Who owns my photos after a photoshoot?
The great debate in the photography world. Well, not among us, but between us photogs and our clients.
So when you hire a photographer to take some amazing photos of your family, new headshots, or whatever the occasion, who actually owns the photos?
Legally, the photographer actually owns the photos. Think of it as a painting. There are many replications and photographs of the Mona Lisa, but only one actual Mona Lisa and it is owned by one person or entity. So when I photograph a client, I own the image. It is my artwork that I created and is thus covered under copyright law.
When I deliver the images to a client, I am basically allowing the use of the images. Similar to how a sports team licenses out their logo to other print companies. That is why you see in many photography contracts, a clause that does not allow edits or tampering of the photos. It would be like purchasing a painting of yourself from an artist, then adding your own stuff on top and telling everyone that sees it that it came from the original artist. You have altered the work and it is now a representation of the original artists.
Do clients add Instagram filters and weird crops? Yes, all the time. It isn’t worth the time or effort of chasing clients and sending them contract reminders. And honestly, I know the feeling of seeing an image change with a filter, sometimes they can create a cool effect, but again, it isn’t a representation of my work, so I try to not be tagged in them if I see them.
This is also a sensitive subject when using images for making an income. May photographers offer extended use agreements that allow the images to be used for book covers, press releases, news channels, ect. This helps keep the photographer fairly compensated for reproductions. Like if you submit a photo to a competition and win $1000, you aren’t really allowed to submit and win that without written permission under my contracts. Those instances would fall under an extended contract.
Hopefully this sheds a little more light on the photography world and how our ownership works. Let me know if you have any questions.
