06/05/2026
It's Fact Friday! ☺️
Can we talk about copyright for a sec?
Something happened recently that stung a little, actually, it stung a lot, and honestly, it made me realize I've never really talked about this, but I think now is the perfect time!
I collaborated with someone recently. She contributed time and materials to our set, and I am genuinely grateful for that. But here's something I think a lot of people don't realize — contributing to a set does not make the resulting images yours.
The person behind the camera owns the photograph. That's copyright law. The second the image is captured, by law, copyright belongs to the photographer. The image itself — the framing, the light, the moment I chose to capture, that is my copyright. That belongs to me.
And here's where I think many people get confused, personal use and commercial use are not the same thing. Even if someone were given permission to use an image personally, that does not extend to using it to promote a business, sell a product, or represent their brand. Those are two very different things, and commercial use without permission carries real legal weight.
Using my images without permission, even images you were in or helped to style, is still infringement. And yes, that includes using AI to remove a watermark or alter an image.
I'm not here to be ugly about it. But I do think this conversation matters, especially as AI makes it easier than ever to take and modify someone else's work.
So I'm curious, is this the first time you've heard of Copyright? Has a photographer ever discussed this with you? Did you know that personal use and commercial use of an image are treated completely differently under copyright law? And have you ever had to navigate something like this with a client or as a client?
Let me know in the comments, if you don't feel comfortable, please feel free to send me a private message 😊
