if someone already paid for the photoshoot, why do i need a license?

Unlike a physical item, the product of a photographer’s work is digital/intangible and considered intellectual property. Some other examples of intellectual property are movies, music, eBooks, and digital artwork. Most of us already pay to use intellectual property that doesn’t belong to us - often via a subscription (such as Netflix or Spotify).

Let’s go back to our pre-streaming days and say you bought a song on iTunes for $.99. You do not own the song, you didn’t write the song, you cannot sell the song or give the song to another company to use in a commercial. You are buying a license to the song. This is the same as photography.

Let’s talk in real estate terms. When we make an image, we’re building a house. We can choose to sell that house and in our analogy with photography, this is called “work for hire,” or we can choose to rent that house out, which in photography terms is “licensing.” If you want to own the rights to the images we create, it will be a lot more expensive, just like buying a house. We do not currently do work for hire. Instead, we retain ownership of the house and provide licenses, which is akin to allowing someone to rent the home or the images for a more affordable price.

what is an image license?

An image license is an agreement between a photographer and another person that grants that person the legal right to use one or more images. If you purchase a license, you are purchasing the rights to use the images we captured. Licenses usually have limits to the uses - for instance, we usually don't grant the right to publish images in a magazine without written consent as we want to be involved in that process. Some licenses also have end dates and need to be renewed.

Who needs a license?

Anyone who is not the legal owner (the photographer) needs a license in order to use images. When you book a shoot with us, you will receive the license as part of the shoot fee. If you did not book the shoot directly with us, you need a license to use the images. Even if someone else booked the shoot and told you that you can use the images, you cannot use them unless you get a license directly from us.

if i license an image, how can I use it?

Our business license is a very generous license. You may use the images for your business activities including advertising, social media, website/portfolio and print and web marketing. You may not sell the image or publish it without our written consent. You may not share the files with any other party, under any circumstances. If someone wants to use the images, please connect them with us and we will issue a license to them.

Why are image licenses important?

Image licenses help protect a photographer’s business and intellectual property rights. Without image licenses, a photographer’s images could be used by other businesses to make a profit without providing credit or compensation to the photographer.