steal or no steal

i thought i was funny. get it steal or no steal like deal or no deal. ok, so its only funny to me.
if y'all are keeping up with my blog then you heard i won a photo contest. i post about it on my blog and on twitter which i have set to automatically update my facebook status. my friends on facebook are super supportive and asked me to post the pic, so everyone could ogle at it. so, i posted it on my wall for all to see. one of my coworkers who is also a facebook friend told me the next day that she loved it and had her husband print out a copy for her. this left me feeling a bit uncomfortable. you see i am a burgeoning photographer. i have shown my photography at an art show, but as i choose not to sell them yet. i hope though to show at more shows and eventually start selling some of my work. and, yes i do consider it work. i have invested alot of money(ok, so the camera was a present albeit a very expensive present from my loving parents. but the lens, etc investments of my money) and time into it. for every photo, i actually like and am willing to use i spend as much as an hour setting up and taking the pics. copyrighting pics is simple. according to the us copyright office, all photographs are copyrighted at the moment of creation. but, taking someone's photographic work for free is easy especially in our internet age.
in the end, i decided she is my friend and to simply take it as a compliment. however, i ask that if you see any of my photography that you like, please do not use it without asking. i may say yes especially if you're a friend, but please ask first.