Photography Rights for Your Wedding Website: A Brief Guide

Photography can be one of the most difficult parts of planning a wedding. Finding a really excellent photographer isn’t easy, and working out print rights is a chore. But it’s also important not to overlook the significance of online rights to your wedding and engagement photos.

Here is a brief guide to get you started.

Wedding Photographer - Photo by Merfam

The Problem

While you might think that you’re paying the photographer to take pictures of your wedding or engagement, technically you are just buying the rights to use their photos. This means that you need to make sure that the rights you are buying include all the things you want to use the photos for. Since online usage is still relatively new, that’s where you’re most likely to encounter problems.

The Solution

Decide what you want

Displaying photos online can take many different forms, though some are more common than others.

Size:

• Web resolution images with the photographers watermark – most common
• Web resolution images without a watermark – common
• Print quality images for friends and family to download and copy – least common

Display type:

• Individual photos – most common
• Slideshow - common
• Photo galleries with comments for galleries and individual photos – least common

Of course, there’s no reason you couldn’t combine some of these, perhaps making one or two favorite images available in print quality while the rest are only web resolution.

Negotiate for the rights

Once you’ve decided what you want to do with your photos, its time to negotiate for the rights to use them the way you want. For best results try the following:

1. Talk to the photographer ahead of time. You have the most power to negotiate with your photographer before you’ve signed a contract. Take advantage of the fact that your photographer wants to sell you on her services.
2. Find out what your photographer typically includes. Knowledge is power. Understanding how much of a gap there is between your photographer’s standard contract and what you want to do with the photos can help you narrow that gap.
3. Get it in writing. Not only is it a good idea for your peace of mind, but reading the contract over before signing means that you can eliminate any verbal miscommunication before it causes problems.