Copycattiness...

Is it a feline-y? 
baboomtish. thankyerverreemuch.  I'm here all week.

It was recently brought to my attention that I (my images actually) may be being 'copied'.  My signature posing style ie. 

I don't really care about this because in this medium, well... what anyone does is inspirational and that's why we (style bloggers) exist right?  To inspire others.  When people get inspired, they can't help but copy what they were originally inspired by otherwise how can they express what inspired them in the first place?

Did you get that??


It's not a bad thing at all and it certainly doesn't offend me.  I am very flattered when I have inspired someone else enough for them to want to duplicate a look, style, pose or technique.  That's quite a compliment.  I am not going to engage in false modesty.  I do have skills, abilities, knowledge and talent.  What's the point in having such things if you cannot freely share them?
...it's certainly not like if they copy me they will become me ("me" in this case being an example, feel free to substitute "me" with you), there can only ever be one me.   One you.  

And it's not like how I take my images, pose, light them, etc are completely original anyway!  Camera techniques are learned, lighting is instinctive and learned as well and poses are learned too.  And innate and organic.  (As in, sure I naturally know how to pose but I also know the techniques of posing.)  It's how you use these things to express yourself is what counts.  With everything. 
...so copy me all you want... you're not going to be me.

And really... let's get real people... I don't compete on a superficial level.  Unfortunately there are many who do.  Which is where the copycat-tiness comes in.  I simply do not understand females who insist on competing with each other through dress size or who's got the latest (sh)'it' bag or social standing etc. 

Or through one-upmanship.  Wanting to be seen as superior, fuelled by insecurity.  It's a lonely life.

What does offend me is this. When people copy original thoughts, ideas and points and pass them off as their own.  Worse... quote my ideas back to me!  I have a friend... sorry, 'friend'... who does this to me.  I'm not the type to stay quiet about such things, particularly if I have put a lot of research in to accumulating info to form the conjecture. 
I share information and knowledge freely and I always credit source of information so it sh*ts me when I am plagiarised.
I have had an ex assistant copy my entire hard-earned resume and pass it off as her work!  It was rather funny that the person going through the resumes was very very familiar with my work.  My husband.

In the design space I work in, we are always on guard for copycats.  In this too much info at your fingertips and instantly age...it's very hard for designers to make sure they are seen as the Originator and being a designer myself, it hurts when someone says "oh that's just like such-and-such".  No.  Such and such copied me.  Or did they?

Is there truly such a thing as originality anymore?  I believe so.  But I also believe in the zeitgeist... that many people have an original thought at the same time... it's why we're on wavelengths, we all ride the same wave in at different spots on the lip...  

TO BE CONTINUED...