A question a lot of photographers get from their clients is whether they can have the copyright to their photos. I’m here to tell you that almost no one does this anymore. It just doesn’t make sense for the photographer or client. Allow me to break it down simply for you. 

Copyright is basically complete ownership of the photos. Meaning, the owner would be able to sell them as well as alter them in any way they see fit. I don’t know about you, but I don’t know any newlyweds looking to spend their time editing thousands of photos and trying to sell them to marketing companies, etc. 

A print release, on the other hand, is a form within a contract that gives a client permission to download their photos, print them wherever they’d like and use them for personal use (like posting on social media and with family and friends.) This is the option that most people want anyway, most just get it confused with copyright ownership. 

Some photographers will even sell the copyright to the RAW (large unedited photo files) to their clients for an additional cost, but I feel like it’s mostly a lot of old-school photographers that do this. It’s not really industry standard anymore because most people hire photographers based on their unique editing style. 

Hope this clears things up…if there was even any confusion going on. I’m not sure hahaha! 

If you are looking for more wedding-related tips, check out my latest blog post on how to have a zero-waste wedding here! And if you’re looking for a more in-depth article on the legal aspects of copyright vs. print release, you can check out this article from thelawtog.com here!