A Brief Guide to Professional Photo Restrictions

The photos that a photographer hands over to you are part of their life’s work. It has their name or branding associated with it, so there are a few important restrictions to note when it comes to the professional digital images that you receive.

Copyright

The digital images that your photographer provides you with have a copyright, which means the photographer owns the images, and has a say in how the images are used. They technically have the option to use those photos to market their work and services anytime in the future. However most are respectful of their clients wishes, so will always ask you if they may use images taken during your shoot.

If you want to use images for your business, you will need to obtain a licence for use, or sign a contract provided by your photographer which will stipulate how you may use the images. Usually for brand shoots this will include using for all your marketing needs, such as social media, advertising (both on an offline).

Occasionally a photographer may sell their copyright to a client.

Image Type

Most photographers do not provide you with the original files or raw images. All images given to the client will have been cropped and edited. If you do require further touch ups you can often ask your photographer and they would provide you with a quote.

Image Altering

While photographers welcome the sharing of photos on social media platforms, they will usually ask that the images not be altered in any way (unless stated within a contract), as this may go against their copyright policies.

What constitutes image altering?

• Adding filters or editing photos in Photoshop

• Changing colours within the image, including colour correction and turning the image to black & white.

• Cropping the image

• Clipping people or objects out of the original shot

So why do photographers have this as a restriction? Photos are a representation of our work so when a customer alters an image it directly impacts a photographers name and brand within the industry. When you are presented with your final images, they have already been through an editing process and shouldn’t require further alterations. When images are altered, the results are not always reflective of the original work. It may be assumed that this is how the photographer shoots, when they don’t.

Most photographers are happy to give a quote if you want images to be edited in a specific way or if you want further alterations made.