As a creative I don’t spend a lot of time on the technical babble of my niche, but it is important to understand Photo Licences and how they differ from Copyright. (revised 2026)

What Your Photography Licence Actually Covers

Most business owners book a brand photoshoot, get their gallery, and never think about copyright again. Then someone asks to use one of your images for a feature, or you want to hand a photo to a designer for a rebrand, and the question comes up: what are you actually allowed to do with these?

The short answer is that you’re licensed to use the images, not handed ownership of them. That surprises people. It shouldn’t. Once you know how it works, it’s one of the more straightforward parts of hiring a photographer.

In Canada, the Photographer Owns the Copyright

Since the Copyright Modernization Act came into force in November 2012, photographers in Canada are the default first owners of copyright on the images they create, whether the work is commissioned and paid for or not. Today the law makes that automatic, but I still put it in my contracts so there are no surprises.

Copyright and a Licence Are Two Different Things

Copyright is the underlying legal right to the image. It covers who can reproduce it, publish it, sell it, or license it to someone else.

A licence is permission to use the image for a specific purpose, for a specific length of time, under specific terms. You don’t need to hold the copyright to get everything you need out of a photo. You need a licence that matches how you actually use your images.

This is the part that determines what your investment gets you, so it’s worth understanding the main types before you sign anything.

The Licence Types You’ll Come Across

Copyright Buyout

The most expensive option. You pay a one-time premium fee and the copyright transfers to you outright. The photographer steps back completely. They can’t use, display, or resell the images without your permission, and they lose the right to put the work in their own portfolio.

Exclusive Use

You’re the only client licensed to use these specific images in your marketing. The photographer keeps copyright and can still use the images in their portfolio, but no other client gets access to them. The terms of what “exclusive” covers are set out in the contract.

Shared Use

This is the licence I use for event and conference photography. The organization and I can both use the images for our own marketing. Your team can use them to promote this year’s event and plan the next one. You can also share them with event partners, like sponsors and keynote speakers, so they can show their involvement in the event. Partners can’t sell the images, use them as stock, pass them on for unrelated purposes, or suggest I endorse them. Neither of us can sell the images or license them to a third party.

Non-Exclusive Use

This is the licence I use for personal brand photography. You get a licence to use your images across your business marketing, including your website, social media, email, proposals, press and PR, and paid ads. I keep the copyright and can use the images in my portfolio and my own marketing.

You can share your images with the people who help you run your business, like your web designer, social media manager, or VA. What’s not included is selling the images, putting them on stock sites, or handing them to another business to use as its own.

Why non-exclusive is the one I use for brand photography

A copyright buyout is a lot of money for something most brand photography clients don’t need. Exclusive use can work, but it adds cost and contract terms to photos of you, your space, and your work, which no one else has a use for anyway. Non-exclusive fits how brand photos get used day to day.

Here’s what it gets you:

• Full use of your images across your digital platforms with no licence clock running out.
• A clear contract that spells out what’s covered, so you’re not guessing every time you go to use a photo.
• The freedom to send images to your team without asking permission each time.
• Room to keep building your image library over time, without renegotiating rights every time you book a new session.
• A photographer who can still show the work, which is part of what keeps rates reasonable in the first place.

You get everything you need for your brand, and I get to show the work I made. It’s a win-win.

A note on AI and generative tools

AI or generative edits need my written consent first. The one exception is background removal or replacement, and even then the subject has to stay as shot: face, body, skin, hair, expression, and proportions. The new background also has to be true to the real event or setting. No edits that suggest you took part in, were endorsed by, or are connected to an event, venue, brand, or organization when that didn’t happen.

What’s at Stake if You Skip the Licence Part

Using an image you don’t have rights to, whether it’s pulled from Google, Pinterest, or another business owner’s feed, carries real consequences. A few of the more common ones:

• Takedown requests that pull your website or posts offline with no warning.
• Legal fees or fines, sometimes for a single image.
• Platform flags or account restrictions, particularly on Instagram and Facebook.
• A credibility hit. Using someone else’s work without permission reflects on your brand, even when it wasn’t intentional.

If you didn’t create an image, or you don’t have a licence for it, ask before you use it. If you need something quick that doesn’t need to be on-brand, a properly licensed stock site is the safer call over a random search result.

Frequently Asked Copyright Questions

Where This Leaves You

Copyright and licensing aren’t the fine print of your photography investment. They’re the part that determines what you actually get to do with the images you paid for. A non-exclusive user licence means you get ongoing use of your gallery, and you’re not locked into terms that don’t fit how a growing business actually works.

If you’re not sure whether an image is safe to use, it probably isn’t. Stick with commissioned or properly licensed content. If you need a quick photo that does not have to be on-brand, subscribe to a site that offers permissions for stock images. They can be found in Canva or royalty free sites like Pixabay. Your brand, reputation, and peace of mind will thank you.

Ready for your next (or first) branding photoshoot in Nova Scotia? Start here

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SOURCE: https://ised-isde.canada.ca/site/canadian-intellectual-property-office/en/what-intellectual-property/what-copyright

Professional Photographers of Canada:https://ppoc.ca/about/advocacy/

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Updated August, 2026 with the assistance of Claude.Ai.