When someone enquires about Wedding Photography, we get asked often “Can we have a copy of the images with the copyright?”
The answer is “yes” – to the digital copy of the images. But “no”
to the copyright.
Here’s why….
The vast majority of professional photographers will never give the copyright with the
images. Under the Design and
Patents Act 1988, the photographer owns the copyright from the moment the image is
created.
But don’t let this
worry you too much. Most
photographers (and ColourStone Photography included) will provide you with a licence which allows you to print the
images for personal use.
So why does the copyright remain with the photographer? Well, imagine a marketing company is looking
for a particular wedding shot, with particular lighting and background, and a
specific “look” about the bride and groom – and your photographer has just
taken that very photograph of you at your wedding. The marketing company may offer a large sum
of money for that very image.
Professional photographers earn their living by taking good
photographs. They have learned their art
through hours and hours of training and practice. When you hire a photographer, you pay for
their creativity, their understanding of light and form and their ability to
capture emotion.
That marketing company needs to pay the photographer for that perfect
image they have been looking for, if they want it.
So what
about social media sites? Your
photographer has given you a DVD of images for printing for personal use. You can upload them to Facebook too right?
Well, actually strictly speaking no – unless the licence you have been
given specifies this. Whilst most
photographers do not currently get too stressed about this – although they really
should - Facebook’s rules state that by uploading an image to Facebook the user
allows Facebook to use that image in any way they wish. So, your images could end up on sites you
really don’t want them to, they can be altered, cropped and distributed freely
and you will have no rights when you ask them not to. Imagine your son or daughter’s image
suddenly appearing on a Facebook advertisement without your permission.
So, what do
we do to ensure you can use your images in a safe way and get the prints you
want?
With our wedding packages you may receive two sets of your wedding
images. One set, suitable for uploading
to social media sites such as Facebook, will include a light watermark with the
copyright information shown. See this Facebook cover image for an example.
The second set will be suitable for printing and will not include the
watermark. You will be given a licence stating
you can use the watermarked images on social media sites and the un-watermarked
images for printing, for personal use.
So, when booking your wedding photographer remember …
1.
If you are using a professional photographer, the copyright will almost always remain with the photographer. If your photographer tells you that you will
get the copyright with the images, then ask them for a signed contract at the time of booking. The only way you will receive the copyright
is if your photographer gives you a signed contract assigning the copyright to
yourself – and most will not do this as they are possibly signing away their
earning potential, and of course they need to know their work is being shown in
a professional manner.
- When choosing a wedding photographer, ask what licence they offer, rather than the copyright. Check that you can print the images and also use them on social media sites.
