What is copyright? A copyright is “the exclusive legal right, given to an originator or an assignee to print, publish, perform, film, or record literary, artistic, or musical material, and to authorize others to do the same”. Basically it’s the right to edit, share, or print a designated work.
Who owns the photos? What can or can’t I do with the photos? Who has the copyright? These are some of the more frequent questions that get asked by our clients and if you’re a photographer too, I’m sure it is for you as well. Ultimately, the person who physically takes the picture is the copyright holder to that image, after that is where the options open up. It’s the photographers choice how he/she chooses to assign the copyright after the work has been done. The photographer can keep all the rights, assign just printing rights, or create a variation that fits the clients need.
1. Photographer Owns The Full Copyright
This one is by far the most popular as well as being the most profitable. The photographer is paid a fee (often called a sitting or session fee) which is strictly for the photographers time to come and take the images. Afterwards they will perform edits to the images and the clients would be given those proofs to look through. At this point the client would purchase individual or packed physical prints that they wanted made for their choice of images they liked most. The photographer would print and deliver the images. At any point in the future if the client would want further images, they would just need to contact the photographer and order more prints.
In this method, the photographer chooses to keep all rights to the photos. The client has the ability to choose only their favorites and receive quality prints, while the photographer keeps full artistic control of the work. This option is often viewed as a win win option by giving both people the quality work they want, but in today’s digital environment can become less enticing in a fast paced society. And if not given this information prior could lead to unhappy clients who assumed their sitting or session fee was all they would owe for your services.
2. Photographer Gives a Limited Release
The next method has the photographer giving a limited copyright release to their clients with their purchase. Often a flat price is given including the session, editing, and the limited release all together. This way the photographer can give a no surprise purchase option to the client allowing them to know a price which has everything included. The photographer would then take the pictures, perform the edits on the photos, and return all of the photos or whatever amount they were contracted for. They would then give the client a limited release, which gives a few rights to them. This release isn’t a cookie cutter document and is often different from each photographer based on how they choose to run their business. However, the most common version allows the client to make their own physical prints and the photographer keeps all of the remaining rights to the images.
This is the option we personally use and find it fits exactly what both parties want. We can give our clients a price that they know will not change while also giving them the full value of their session.
3. Photographer Sells The Copyright
The final option is one that most photographers at least offer on their packages. The photographer will perform all of the duties they are contracted fo, but as an option sells off the copyright to the photos at a price. The benefits to owning the copyright is that you could alter, edit, sell, or even advertise your images and have full legal rights to the images. The con to this would be the price, the value changes from person to person based on what they think the value of their pictures would be. By selling the copyright, the photographer relinquishes all value they have to the pictures and as such must charge accordingly.
I hope everyone could take a few things learned from a quick look at these different copyright options that most photographers offer. Of course, there is no definitive option because each photographer must choose which one fits their business and personal choices best. Never be afraid to bring it up while discussing a session with your photographer, a professional will appreciate a client who takes the time to understand just what they’re getting and ask questions about their services. If anyone has any questions on this topic or anything else, just message us and we’d be happy to help!
