Photography Law & Legal

A photographer is taking legal action against a small church in South Carolina for allegedly using his photograph without consent. 

Photo-thieving criminal gangs and huge corporations profit from stealing our photographs. Let’s stand together and fight back. 

During the festive holiday season, capturing holiday-themed family photographs is a cherished tradition for many. However, photographers, especially those conducting holiday photo sessions, should be wary of certain legal pitfalls. One such issue arises with the use of popular characters like The Grinch in professional photoshoots. 

As New York's landmark Adult Survivors Act nears expiration, former model and actress Caron Bernstein has stepped forward to accuse celebrity photographer Terry Richardson of sexual assault. Filed before the Thanksgiving deadline, Bernstein's lawsuit alleges Richardson exploited a 2003 photo shoot proposal to coerce her into unwanted oral sex acts. 

A legal battle is unfolding between iconic rock band Guns N' Roses and their photographer of over a decade, Katarina Benzova. Benzova filed a lawsuit in November alleging egregious copyright infringement and sexual harassment by the band's management. Guns N' Roses denies the claims and filed a preemptive countersuit challenging Benzova's copyright ownership. 

The murder of 31-year-old Efrem Jones, a photographer who ran a small studio out of his apartment, has sent shockwaves through the community of Decatur and beyond. Jones was tragically gunned down on Christmas Eve in 2021 in a case of mistaken identity after taking family portraits for a local couple. 

A St. Louis boudoir photographer is facing accusations that she took thousands of dollars in payments from at least five clients but failed to deliver the promised photographs and products.  

The long-awaited murder trial of Tyon Shuron, who is accused of killing Richmond, Maine photographer Andrew Sherman in 2019, began this week, bringing new details to light about the alleged crime. 

A legal settlement in Virginia will allow wedding photographer Bob Updegrove to refuse services for same-sex couples while publicizing that policy on his website. This comes after Updegrove filed a federal lawsuit challenging the state's 2020 anti-discrimination law. 

A new Illinois law forces adults who profit from their kids' content to set aside a percentage of their earnings. Does this go far enough to protect kidfluencers? 

A Texas man is suing a sheriff's deputy and Dallas County after he says his personal information was broadcast to over 100 people when the deputy livestreamed his traffic stop on TikTok.  

A class action lawsuit has been filed in rhe US against Stability AI and other AI art generators. If they are infringing copyright laws, could it bring an end to AI-generated art? What are the real issues? A lawyer explains in this eye-opening video. 

The UK Department for Work and Pensions has shared a series of photos that show benefits fraudsters caught in the act thanks to their poor Photoshop skills.  

Occasionally, it’s worth Googling your name to see what turns up. When I did it, it showed that a website was plagiarizing Fstoppers articles and stealing my photos too. This is what I did about it. 

Recently, Canon banned the production and sales of some third-party lenses for its RF mount cameras. Many photography enthusiasts bemoaned the decision and claimed Canon would lose out because of it. Now that Canon has confirmed the prohibition, what does the future look like for its RF mount cameras and lenses? 

As creatives, we are often focused on just that: creating works that help us relate to ourselves, others, or the world around us. Unfortunately for some, this means that creating takes precedence over some other tasks. 

The U.K. government has announced that it will soon be a crime to photograph mothers breastfeeding their children in public. Limiting the right to photograph in public places could be seen as an attack on freedom of expression, so is this law justified? 

A terrifying ordeal is recalled as one photographer is followed back to his home and held at gunpoint for his camera equipment. An important reminder to be safe and alert when out shooting. 

In what is becoming an increasingly common practice among commercial brands, Delta Airlines has begun trying to sneakily claim image rights to any photo posted on Instagram with the hashtag #SkyMilesLife. 

Filing a DMCA takedown notice to have Instagram remove a photo that has been used without permission is a frustrating process. Now, evidence is emerging that Instagram’s handling of these notices could put the social media giant in a tricky legal situation. 

Universal Music Group has bizarrely started to copyright strike videos that contain the Moon. You know, the huge celestial object that sits in the sky and is visible to almost anyone — that moon. Copyright strikes from UMG have essentially become a meme in the last decades; however, this one definitely takes the cake.  

The Supreme Court of Montana has made it harder for photographers and filmmakers to use exotic animals as photo props. 

Apple has announced this week that it is going to start rolling out new child safety features. These features are coming later this year in updates to iOS 15, iPadOS 15, watchOS 8, and macOS Monterey.

A Dallas, Texas man was arrested after flying a drone in the World Trade Center complex in New York City on August 2 and crashing it into one of the skyscrapers. The man, Adam Ismail, 22, said: "Now, I’ve got a great New York story... I need to make my YouTube pop off." 

