Image licensing, Copyright in Australia and moral rights for photography
Photo by Taylor Kezia
Image licensing, Copyright and moral rights ( ie why you should credit the photographer) are complex topics. However they are form a huge proponent of professional photography contracts. So I have put together some details that I have learnt over the years to help enlighten both my clients and fellow photographers!
A super good video to watch
Firstly, So many people have explained this before me, and so I highly recommend you jump over to a video by Matthew Anderson, an architectural photographer in America, who has done a super great explanation for us.
If you want some more info in my own words, please read on!
What are you paying a photographer for?
When you pay a photographer for their services you are paying them for:
their time, skills, and equipment to shoot and edit images of a chosen subject
an image license that provides you with the rights to use images in certain ways, as outlined in your contract
It is a common misconception that when you pay a photographer for their services that the client are then allowed to do “whatever they like” with the images. When a client wants to use the images for whatever they like with absolutely no limitations, this is usually called a licensing or copyright buyout and usually would cost a significant amount of money
This is in a similar way that a painter, musician or filmmaker own rights to their creative outputs.
Copyright
Under the Copyright Act 1968, when a photographers press the button on their camera, copyright is applied automatically to that image. We are the creator and sole copyright owner, and from there we can assign certain rights of the image to who we like, and in a way that is agreed upon between the photographer and client.
“Copyright is a type of property that is founded on a person’s creative skill and labour. Copyright is not a tangible thing. Copyright protects the original forms or way an idea or information is expressed, not the idea or information itself.”
Moral rights
As a second step to copyright, moral rights are also applied to creators in Australia under the Copyright Act. Which means that that they have the right to be attributed. Which is why you will see photographers or other artists, attributed/credited in publications across the print and digital worlds. This is a clause in my contract.
Licensing
In professional circumstances, the photographer will issue a contract to their client outlining not only their services but also licensing, copyright and attribution details. For large, international organisations, sometimes it is the reverse. And in the contract there will be stipulations around copyright and image usage.
“Image licensing refers to the practice of selling a licence to use your image in a specific way, rather than selling your photo outright to a buyer. It is the industry-standard method for selling photos for editorial, commercial and advertising use, as well as wall art in the form of a personal licence.”
What does an image license through me include?
While maintaining the copyright of my images, I provide my clients with a license for:
usage on client social media platforms, and the client’s website and their EDMs
usage in web and print advertisements
printing in client-published works such as brochures, business cards, booklets, etc.
The limitations and exceptions:
Large format outside publications are restricted. eg billboards, bus stop ads
any third party (not the client) requests to use the images must be authorised by me as image licensing fees may apply to the third party
any PR opportunities through national printed publications must be authorised by me, as the larger publication houses are in a position to pay photographers for image licensing
small local publications or digital publications are OK to share images with as I accept that they do not have a budget to pay for images, but again, it would be great to authorise this
All limitations can be negotiated and if so often will include an additional fee.
Still have questions?
When I began photography, I didn’t even have a contract. And then when I did, I omitted much to do with licensing or image usage because it scared me, and I knew I could charge additionally for different sorts of licensing/usage but I had no idea how to.
At the end of the day, I realise this still is an overwhelming topic and if you have any further questions please ask away and I will do my best to talk you through it! Alternatively, check out the resources below.