I often get questions regarding the copyright laws from clients who’ve hired me for a photo shoot. I thought it would be a good time to clear up some myths and truths about copyright laws as it pertains to photographers. They can seem a bit intimidating at first but here’s a simple way of navigating the “who-owns-what” part of photo shoots.  Before I dive into the details let’s bust a myth; While each photographer is different in how protective they are about their images, photographers build their business’s on their work and integrity.  It’s normal and usual for a photographer to use images they’ve taken in their own portfolios, possibly in print or social media to promote their work but we don’t exploit our clients images and sell them to advertisers.  That’s just bad business.

What is the copyright law as it pertains to photographers?

In simple terms, copyright for photographers means owning property. As soon as a photographer presses that shutter button they have created and own that image. With ownership, they get certain exclusive rights to that property. For photographic copyrights, the ownership rights include:

(1) To reproduce the photograph.

(2) To prepare derivative works based upon the photograph.

(3) To distribute copies of the photograph to the public by sale or other transfer of ownership, or by rental, lease, or lending.

(4) To display the photograph publicly.

When I’m working with individuals or companies, each shoot is different:

Whether I shoot with an individual, a couple or a corporation who hires me to create work for them, I still retain full copyright of those images. However, I do grant them *license to use those photos to promote their brand or their company, to promote themselves or to share their photos with family and friends in print or electronic media. In fact, it’s my sincere hope they are able to use those images as much as they can. That was whole reason for the shoot. So from my perspective and for the sake of promoting my business, use those photos!

What you CAN NOT do is transfer those images to a third party for use to promote their business (with the exception of instances of promoting yourself within that business). The same rule applies to wedding clients. While it may be tempting to give a photo from your wedding to, lets say, the catering company or florist so they can use those photos as an example of their work to promote themselves, it’s not ok to do so without the permission of the photographer. In many cases a photographer will give permission so long as a photo credit and link back to their website is included. But it’s right and proper to seek that photographer’s consent in writing – even via email.

Why do photographers retain the copyrights even if you hire them?:  Professional photographers are dependent on their ability to control the distribution and reproduction of the photographs they create for several reasons. For example, copying a photo without permission, editing their work (with that cool new filter on Instagram), or not attributing a photographer (not making a clear and correct assertion as to who took the photo in the absence of a watermark) can negatively impact a photographer’s professional reputation, the ability to market and advertise their photography products/services their ability to generate an income from the works they create.

Using images you see online: a photographer created every image you find on the Internet and that photographer holds the copyright to that image. Regardless of whether or not you found that image in the public domain, you are not entitled to alter or use that image for your own purposes, with the exception of using an image or images to highlight or promote the work of that photographer (with their permission).  While in some cases your theft of that image will go unnoticed, you are in violation of U.S. copyright laws and are subject to a lawsuit by the copyright holder.   Just don’t do it.

Addendum’s or considerations:  Regardless of whether or not you paid for a photo session, you do not have the right to sell, license, transfer ownership of your images.  However, there are a few addendum’s or considerations that can be added to a contract.

Licensing: * this is different that ‘copyright’. While a photographer will always retain exclusive copyrights to their work, I will often license an image (usually for a fee or in some cases a very specific photo credit) to that company or individual. A license fee is based on the ‘usage’ of that photo.  In the case of a stock photo shoot with a company, the license agreement usually contains a clause that allows the photographer to use the photos in their portfolio to promote their work but not to sell those photographs to other companies.

Privacy exceptions: If I have been commissioned to shoot a more artistic or intimate shoot with an individual we start with a conversation. I get a sense of what they’re comfortable with when it comes to the types of photos I will use in my portfolio. I often enter an agreement with that individual (for privacy reasons) as to the type of images that I will release into the public domain via electronic media and that agreement is put into writing.

Work for hire copyright: This can be a very misleading term but basically, work for hire means that the photographer is a full time employee of a company and creating images for that company.   Work for hire does NOT include working as a contractor for individuals, weddings, events, stock photos etc.; unless there is an express contract written at the time of the photo shoot, which assigns exclusive copyrights to the person who hired the photographer.

While copyright laws can seem intimidating, they do exist to protect a photographer’s work from being stolen and used without their permission. Most photographers like myself, would not be in business if we didn’t understand that each photo shoot and each client is unique.  I understand that if you paid me for a photoshoot, while I may hold the copyrights to those photos and may used them to promote my own work, you’re not going to see them in an advertisement on the side of a bus.   Photographers like myself, build our businesses on referrals and the satisfaction of our clients. It’s important to understand copyright laws, but personally, I want every client to LOVE their photos, to trust that their images wont be exploited and most of all to enjoy working with me.

Here is a link to the US copyright laws:

https://www.copyright.gov/title17/92chap1.html#106