Question re wedding photographers and copyright

Yes I think they are able to do this - I think the actual images remain their intellectual property, although many will give you printing rights (for instance, if you choose a CD only package, you will have the right to reproduce the photos).

I'm not sure about the law here, but surely no one can use your likeness for advertising purposes without your written permission. My OH assures me there is, but he's unsure if it applies in this case, so unless there's something in your contract giving your TOG permission to use your photos or not, I'd clarify with them separately.

Yes I think your partner is right Venart, but I think it is also fairly standard practice for a tog's contract to state that the images remain their intellectual property and they can use them to advertise their business if they wish to...I may be entirely wrong, I am sure a proper real life tog will come along in a minute and clarify for you Gheko!

A photographer can go out on any street and take photos...these are his/hers and holds the copyright to them, these can be used on web-sites or any other publishing ...copyright laws are very complicated.

In my contract it says that I can use the images for my website, blog and portfolio.

But, if any couple that wishes to have this removed then I remove it. It's generally easier to get permission beforehand than chase couples after the wedding for it.

The law on privacy can be a bit iffy. If an image of a person was taken in a public place, like a hotel lobby then they cannot request it to be removed (legally). But if it was a private function at the hotel in a room excluded from the public (such as the function room) then they can.

Anywhere with public access though and you have no rights. (I'm happy to be corrected on this).

The creator of the image holds copyright. A lot of togs say they give copyright away but then they'd need to ask your permission to use the images which they took.

If you think about it, when you chose your tog you would of looked at their work as it's reasonable to assume they will use yours too.

If you aren't happy with your tog using the images in a certain way then ask them not to. Generally a good one will have so many to do in a year they won't need yours for their portfolio however some may price in a small discount as a good wedding gallery will bring in more business.

Chris is right about the private function room, but as they are open rooms it does get a bit iffy as i believe the hotel would also need to object about the images being displayed.

Most photographers in not understanding copyright law give away their copyright and in this instance you can ask them to be removed, Infact as long as they say copyright isnt shared then you can ask them to remove all traces of your wedding from their computers but bewarned as they may hold the only back up copy.

In my contract i do say that i can use for website, blog, portfolio etc... but to be honest photographers do not need to say this if they own the copyright. Its just good manors as this gives my clients right to have their say if they wish.

If you have a problem then just ask, you may be able to sort out a compromise.

Hi babe, the photographer should always retain copyright of their work, as the 'creator' of the images, they 'own' them and owning means copyright. Most photographers will honour your requests though if you didnt want your images to be used for marketing, I know I would have, if i'd ever been asked - I never was!

I work with copyright agreements with photographers, writers and illustrators etc, so I'm quite well up on how it works.

In general the photographer / writer etc. always retains the copyright, unless we pay them a lot of money.

The exceptions are when we are approached by amateur creatives, who have no idea what they are doing and will often either say we can have the copyright or offer copyright free.

If they offer copyright and its something specific that we really need, we'll tear their arm off to get it, but most of the time its not and we just dismiss them as an amateur creative (we get so many) and ignore them. Copyright free we run away from, its no use to anyone serious, and certainly not something you want with your wedding photos.

And yes in general, unless restricted by other agreements the photographer will be able to use them for promotional and editorial.

You should then be recieving from your photographer a 'usage rights agreement' which will detail how you can use the photos.

In my case with the photographer I have booked, I have a great agreement in that I can use the photos pretty much how I want, print them, put them on the internet, send to or print them for family and friends. Its a very good unrestrictive agreement.

If you are that against your photographer using your photos in his or her ads, then you need to agree add a clause to the usage agreement saying they cannot do that.

We often pay a creative a fair bit extra to add an exclusivity right, which means that there is a certain time period in which they cannot show the work to anyone else, usually 2 or 3 months, but the copyright is still theirs and at the end of that period they are then free to do what they like.