Have you ever told a photographer you would like all the rights to the photographs? It may seem like a simple question, but there is so much more going on here that most people are unaware of. When a photographer pushes the shutter button, they own the image.
There are several types of rights the photographer can release to the client depending on the end use and arrangement before hand.
Copyright-
As photographers, we will not give up copyright unless we get paid very well. Once we relinquish copyright to an image or set of images, we have no right to publish or display those images anywhere. If we do show the images, we would be violating copyright law and could suffer a large financial penalty. We essentially have to be paid well enough to cover any future loss of income from the images. We could possibly sell one of the images to a magazine to use for an advertisement. Giving up copyright is like asking an author to turn over the manuscript of a book and never collect anything else from it.
Print Rights-
We often give clients print rights with certain limitations. This type allows the client to print the images, but the photographer still retains the rights to the images and can use them for his or her portfolio. Depending on the terms of the agreement, the client may be able to use the images in magazines or other media. Print rights are great for events where the client wishes to print Thank You cards or make a small scrapbook.
Limited Rights-
Print rights are an example of limited rights. Because asking for rights to the images is a form of negotiation, it is just like any other agreement between two people. You can ask for certain things in exchange for others. For example, the client might ask for sole use of the images for a single run of a magazine. The terms could be more generic in their scope too.
Choosing an option like limited rights and print rights might be a great alternative, especially if you are wanting to keep costs down. Keep in mind that asking for all the rights is like asking the photographer to work for free.
great info!