A Photographer's Guide To Image Licensing

If youʼre getting started in the world of selling your photography, youʼre certain to have come across the term ‘image licensingʼ.

Knowing what this means, and how licensing works is essential for any photographer wanting to sell their images. And in this guide Iʼll give you everything you need to know.

A Photographer's Guide To Image Licensing

1. What does image licensing mean exactly? Image licensing refers to the practice of licensing your image for a specific use, rather than selling it outright to a buyer. It is widely accepted as the industry-standard method for selling images for editorial, commercial and advertising use.

Licenses normally take the form of an agreement which stipulates exactly the terms in which the buyer can use your image in return for a fee. Licenses are used to give you, as the photographer, greater control over how your images are being used and to protect your copyright.

So to clarify, when an image is purchased with a licence, it means that the buyer cannot use the image in any way they wish, or claim the image as their own. Theyʼve bought a licence, not the image.

2. What does a licence agreement look like? This can be something as simple as a verbal agreement (which we wouldnʼt recommend), or a short email paragraph with bullet points outlining to the buyer how the image can be used for the agreed price. Licence agreements may also commonly take the form of a lengthy, legally-binding document that can go into great detail of how an image can, and cannot, be used. They may also outline any other terms, clauses and obligations (such as the necessity to credit the image) along with details on how the image can be used.

Many professional photographers choose to write licence agreements themselves. However, when listing your images with an agency, image library, or photo-selling platform, they will almost always take care of the licensing agreements on your behalf. These licence agreements are drafted by the agency or library and their copyright lawyers, and will apply to any image thatʼs represented by them and licensed through them.

3. What are the typical image licensing models? There are two distinct types of image licensing models that almost all photographers, agencies and libraries use in one way or another.

These are:

Rights-Managed (RM) The original and most traditional form of image licensing. A Rights-Managed licence does exactly what it says and stipulates precisely how an image can be used.

Generally, images sold with an RM licence only permit the image to be used once and the terms are very specific to the use. Fees for using images with an RM licence will also vary depending on the type and scope of use.

Here are some RM licensing examples:

Royalty-Free (RF) A newer model for image licensing, synonymous with subscription-based stock photography websites.

Royalty-Free licensing allows a buyer to purchase an image file, and use it in a broad range of ways without needing to pay an additional fee each time they use it. A Royalty-Free image is usually purchased at a fixed amount and can be used for an unlimited period of time.

Although Royalty-Free licensing offers a much broader scope of image use for buyers, it does not mean that the copyright has been purchased for the image. This still belongs to the photographer.

Prices for Royalty-Free image licences can also often depend on the actual size of the image purchased. For example, a lo-res image may cost less than a hi-res image as there is less scope in the way the image can be used.

4. RM versus RF There are unique benefits to both licensing models, but there are also some drawbacks for each too.

For example, RM licences give photographers more control over how their images are used and how much they want to charge depending on the use. But buyers may not like having to negotiate a licence each time they want to use the image, which can also become very costly.

An RF licence may save a lot of time and money for the buyer. It also means, however, that the photographer has no say over how the image is used by the buyer once the licence has been purchased.

5. If I put together a bespoke licence agreement for my customer, how should I do this?

If a buyer has come to you directly (not via a library or agency) and you need to put together a licence agreement, this can take on a range of formats. From a verbal agreement, right through to a comprehensive legal document, and everything in between.

Generally, we wouldnʼt recommend anything as informal as a verbal agreement. Ideally, youʼll want something in writing that you can keep on file, which you can also refer to if something goes wrong.

Above all else, I recommend you be as clear as possible in listing the terms in which your image can be used. For example, if your customer wants to use your image with a Rights-Managed licence for one page inside a book with a 50,000 print run - make sure all these details are in writing.

The same goes with Royalty-Free licence agreements, make sure both you and the customer are well aware of all the terms youʼve agreed together so there can be no misinterpretation. Be clear, concise and thorough. Make sure you have agreement of the terms from your buyer in writing, and always keep a record of all correspondence.

If youʼre negotiating a licence for a large, complex image use (for example a multinational advertising campaign) I recommend enlisting the help of a copyright lawyer to help draft up a licence agreement. At this level, buyers may also expect to see a detailed agreement from you for their legal team to look through.

6. What if a buyer uses my image outside of the licence agreement?

This would be classed as a breach of licence and you would be fully within your rights to pursue additional costs for the licence breach. For example, if a buyer bought a licence to use your image for one-time use in the October issue of their magazine, but you found they had used your image again in the November issue. You could pursue additional costs for using the image without the correct licence.

In practise, we would always recommend that you pursue any infringements from an amicable point of view. While flagrant licence breaches do occur, genuine mistakes do also happen, and you donʼt want to do anything that could seriously jeopardize your relationship with your customer.

7. What is exclusivity?

This is only applicable to the Rights-Managed licence model. When an image licence is purchased with exclusivity, it means that the photographer has agreed with the buyer that they wonʼt sell the same image, or the same image with those exact rights, to another buyer. Buyers may ask for exclusivity for any kind of image use, but it is generally only reserved for uses such as magazine or book covers, advertising campaigns, packaging, or merchandising.

Requests for image licences with exclusivity can be lucrative for a photographer as they tend to be much more costly than a regular licence. But they are rare. You also need to tread very carefully: if you license an image that has also been licensed for exclusive use elsewhere, you could land yourself in deep trouble with the buyer.

Note: For any of your images that have previously been licensed as Royalty-Free, these cannot be licensed with exclusivity as you cannot guarantee.