How to: License your Images

There are many ways to make money from your photography and videography. As a freelance visual storyteller, one of the easiest of these is licensing your copyright-protected photos and videos.

Copyright is automatically created—and assigned to you—the moment you create the image. You don’t have to do anything, it’s yours by default. 

Copyright law can be complicated and varies from country to country. You may have heard of high-profile cases, like the 'monkey selfie copyright dispute', highlighting the legal grey areas. 

This article will focus on clear-cut situations in which you create a photograph, you own the copyright, and you want to license it. What is licencing, and what are the different types of licencing? What’s the difference between Rights Managed and Royalty Free licencing? And what happens to your images when you license them?

Amadeja Plankl, Global Media Partnerships Manager at visual content provider, IMAGO, answers your questions to guide you through the process of licensing your images. Read on to learn more.

Article created by MPB Partnering with IMAGO. Please note that the information in this article does not constitute legal advice.

What is Image Licensing?

An image licence is a contract defining the conditions of use for an image. This is between the image’s author—that’s you, the photographer—and the person who wants to use the image. The licence will cover how and for how long the image will be used. 

An image licence doesn’t change who owns the image. That’s always the copyright holder. Instead, the image licence determines circumstances under which an image can be used by a customer or third party.

Image Licensing Terminology

There are many different models for image use. First, here are a few terms that will help you understand licence agreements.

Commercial Rights

Commercial or business use is the use of an image—for example, advertising, PR and merchandising—with the intention of generating profits.

Non-Commercial/Editorial Rights

Non-commercial use means that the use of an image is not intended to generate profit.

If you restrict your images to editorial use, customers can in general use them to support informative content about topics of general interest—like news, current or historic events, politics, society, science and art.

Exclusive Rights

If exclusive rights are agreed when licensing the image, the licensee may use the photo to the exclusion of all other persons—including you, the author. In addition, the person with exclusive rights may sublicense the image.

Non-Exclusive Rights

Non-exclusive rights stipulate that during the term of the licence, the author themselves—as well as third parties—can use the image.

First Rights

The first right is permission to use the image initially. Thereafter, the author is free to re-license the image at a later date. This image licence usually applies to publications, newspapers and magazines. This type of photo licence gives you the most flexibility once the publication has used your photo.

Rights Managed

A Rights Managed licence allows you as an author to license the rights to use your work individually and in a restricted manner. This means that licensees of the images only receive the rights that are specified in the licence agreement. 

Licensees must purchase a new licence or extend the existing agreement for each additional use of the work. Usually, a Rights Managed licence specifies a one-time use and is limited to non-commercial purposes.

Royalty-Free

Despite the word ‘free’, there usually is a charge involved with royalty-free licences. The term refers to the fact that no further licences are required to use an image over and over again—it’s a non-exclusive and blanket licence. The images can be used for both commercial and non-commercial purposes. 

Creative Commons

Creative Commons is a non-profit organisation offering various free licence agreements. These are useful if you’d like to make your work freely available in the public domain. All CC licences stipulate that the author must be named whenever their image is used. So, publications must include your name in the caption.

Copyright-free Licence

A free licence is not the same as royalty-free. Images with free licences can be freely used, distributed and modified, and are also called free content. A free licence is not the same as royalty-free.

How to License an Image 

There are a few different ways you can license out your images and get paid. The amount you receive will depend on the type of licence agreement and the scope of the rights of use.

Who is Allowed to Offer an Image Licence?

You can either offer licence images yourself or assign that right to someone else. For example, stock image platforms. Copyright law on this will vary depending on your country.

Where can I License my Images?

One of the easiest ways to license your images is through visual content providers like IMAGO or stock photo platforms like Shutterstock and Getty Images. These platforms sign licensing agreements with customers for you.

IMAGO, based in Berlin, offers customers access to over 300 million photos and videos. As a photographer, IMAGO offers flexibility and different licensing models. You can choose between rights-managed or royalty-free licences. You always retain your copyright. After you decide on the type of licence, your images are made available for customers.

What’s the Difference between Rights Managed and Royalty Free Licensing?

Rights Managed and royalty-free are the most common types of licensing. 

Under the Rights Managed licence, customers can typically only use the image in an editorial context (unless otherwise specified).  The licensee can’t use an image for both a poster and a brochure under the same licence—unless they pay for another one. 

Under most royalty-free licences, customers can use the images multiple times. However, there are no exclusive rights. Other customers will be able to use the same photo at the same time. This licence category allows the licensee to publish in a commercial context.

What to Include in an Image Licensing Agreement

Image licencing platforms can help you simplify the image licencing process. These platforms offer customised licences, clarify questions and put your images in front of customers. When setting up an image licensing agreement, there are a few terms you’ll need to understand.

The type of image use

You’ll need to choose in which ways customers can use your images. These include commercial purposes, like advertising and PR, and/or non-commercial or editorial purposes, like articles or informative content.

The type of image licence

You can choose between non-exclusive or exclusive licences. An exclusive licence will limit use to the licensee only, while a non-exclusive licence means other paying customers can use the image too.

The time frame

Your licence will usually specify how long the customer can use the images. This might be a single year, five years or in perpetuity. The contract can also give the option to extend or terminate the licence.

The usage and platform limitations

You can place certain restrictions on the use of the images, such as the maximum number of copies or print runs, the geographic scope, or the type of media in which the images may appear.

The attribution of the photographer

Your licence can stipulate that customers must include your name when they use your image. This helps to protect copyright and to acknowledge your work.

The right to edit

The right to edit describes whether and to what extent licensees may edit the images. This may include, for example, cropping, changing colours, or adding text or other elements. The contract may also stipulate that the licensee must obtain the photographer's consent for any editing.

The right to sublicense

The agreement can regulate if—and under what conditions—customers may pass on or sublicense the images to third parties. The agreement can also tell customers to inform you if they sublicense your images.

The amount of the licensing fee

The contract specifies how much customers must pay you to use your images. This can be a one-time flat fee or a variable fee depending on various factors, such as the type and duration of use, the number of copies or editions, or the revenue generated.

How to Make Money from Your Photography

Image licences are a great way to make money from your photography and make your images available to a wide audience. Depending on the licence agreement, you can stipulate that customers must use your name alongside your images. This can help increase your visibility on social media and grow your audience further. As a freelancer, you can also sell images directly to publications and organisations. 

How to Price Your Images

How much you can earn will depend on your images, the licence agreement and the licencing platform. IMAGO, for example, matches you with customers and splits income with you 50–50. 

Licensing FAQs with IMAGO

1. How do you establish a partnership with a photo agency?

Once you’ve had initial contact with a photo agency, the process of becoming a contributor is very straightforward.

After IMAGO has confirmed you as a contributor, all you need to do is upload some sample images to the FTP we provide for our team to review the metadata. If you meet the criteria, you can choose between two agreements: Either direct sales only or direct sales with third-party redistribution. After the agreement is finalised, you’ll receive a dedicated FTP address for your future uploads, along with dedicated support from the content team.

2. Can I set geographical restrictions on where the client can use the image?

As a photographer on IMAGO, you have the freedom to define any geographical limitations you want, meaning you can stop your images from being licensed in any country or countries you specify. 

Summary

As a photographer, it is very useful to know about image licensing as a way to make money with your photography. There are many different types of licensing agreements that specify how and for how long your images can be used. 

Image licensing platforms like IMAGO help you connect with different customers who can buy licences for your work. As a freelance photographer, you can also sell your images directly to publications.

Looking for more content? Check out Ian Howorth’s photography career advice, read our guide to photo editing or discover more articles on the MPB content hub .