Photo Copyrighting. What are the most important facts to know?

[Jennia]

Hey everyone. Image copyrighting seems to be an important aspect of photography. When it comes to the issue of taking photographs in public i know for a fact that you are allowed to take a photo in the public view, well, as long as the audience is not doing anything termed as confidential. As for photos with children in the background you do need some form of authorization to use the images right? On a general term, what are the most significant Image copyrighting laws that one needs to be aware of?

[gwpriester]

This book is a bit old but it covers all the questions you are asking. Written by an artist (my wife) for other artists but with help from some of the best copyright lawyers in the business. https://www.amazon.com/Electronic-Hi.../dp/0201883937

[Jennia]

Hi gwpriester. Thank you for the recommendation mate The book description sounds great, i think this would be a perfect long-term solution when it comes to matters pertaining to Copyright law. Would you reckon if you have something thats more of a shorter summary?

[gwpriester]

Would you reckon if you have something thats more of a shorter summary?

Yeah, reading is SUCH a bother. Lawsuits are an even bigger bother.

It depends on your use of the material. The higher the visibility, newspaper, brochure, magazine, advertisement, the greater the need to have permissions in writing to use photos of people. Unless you are a journalist. But there are subtle differences and each case is different.

If you use stock images from a reputable agency/site, the model releases are usually included with the licensing fee. But again, read the restrictions carefully because how the image is used can make a big difference.

[Jonopen]

This (six page) copyright notice document is for the UK, but it does ask (and answer!) a lot of basic questions. Maybe the US gov has a similar document.

https://www.gov.uk/government/public...d-the-internet

[Jennia]

Thank you for the responses guys. Well, over the weekend i stumbled upon a short article that summarised image copyrighting really well. The article also talks about the Creative Commons License; and it was quite interesting to find out that there are six different options to this license. It also gives a good basic summary on how to use images without going against the law. I would recommend checking it out.

[Jonopen]

Thanks Jennia, I take a look.

Funny thing is I actually use 1&1 to host a personal website and WP blog - both very much at the embryonic stage and not public yet. If you need hosting, I can definitely recommend 1&1 and have had no problems publishing from Web Designer or uploading via FTP using WinSCP.