When you hire an event photographer, it’s crucial to understand how both you and your photographer can use the photos. Here’s a breakdown to help you navigate these terms and make informed decisions.
A quick disclaimer: every photographer operates a bit differently, and this guide is specific to working with the team at Show Ready Photo.
Your Image Use License and How You Can Use Your Event Photos
When you book our photography services, you receive a comprehensive image use license. This license grants you:
- Commercial and Personal Use: Whether for marketing purposes or personal enjoyment, you’re covered.
- Distribution Rights: Feel free to share the images with event attendees, vendors, and other stakeholders for their commercial and personal use.
- Perpetual Use: You can use the images forever, without any time restrictions or need to relicense the images.
This use license typically encompasses all the usage needs, ensuring you can make the most of your event photos.
What is Copyright and Why do Photographers Retain Copyright?
Copyright is a form of intellectual property protection provided to the creators of original works, including photographs. This protection is automatically granted the moment a photo is taken, and it gives the photographer several exclusive rights.
As photographers, our business relies upon our ability to market interesting projects we’ve had the opportunity to photograph, helping us to attract new clients and demonstrate our expertise. Retaining our copyright reserves our right to use photos in our portfolio and marketing efforts, including distributing decor images to event vendors for their portfolio use. However, Show Ready Photo will never sell or license your images to competitors or companies not tied to the event.
Optional Add-Ons for Enhanced Privacy and Ownership
We recognize that some clients have enhanced privacy needs. To accommodate these, we offer several optional add-ons to your service, designed to give you greater control over the use of your images.
- Identity Privacy
This option restricts the photographer’s use of photos that display client and sponsor logos. It’s ideal for those who want to maintain brand privacy and limit public exposure. - Copyright Buyout
Opting for a copyright buyout transfers full ownership of the photos to you. This means the photographer relinquishes all rights to use the images. It’s a comprehensive solution for those who require complete control over their event images. - Copyright Buyout with License Back
This option also transfers ownership of the photos to you, but with a twist: the photographer retains the right to use up to 50 approved images for portfolio and marketing purposes. It strikes a balance between client ownership and our marketing needs.
Each of these options is offered at a percentage of your total photography service fee, typically quoted during the proposal process.
When Copyright Ownership Might Make Sense (and One Instance it Doesn’t)
Most often, companies are worried about their photos getting into the wrong hands, but it bears repeating, we will never sell or license your images to competitors or companies not tied to the event. That promise is included in your contract for services.
That said, while your use license will cover most of your marketing and promotional needs, owning copyright to your photos can provide some key benefits. Here are a few use cases when investing in ownership might be worthwhile.
- Sensitive Content: For events involving confidential or proprietary information, owning the copyright prevents any public dissemination of the images that could potentially breach confidentiality.
- Privacy Concerns: Events involving high-profile individuals or sensitive matters might necessitate strict control over image use to avoid legal issues related to privacy or defamation.
- Public Image Control: Controlling how images are shared and perceived by the public can be important for maintaining a desired public image and reputation.
- Industry Regulations: Certain industries have strict guidelines on how images can be used and distributed. Owning the copyright ensures compliance with these regulations.
- Monetization: This is a rare occurrence with event photos, but clients may wish to monetize images as part of merchandise or other commercial products. Owning the copyright allows for these types of monetization, but purchasing the copyright for just the photos affected may be your best option.
As a rule, we generally advise against buying out copyright for most client and public facing events. The advent of camera phones make photos of these events near impossible to control, thereby making your control of the professional event photos far less advantageous.
Making an Informed Choice
Understanding photo copyright and usage rights ensures you can make informed decisions about your event photography. Whether you’re comfortable with the standard image use license or prefer additional privacy and ownership options, we’re here to help and provide clarity every step of the way.
Feel free to reach out if you have any questions or need further information about these options. Your peace of mind is our top priority.
