The idea of who owns the copyright for photography is perhaps the most important part of running a successful photography business. Without it the landscape to earn a living wage is diminished so if you are just starting out or perhaps need a refresher we are here to help. If you are a new or existing client we would love you to read along.

A partnership with your photographer is a wonderful thing and we know it’s important to sometimes explain how are services are set up and our fees calculated. This allows for that photographer to stay in business as your photographer for many, many years to come.

What is Copyright in Canada?

“For all artistic works, the author of the work is the first owner of its copyright. The author may then assign the copyright to another person. Determining who is the “author” of a photograph will depend on when the photo was taken since the process, as outlined in the Copyright Act, was amended by the passing of the Copyright Modernization Act in 2012.” (CIPPIC, https://www.cippic.ca/articles/copyright-and-privacy-in-photography)

So we need to look at work created before and after 2012 when the Copyright Modernization Act came into place.

Before 2012 – “photograph authorship fell under a special regime in the Copyright Act. When a photo was taken, the copyright, by default, belonged to the person who owned the film negative, or digital camera at the time the photograph was taken. This means that the photographer was not necessarily the author of the photograph.” (CIPPIC) 

Thankfully this has changed because this would be for clients and photographers alike hard to keep track of. With the rise of digital cameras and phones the law was updated in 2012 under the Copyright Modernization Act.

After 2012 – “As of November 2012, the author of a photograph is the person who takes the photo. This brings photo authorship in line with the rules governing other “Artistic Works” such as paintings, drawings and sculptures.” (CIPPIC)

AppRevenue streams that come from being able to sell licenses to use photography is a revenue stream for photographers.

Just like an author sells books in a quantity, a photographer – when appropriate – sell multiple licenses to create revenue from content they have created. Clients may ask for a time period where the content is exclusive or to buy copyright, but this then would be sold at a much higher cost as revenue streams then are lost to them. (Note: Resale is more on the commercial side, not so much for retail).

By selling a license to content the photographer remains in control of the use of the work they create. This ensures that the work is not used by the organization without the photographer’s input. For example, I recently had to ask images I made for a client to not be used to advertise images another photographer was taking for them. The images were not representing to their clientele what they would receive and were not created for that use. The exchange was cordial as likely they had no idea about the copyright on the images they used.

When the budgets to create content are constantly lowering and the fees to run a business increase copyright ensures the right to earn a living wage. In our industry operational costs versus income determine our fee structure but sadly many photographers do not understand the cost of doing business.

When we do as a  photographer we ensure a strong business that can serve you and your organization for years to come with reliable services and new skills. After almost 12 years in business I know it has made my business viable.

(There are two main areas of photography that photographers like myself work in.

The first is retail photography which is defined as B2C or business (that’s me) to consumer (that’s you hiring me for personal photography). In B2C I provide services such as family photography, graduation photos and so on (it would also include weddings).

On the other side I also provide commercial photography – defined at B2B or business (that’s me) to your business (that’s any business you run or work on behalf of). In B2B I cover events, create content for magazines, shoot headshots for employees and create content for ad campaigns.

In both cases I release content with a license that defines how it can be used.

For retail this typically is for personal use and doesn’t get too picky, for example, if you want to add it to a family album. But you cannot on the flip side get married and then provide the images to vendors as the license doesn’t allow for sharing beyond your own personal use. It also might ask you not to edit with filters and the like so as not to represent our work in a way that it wasn’t given to you. As mentioned before we do not typically resell on this side of the services we offer, using it only to ensure it represents us and is not used for commercial purposes.

For commercial the points of use are often negotiated – depending on the use, duration and budget – this can look different from client to client. A client might ask for exclusive use for a time period or in some rare cases to buy the content outright. The latter is demonstratively more expensive and is rarely in line with the budget so licensing is standard in the industry.

Building a relationship with your photographer through licensing their work is a great asset to your business.

We already spoke in an earlier article to the pitfalls of using stock images and know using fresh content is a stronger option for a successful brand.

It also means you have a reliable, local provider who understands your business and will be in business for many years to come.

Want to work with us – connect with us via the website form: Connect

Kirsten McGoey | Visual Storyteller