As noted above, who owns copyright in a photograph is usually determined by the agreement between the photographer and the client. If the issue is not covered by an agreement, then copyright is usually owned by the photographer unless the photograph was taken in return for a fee or other “valuable consideration”. If the photograph was commissioned before 30 July 1998, the client owns copyright only if the photograph was taken for a “private or domestic purpose”. If the photograph was taken for a student to take home, it is likely it was taken for a “private or domestic purpose”.

If a photographer takes photographs in a school “on spec”, without an agreed payment but in the expectation that students will buy prints, it is likely that copyright is owned by the photographer.