally they will claim that, in fact, they invented it when they only copied it from me (or maybe someone else).
On the occasions where I’ve confronted some people about it, the response has universally been, “No one can own a recipe—no one can own camera settings.” They know what they’re doing. There might even be some truth to their point; however, not citing your sources is flat out plagiarism, which can be illegal, and is pretty universally considered wrong. Whether or not one can or cannot “own” camera settings is irrelevant; it’s not an all-you-can-take-for-free buffet; it’s theft—a type of stealing of other people’s work. I’m not certain where it all falls strictly legally speaking, but on a very basic moral matter, it’s a pretty crummy thing to do. A decent human wouldn’t do that, and it speaks volumes about the character (or lack thereof) of those who do such things.
In addition to those who have republished my Recipes without citing the source (and, much worse, even claiming credit), some have downright taken my photographs, and even claimed them to be their own. That’s even more brazen! And definitely illegal. Some have also put my Film Simulation Recipes, which I freely publish on Fuji X Weekly and in the Fuji X Weekly App, behind a paywall and charged money for them. Shameful.
There’s a more subtle one: change one or two parameters, and then take full credit. I often say that it’s perfectly ok to “season to taste” any Recipe to make it work better for you. I think that’s great! However, it should still be stated that it was originally my Recipe, just with tweaks. Something like, “I started with this Fuji X Weekly Recipe, but then I made these changes to suit my own tastes.” In one case, someone took a certain Recipe of mine, changed DR200 to DR400 and adjusted Highlight from -2 to -1 (which produces very similar results), and claimed it as their own. The person stated on their website that he did “numerous experiments and tests” to “eventually achieve the perfect tone,” even claiming it might be the “best recipe” that he “ever created.” That’s quite dishonest! And it’s much more common than it should be. There are quite a few people who have done this, and even achieved some notoriety for “their” Recipes that are actually just small tweaks of my Recipes (or possibly a Recipe that you created). The person in question in this case has actually done this more than once; I’m not certain if any of their Recipes are actually original, but I see some people say on social media that they love their Recipes.
I’m not naming names, because I’m not here to shame anyone. I don’t want to stifle any of the creativity and momentum of the Recipe community, which you have a part in. Most people are good and honest, and try to do the right thing with all of their choices. Accidental slips happen, and for certain I’ve made my own share of mistakes. But I want to bring awareness to this issue, because there are a few bad apples out there trying to spoil the whole bunch. Hopefully some that have done this will recognize themselves in this article, feel bad for what they’ve done, and stop doing it. If it’s an honest mistake, don’t feel bad about it, because that’s not the point of this. This is about those who are knowingly dishonest, and try to gain followers—or money—off of the work of others. This is not about anyone else, because there are a hack-of-a-lot more good people in this community than not.
Unlike the person who claimed to do numerous experiments and tests but actually just took my Recipe and tweaked it very minimally and in a way that produces the same results, I actually put a lot of work into most of the Recipes that I create. Some come quite naturally; however, for most I put hours of work into them. Some take weeks or months to create. It’s really disheartening to see someone else take credit for—and even sometimes gain notoriety and money—from my own efforts. Aside from those few bad apples, the Film Simulation Recipe community is amazing! You all are great! The vast, vast majority are very kind and wonderful people! Your enthusiasm and creativity are infectious. Your support is greatly appreciated. It’s been a true honor to meet some of you in person recently. We’re just getting started, and I look forward to wherever all this leads.