publish, publisher
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to publish
On this website, the verb “publish” refers to putting content (including photographs) “before the public.”
• This can be done on the web, in print, on television, via email lists, in exhibits and displays, and by other means.
• On this website, anytime a photograph is merely made available to any segment of the public it is considered “published.”
• There is no minimum number of viewers required to regard a photo as “published” (just as books can be published that will have only a handful of readers).
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the publisher
On this website, the noun “publisher” refers to any entity that puts content (including photographs) “before the public.”*
Thus the “publisher” of a photo can be the photographer (for example if the photo is on the photographer's monosite) or the “publisher” of the photo can be a third party over which the photographer does not have control (e.g., “the New York Times”).
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first/second/third party
This website takes its “party” cues from English syntax for first-person, second-person, and third-person entities:
• The photographer is the first party: “I made a photograph.”
• The viewer is the second party: “I am showing the photo to you.”*
• Any publisher over which the photographer does not have control is the third party: “They are publishing my photo so the world can see it.”
The third party is common but optional: the first party (photographer) can always show photos directly to the second party (viewer).
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*See also trust exchange