A. Under Canadian copyright laws, as soon as the shutter clicks all photographs are owned by the photographer. When you commission a photographer to capture a project, you are paying for time, creativity and a set of licensing rights to use the images. Image licensing is when rights are purchased to use a photo and gain permission from the photographer to use it in a specific way. It is important to understand the terms of a photo license and be fully educated on what is being purchased.

A. Third-party usage is not permitted unless licensed from the photographer. If you know prior to the shoot that you have interested third parties, you can take advantage of the cost sharing discount which is a win-win to get some great savings on the overall cost of the project. Otherwise, third parties must purchase their own license if they wish to use the photos from our shoot for marketing materials.

A. Photographers benefit from the ability to re-license images as it provides an ongoing revenue stream without frequently raising client rates. This sustainable model allows photographers to continue producing high-quality work and maintaining fair pricing for clients over the long term. The photographer may license photographs to other businesses that had a hand in your project. This may be architects, designers, contractors, engineers or any project partners.

A. I include a standard usage license with every shoot. This usage includes common uses for marketing your projects such as social media, website, industry competition entires, print collateral, proposals, Canadian print ads. This is a perpetual license that does not expire. Additional usage may require additional licensing and can be added anytime.