The legislation governing model rights and even photography is rather straightforward, yet it continues to be a source of consternation for many. It’s reasonable that both the photographer as well as the model being photographed desire to protect their reputations. Protecting the photos, you make as a photographer is important to your career. Your photography is a product, an art form, and a brand. Protecting your resemblance and how it is utilized is crucial to your career as a model. So, who owns an image of a model taken by a photographer?

What Exactly Is Copyright?

We see the small © everywhere, but what does it denote, and how did it come about? I turned to the most official site I could think of to gain a full and correct grasp of copyright – the United States Copyright Office. Copyright is attached the moment an original piece of work is generated and fixed. This is true for both published as well as unpublished works. When you publish a blog post, take a picture, or make a video, you infringe on someone else’s copyright. Copyright protects you the minute you post a selfie. Even if you never post that photo on Instagram because your face is too splotchy for a filter to correct, the picture is still protected by copyright.

Model Rights and Photography Copyright Explained

Following explains the photography and copyright law which gives a clear understanding about copyright for models and photographers:

• Model Rights Explained

Models have extremely little rights to use images in which they appear. It is customary for the photographer to be issued a ‘model release.’ This is signed consent from a model that indeed photographer may sell images in which they appear. This eliminates the need for another photographer to inquire each time he or she wants to sell a picture. Most businesses (agencies, stock picture libraries, etc.) need a model release before considering purchasing any photographer’s work.

• Photography Copyright

In photography, a copyright implies that you own a picture that you generated as it is stated in fashion photography intellectual property rights. According to the law, you formed that picture as soon as even the shutter was released. The copyright is owned by the photographer who pressed the button. A photographer will hold that copyright for the rest of their life and the next 70 years. This copyright protects the expression from the time the work is created. Simply said, the individual who takes a photograph owns the work from when the shutter button is hit.