Mayor Eric Johnson Makes Amends With Dallas Photographer Over Uncredited Photo

The struggle of artists to receive proper credit for their work is a tale as old as time, but sometimes history repeats itself in bizarrely specific ways.

In 2022, Gov. Greg Abbott was called out for tweeting a photo of the Dallas skyline without crediting the photographer. And just to make it clear that this wasn’t a mistake and that his social media manager didn’t simply forget, the watermark bearing the photographer’s name was cropped out.

Recently, Dallas Mayor Eric Johnson faced backlash for doing pretty much the same thing. Well, exactly the same thing. On May 5, Johnson posted a picture of the Dallas skyline on Facebook and praised the Omni Hotel’s display that honored a recent Dallas Stars victory. Like Abbott’s post, there was no credit and the watermark was removed.

To make matters weirder, the photos posted by Abbott and Johnson were taken by the same photographer, Joseph Haubert, who is widely renowned for his photos of cityscapes. He has over 31,000 followers on Instagram and credits in publications like National Geographic and Vogue Italia. In other words, he's not hard to find via a Google Image search.

Haubert is a full-time photographer whose livelihood largely depends on photo licensing and selling prints. Social media and the internet make it easier than ever to use and circulate unlicensed art. Each time one of his photos is posted without permission, he loses money.

"It takes a lot of business from some people,” Haubert told the Observer in 2022. “It happens to a lot of photographers and illustrators when someone takes away your imagination."

Unfortunately, there's not much recourse for artists, especially with politicians.

"This one guy in Irving used my stuff for a whole campaign," Haubert said. "He used all my images on his website and he had yard signs with my images as the backdrop. I sent him a cease and desist and apparently, he had a law background and said, 'You're harassing me.'

"It's not worth it with politicians. They seem to know how to manipulate the situation and turn it around.”

One thing politicians can’t manipulate, no matter how hard they try, is public opinion. The comment section on Johnson’s now-deleted Facebook post was flooded with Haubert’s supporters calling for both a correction and an apology.

“How unprofessional of the mayor of Dallas to put out something on social media, use an image and not even give the local photographer credit,” wrote one user. “This is 8th grade English 101. CREDIT IMAGES YOU USE.”

“Doesn’t seem like you care about your constituents at all,” read another comment. “You had an opportunity to prop up a talented local photographer and give them credit for their work. You should be ashamed of yourself.”

Others said that though the lack of credit was egregious, it may not have been the mayor’s fault.
“I will bet that the mayor didn't post this, probably doesn't even know about it,” one user wrote. “His social media person is the one who did this and has moved on and isn't paying one bit of attention to the comments.”

That assessment, though true of many social media mishaps, turned out to be false by the mayor’s own admission. On Wednesday, Johnson posted the photo again with a new caption:

“I have deleted a post that included this previously uncredited photo, which I love and was sent to me by a friend,” the mayor wrote. “Thank you Joseph Haubert Photography for such a great shot of our beautiful city skyline.”

A representative for Johnson told us that the mayor not only loves the photo but is also in touch with Haubert to buy a print to hang in his office.

Haubert is pleasantly surprised by this olive branch.

"This is something I am not used to," he tells the Observer, about Johnson. "I don't have anything bad to say. It's frustrating, but it's not the first or last time. I appreciate the mayor for handling it so professionally."

Though Haubert received his due in the end, not every photographer is so lucky. Social media has made us cavalier about saving and posting photos, but it’s critical to remember that art usually belongs to someone, and you can’t use whatever you want without obtaining permission and giving proper credit.

When you do give credit, you're giving an independent artist a platform and avoiding a cease and desist letter. Everyone wins.

Maybe Johnson can pass that message along to our governor when he has a chance.