If you were commissioned to take photographs for a wedding, or any other private or domestic use, your client will own copyright, unless you reached an agreement to the contrary. This means that your client, as the copyright owner, has the right to reproduce the photographs whether from negatives, prints or proofs.
Even if the photographer owns copyright, the client may be entitled to make copies, if the client has an implied licence to do so. The client will only have an implied licence if it is clear from all the circumstances. For example, if a client commissions a photographer to take photographs for use in a brochure, the client will be entitled to use the photographs for that purpose, even if the photographer has not expressly stated that she or he gives permission for this use.
Generally, no. One person may own copyright in an image (and thus have the right to reproduce the image), and another person may own a negative, transparency or print in which the image is embodied. The purchaser of a print (or negative or transparency) does not generally acquire the copyright as well.
Of course, if a person commissions a photograph and owns the copyright, they will have a right to make copies of the photograph. In other cases, someone who commissions a photograph may have either express or implicit permission to use the photograph in certain ways. Each case depends on the circumstances.
If the photograph was taken before 30 July 1998, your client owns the copyright in the photograph, unless there is an agreement to the contrary. However, if at the time you were commissioned, the client made known to you the purpose for which the photograph was required, you have the right to restrain the use of the photograph for any other purpose.
If you had an agreement with the client that you would own the copyright, you are entitled to stop the client using the photograph in any way that was not covered in the agreement, since such uses would require your permission.
If the photograph was taken for commercial purposes on or after 30 July 1998, you own the copyright unless you and your client had an agreement to the contrary. You would therefore be entitled to stop the client using the photograph in a way that was not covered by the agreement.
Each case depends on its facts, and you may need legal advice on your rights in your particular situation.
This will depend on who owns copyright in the photographs. If the client owns the copyright, you will need the client’s permission to reproduce the photographs to include in your portfolio. However, if you own copyright, you do not need permission to reproduce them.
If your clients will own copyright in photographs you take, you may wish to include a clause in the agreement allowing you to copy and communicate the photographs for your self-promotion purposes.
A person’s image is not protected by copyright. However, in some cases, using a person’s image without permission may be prevented under other laws, such as the law of passing off, the Trade Practices Act 1974 and State and Territory fair trading laws. These areas of law concern conduct which may mislead or deceive the public and may particularly come into play if the photograph you are taking is of a well-known person, and is to be used, for example, as a poster or as a postcard or in advertising. In some cases, uses of photographs may be defamatory of people in them.
If you are commissioned to take photographs, it should not generally be your job to check these issues. However, it may be a good idea to alert clients to the fact that they may need to seek advice from a solicitor with the relevant expertise (note that the Copyright Council does not advise on these other areas of law).
Generally, if you have asked somebody to sit for you, it’s a good idea to get a “model release” from that person so you won’t have to worry later about whether or not your use of resulting photos will raise issues under areas of law such as passing off or the Trade Practices Act. (For a sample photographer's model release, with explanatory notes, see the Arts Law Centre of Australia website.
In other cases, photographers may take more casual shots—for example, photographs of people in the street or at markets, or playing sports. If you know that you might later be using such a photograph commercially, it’s generally a good idea to get a model release from the people you have photographed. If it’s impractical to get the people in your shots to sign model releases, or if they refuse to do so, your ability to use or license the use of the photograph in certain ways might be limited because of the laws discussed above.
Privacy
It is generally not an invasion of privacy to take another person’s photograph. However, in some circumstances, you may be required to comply with the National Privacy Principles in the Privacy Act 1992 (Cth).