
If a photographer takes photos where they retain the copyright, developing a photo licensing agreement to sell usage to clients becomes an excellent way to earn revenue from work.Ī photo license agreement protects the copyright holder and the person who wishes to publish or use the image. A photographer may charge a session fee or other fees associated with a shoot. Holding a copyright to a photograph doesn’t produce any income in itself. When Do You Need a Photo License Agreement? In short, you need to hold the copyright to license the work to another party.Ī photo license agreement may also be called a photography usage rights agreement. However, if a photographer works through a company in a work-for-hire arrangement, the copyright may belong to the company.

If you’re an independent photographer, the copyright for an image belongs to you as soon as you take the picture. In a photo license agreement, the copyright is not being sold - the licensee is essentially licensing the right to use it, not own it. A licensee may also be granted the rights to sub-license the image – in that case, the licensee in one contract may be a licensor in a sub-license agreement. The licensee is the person gaining the right to use the image. In the photo licensing agreement, the licensor is the person who owns the copyrights or is licensing rights to use the image.

The contract stipulates the terms on how, when, and where the licensee can use that photograph. The original owner retains the copyright of the image.

Our downloadable template includes all the important information you should include in your photo licensing agreement, read on to learn more and download yours in PDF or Word format. Use a photo license agreement to grant specific usage rights of your photography to a person or company.