We have seen plenty of examples of police challenging or violating citizens' First Amendment right to record their activities in public, but now, they are turning to a new trick to prevent the dissemination of recordings.  

The FAA has some new regulations you have to follow as a drone pilot, regardless of whether you're just flying recreationally, or even if you already hold the Part 107 certification. Fortunately, compliance is free and easy, and you can do it right now. 

Photojournalists and traveling photographers have had brushes with the law in foreign lands many times, often making the news. This incredible story is how one photographer went from flying his drone to sitting in a windowless Cuban prison cell with no end in sight. 

If you have ever worked with a model, you’ve probably heard of the concept of model releases. Here is an explanation of when you need them and what kind of language they should contain. 

Nasty comments get posted in the online photographic communities, so I researched the driving forces behind the trolls and what we should do about them. Who they are and their motivations are not as obvious as you may think. 

Scams these days are getting more and more complex and it's easier than you might anticipate to get caught out. Here's how one veteran of our industry came close to being a victim. 

Troy Hyde, owner of Animals of Montana, is appealing the ruling of the State of Montana's Department of Fish, Wildlife, and Parks to revoke his license. As photographers, we should care, as Hyde has been supplying captive animals to photographers for decades. Apparently, he's been doing so in a way that mistreats the animals.  

I'm always trying to learn from other people's mistakes or experiences. It's served me well over the years, saving me much heartache, healing, and money. 

A photographer in the United Kingdom has been ordered to pay a fine of more than $8,000 after posting a selfie to Instagram which proved that she had broken quarantine laws. 

A 17-year-old has pleaded guilty to involuntary manslaughter in regards to the death of a photographer, who lost her life in the middle of a photoshoot after she was struck by a log at the bottom of a cliff. 

Have you ever had a photo of yours stolen? Here are some important things you should know about. 

A photographer has won a lawsuit against BuzzFeed which some are hailing as a landmark case, after the entertainment platform removed the photographer’s copyright from the images in question.

Unfortunately for professional photographers, according to most current estimates, COVID-19 looks like it will be sticking around for quite a long time — perhaps years.  

As photographers, we frequently find ourselves shoulder to shoulder with another photographer focusing on the same subject, but what if that subject is the other photographer’s model? Is it ok to stand close enough to take the same or similar shot, or is that cheating, or worse, theft? Just how much photographic imitation is ok?

Earlier this year, a photographer and model launched a lawsuit against Volvo, citing copyright infringement, after the car manufacturer used images the pair had taken without permission. Volvo is trying to win the case by claiming all public Instagram posts are fair game and can be taken and used freely. 

News organizations in Seattle have been ordered by a judge to hand over photographs and videos to the Seattle Police Department to aid investigations into alleged arson of police vehicles and theft of police weapons. 

The judge set what some regard as a dangerous precedent that threatens to bring the free press into the domain of a surveillance state.

Product recalls tend to produce something between concern and shock in consumers, especially when they come years after initial production. And while Nikon is no stranger to recalls, a safety recall on one of their camera bodies might meet consumer reaction closer to the shock end of the spectrum. 

During the protests in Minneapolis last month, photojournalist Linda Tirado was left blind in one eye after being hit by a foam bullet used by police. After initially making light of the situation, she has now decided to pursue legal action against the City of Minneapolis, and is citing the last images she took of police before she was shot at as evidence.

A Donald Trump campaign video has been pulled from Twitter, Facebook, and Instagram following copyright infringement claims, despite the President’s claims that the removal was politically motivated. 

A complaint has been filed against Microsoft, which suggests the tech company used a series of images without the permission of a photographer. 

A CNN correspondent and his camera crew were arrested live on air while reporting on events in Minneapolis following the death of George Floyd. 

Video footage shows the moment an unprovoked man decides to push a photographer into a nearby pond, injuring her and submerging her $3,000 worth of gear into the water. The clip sees members of the public rally around to support the woman, while the attacker tries to downplay his actions. 

The paparazzi have been hit particularly hard by the pandemic, with celebrities in lockdown leading to a 95 percent drop in output. It seems paparazzi are resorting to even more invasive methods by flying drones very low over celebrity residences. 

The state of California is taking legal action against the popular CBS show "Criminal Minds" for creating an "unchecked” environment of “intimidating, hostile, and offensive” behavior by the show's director of photography, Gregory St. Johns.  

In what might be the most extreme story I have ever seen involving a photography business, a wedding videographer told a man whose fiancée died a car crash before the wedding "life is a b***h" and "we hope you sob and cry all day for what would have been your wedding day" after he requested a refund.