Copyright Information

As with most things in our world there are laws and legislation that impact our interactions with one another. Photography is not immune from this almost universal truth. Under United States law, when someone makes a photograph, that person is automatically and instantaneously granted a copyright to that image. This means the picture-taker owns the copyright whether or not they officially register it with the United States Copyright office. Equally important, United States citizens’ copyrights are recognized and enforced in many foreign countries by way of international treaty.

The only exception to the automatic and instantaneous circumstance is the “work-made-for-hire” exception. This exception is created in two ways. 

1. The photographer is an employee hired to take photographs for an employer. The words employee and employer are used here in their legal sense meaning the employer is withholding and paying employment taxes on behalf of the employee (in this case the photographer). 
2. The photographer is hired and signs a written contract that specifically states photographic work is to be considered Work-for-Hire. The contract will outline the terms, work covered and limits. 

A Work-for-Hire agreement will relinquish all of the photographer’s rights to the client. The unstated, but important point here is that the hiring of a photographer for any event, photo shoot or any other photographic session is not considered Work-for-Hire and does not give the client any claim and/or right to use any images produced as a result of that activity. 

You will recieve a license that outlines how you may use images made during our session(s) when you receive those images. More importantly, we will discuss the terms of this license before taking the first shot. This way you will know exactly what you may and may not do with the images before the exchange of any payment.

Typically you will receive an unlimited personal use license. This license allows you to share your images with friends and family, post them to your social media and personal web pages and print them for your own and/or your friends’ and family’s personal use. All other use must be approved by a representative of Duane Photography prior to that use.

Note: personal use does not include use to promote, market and/or represent your personal business. If you would like to use images in your personal business contact kevin@duanephotography.com for information. 

A word about watermarks and metadata. I apply a watermark to all my images. Additionally, all images contain embedded metadata (called EXIF data). The watermark and metadata serve two purposes. First, they inform anyone who may view, or otherwise access an image, that the image is copyrighted. Second, they help market my work. My watermarks are not obtrusive because I understand some clients think they degrade the image. Federal law prohibits the removal of watermarks and/or metadata to disguise infringement. Removal without consent may result in fines ranging from $2,500 – $25,000 per image and may include damages and reimbursement of legal fees incurred by Duane Photography. If you would like to discuss provision of images without a watermark bring this up at our consultation or contact me at kevin@duanephotography.com. 

If you would like to verify any of the copyright information provided here go to https://www.copyright.gov/. This is the official website of the United States Copyright Office.

Thank you for your patronage!

Kevin Duane