Professional Photography Copyright Laws & Common Misperceptions
Most people will have a professional photographer at some point during their life, most commonly at a wedding and the reception, or when they experience a newborn baby. Typically they cost 100's of dollars for short sessions into figures way beyond 1000$ for elaborate sessions. Many times, the price you pay is based upon the quality and amount of time the photographer is taking to produce the breath-taking images. Being a new parent, I definitely know the cost factor and how you get what you pay for when it comes to newborn pictures. Take it from me, if you pay less than 100$ for a session, you’re better off just using your iPhone.
After you pay this amount of money and receive the photos, most people believe that they bought those images. That they are now the owner of the photos and contain rights to reproduce and distribute them.
This is a common misperception.
Let me explain. For anyone taking photos of any type, on any device, whether it's a $10,000 camera or an obsolete flip-phone from the early 2000's
If you take the photo, it is your property and you own the image
These copyright laws are in place to protect people from stealing and representing others work or ideas, and they aren't just some "special" law for professionals. Though they apply mostly for professionals in order to protect their livelihood, these laws apply to everyone: you, me, and your grandma who just found how cool a smart phone is.
So when you get those professional photos, your actually only buying a copy, and that copy is under copyright. The photographer owns them. Unless you receive permissions to make your own copies, it is considered stealing to do so. This is also true when you buy the digital images, which are considered copies with a print license that contain special privileges to make copies. The print license is meant to be shared with friends and family but contain restrictions where you can’t alter the copies, enter them in contests, or sell copies.
In summary, the ownership always stays with the person taking the picture. You don't own the photos and they are copyrighted. You should always ask permission before uploading and posting their photos online.
Thank you for reading. All comments are always welcomed
I agree. Every picture tells a story for instance I try to get pictures of lighting, sometimes waiting hours in the rain, cold soaked head from toe.
It would suck to have your property stolen from you .
That's why I was alway Leary on posting pictures on Facebook because they sell other people's images to other companies etc.
Thx for clearing this up!
Very good rundown of where the copyright belongs. There is one caveat, though, and that would be in certain work-for-hires. So, if you are a employee of a company that is an in-house photographer, the copyright belongs to the company, unless they hire you as an independent contractor. But I think most companies relying on photos would rather just pay for licensing the image since its cheaper and you don't need to put someone on a payroll.