YOUR IMAGES, YOUR TERMS.
The photographer owns copyright in an image the moment the shutter closes, in almost every country, regardless of who commissioned or paid for the shoot. Payment for a shoot buys a licence to use the images under agreed terms, not ownership of the copyright, unless a contract explicitly assigns it. Proof of ownership is the unedited original file plus any signed contract naming the terms of use.
Every shoot licensed in writing, every image on record, and every unlicensed use turned into an invoice.
LAST REVIEWED
THE SITUATION
A photographer sends a gallery, the client picks the shots, and the invoice gets paid. Somewhere in that flow the licence, the model release and the credit line either exist or do not, and usually do not.
The images live on the internet forever. So do the arguments about who could use them, how, for how long, and whether reposting them at scale counted as fair use or free advertising.
WHAT BREAKS.
No licence, wide use
A shoot delivered for a single website ends up running in national advertising with no additional fee, because the usage terms were never written down.
Missing model release
A strong portrait becomes unusable for commercial licensing because the subject never countersigned a release permitting that use.
Stolen work online
Images get scraped, cropped, reposted and monetised by accounts with no licence, and the photographer is paid nothing unless they can prove authorship and pursue it.
Client claims authorship
Some contracts assign copyright entirely to the client and quietly strip the photographer's right to use the images in their own portfolio.
AI training on the archive
Datasets can ingest a photographer's published portfolio for AI training with no permission sought and no attribution given.
WHAT YOU CAN OWN.
COPYRIGHT
The photographer owns copyright automatically unless it is assigned in writing, regardless of who paid for the shoot.
TRADEMARK
A photograph itself is not a trademark, though a studio name or logo used commercially can be one.
DESIGN RIGHT
Design right protects the appearance of manufactured products, not photographic composition.
PATENT
Camera technique and composition are not inventions and cannot be patented.
TRADE SECRET
Editing workflows can be kept private, but this is a business practice, not a legal trade secret.
LIKENESS
When a person appears in a photograph, their likeness rights sit alongside the photographer's copyright, which is why model releases matter.
FOUR STEPS.
DROP
Upload the shoot brief, the contract and the model list.
EXAMINE
Deed flags missing releases, dangerous copyright clauses and portfolio limits.
EXECUTE
Contracts and releases signed in one link, licences delivered with the gallery.
DEFEND
A reverse image search you run yourself when you need it, alongside a dated record of the shoot and its licence.
KEY FACTS
- 01Copyright in a photograph belongs to the photographer by default, not the client, unless a contract assigns it.
- 02A client paying an invoice buys the images and a licence to use them, not automatic copyright ownership.
- 03A model release is a separate document from a copyright licence and covers the subject's consent, not the photographer's rights.
- 04In the US, registering a photograph with the Copyright Office before infringement enables statutory damages claims.
- 05EU law grants photographers moral rights that cannot be sold, including the right to be credited as the author.
QUESTIONS
+Can I keep portfolio rights on client work?
Yes. Deed reads client contracts and inserts portfolio and self promotion carve outs by default, so your work can still show up in your own book.
+What is the fastest way to get paid for stolen use?
There is no fast way, and anyone promising one is selling something. Get the work on record with a date, gather the evidence of the unlicensed use, then take both to a lawyer or the platform's complaint process. Deed gives you the record and the drafted instrument. It does not send demands or collect money for you.
+How do model releases work through Deed?
The subject verifies their email and signs from any device. The release is attached to the shoot record and travels with the images.
+Does a client own the photos if they paid for the shoot?
No. Paying for a shoot buys a licence to use the resulting images under agreed terms. Copyright stays with the photographer unless a contract assigns it.
+Do I need a model release if I am shooting in public?
Editorial and documentary use often does not require one, but commercial or advertising use of a recognisable person almost always does, regardless of location.