What Can You Do With Your Images?
It is a common misconception, that when you buy a photograph, you automatically own the photo and can therefore do whatever you like with it. More often than not, this isn’t the case!
As a general rule, any photograph will be deemed an artistic work and therefore automatically be protected by copyright. Which means permission from the owner is needed to perform certain acts. Usually, the owner is the photographer (in this case), but if the photographer took the photo as part of a contract for another company, the copyright may lie with the the company, not the photographer (depending on what the contract states).
What does it mean to have a photo protected by copyright?
When you purchase an image, you will have purchased a license to use the image. This license will detail what you can and cannot do with the image. For example, portrait clients of mine have a print and social media license with their images. This means that they can:
Print the image as they wish
Post the image non-commercially on their social media profiles.
This means that the images I take cannot be used within any commercial work, such as being posted on a businesses social media profile, or to sell a horse, and cannot be used to promote any products or services, online or in print. Meanwhile, commercial clients will have a license to use the images to promote their product or services, both online and print. This is very different to those who are a portrait client. In both cases, unless express permission has been granted, images cannot be edited or altered in any way.
Additionally, if you haven’t purchased an image, or asked permission from a photographer to use said image, contact the original photographer before using the image in any way. Failure to do so could cause some big financial consequences, depending on the photographer. Therefore, if you are unsure as to what you can do with an image you have purchased, the safest bet is to check with your photographer.
What could happen if you cause copyright infringement?
In all honesty, this is entirely dependent on the owner of the image. There have been a few cases where photos haven’t been purchased but have been posted online from events I’ve covered, where I have asked the person who has shared the image to take it down, and that they can purchase a social media licence for as little as £10. I’ve always initially commented publicly as I have found that private messages often don’t work as well. If they still haven’t taken it down, I then proceed to privately message them to ask where I can send an invoice and this is usually enough to take it down. However, I have heard of photographers sending rather large invoices, particularly if work has been used commercially without permission. There have even been cases that have resulted in a court hearing, which can be very expensive for the person who broke the copyright law. I’ve even seen photographers refuse to photograph certain people at events because they’ve been known to steal the images.
Ultimately though, it is the decision of the photographer in regards to how far they will take it. My best advice is to ensure that you don’t cause copyright infringement in the first place!