Studio Policy
Image usage and marketing rights
How your portraits are used, why it works this way, and what to do if your organization needs something different.
What's included in your session
Every session booked with Pooja Photography includes the studio's right to feature the resulting images in our own marketing. That covers:
- Our website portfolio and individual service pages
- Case studies and client stories on the blog
- Social media, including Instagram, Facebook, and LinkedIn
- Print and digital marketing materials, submissions, and press features
- Educational content, such as before and after examples or teaching material
This is included in your session fee rather than charged separately, and it applies from the moment your booking is confirmed.
Why the studio works this way
Portrait work is bought on evidence. Nobody hires a photographer from a price list. They hire from the work, and the work has to be visible.
When an executive is deciding whether to trust us with a portrait that will represent them for the next five years, the thing that convinces them is seeing someone like themselves photographed well. The same is true for a family choosing who will make the piece that hangs over their fireplace. Every image we're able to show is what makes the next right client feel safe enough to book.
This is standard practice across professional portrait and commercial photography. It's the arrangement that lets a studio build a body of work rather than starting from zero with every client.
If your organization needs something different
Some clients genuinely can't allow standard usage. Corporate communications policies, brand guidelines, regulated industries, security roles, and active legal matters are all real constraints, and we'd rather know about them early than discover them later.
Restrictions must be raised in writing before your session is booked. Once a session is confirmed, standard usage applies. Custom terms are documented as a written addendum to your agreement and may result in an adjusted session fee, since limited usage removes part of what the standard fee accounts for.
We've never had a conversation about this go badly. Ask early and it's a scheduling detail. Ask afterwards and it's a renegotiation.
How to request custom terms
Tell us before booking. A line in your inquiry or a note during the consultation is enough to start.
We'll talk through what your policy actually requires. Full restriction is rarely necessary once we look at the detail.
Agreed terms are written into your contract as an addendum before your session is confirmed.
What we never do
- Sell or license your images to third parties, stock libraries, or advertisers
- Use your images in a way that misrepresents you, your role, or your endorsement
- Share unedited files, proofs, or outtakes publicly
- Publish images from a session where written restrictions were agreed in advance
Client dignity comes before marketing. If an image is technically excellent but unflattering or out of character, it doesn't get published, whether or not we have the right to use it.
Client identification and company logos
Where we photograph a team, an executive, or an event on behalf of an organization, we identify that organization as a client of the studio. In practice that means the company name and logo may appear in our client roster, on service pages, in case studies, and in proposals to prospective clients.
This is factual identification of a working relationship, not an implied endorsement, partnership, or sponsorship. Marks are shown in their original form, without alteration, and always in a context that makes the relationship clear.
If your organization restricts vendor use of its marks, tell us before the session. Many companies have brand guidelines governing this, and we'd rather list you by name only, or leave you off the roster entirely, than create a problem for whoever has to answer for it internally. We remove a mark on request from an authorized representative, no explanation needed.
Portrait subjects and company marks are handled separately. Agreeing to one does not automatically cover the other, and either can be restricted on its own.
Copyright and your rights
Under United States copyright law, the photographer holds copyright in the images from the moment they're created. Your session and any products purchased give you personal use rights to the images you buy, including sharing them on your own professional profiles, company website, and press materials.
Scanning, copying, or reproducing printed images, and editing or applying filters to finished files, are not permitted. If you need a specific commercial use beyond personal and professional profile use, ask and we'll license it properly.
Contractual Language
Grant of marketing and portfolio rights. Client acknowledges that photography session fees include Pooja Photography's perpetual, non-exclusive right to use all portraits produced during the session for marketing, promotional, portfolio, case study, social media, and educational purposes. Client grants full permission for this usage upon booking confirmation.
Exceptions. If Client requires restrictions on image usage due to corporate policy, brand guidelines, or similar business constraints, Client must disclose this in writing prior to booking. Custom usage terms will be negotiated and documented as an addendum to the service agreement and may result in an adjusted session fee.
Client identification. Where photography services are provided to or on behalf of an organization, Pooja Photography may identify that organization as a client, including by name and logo, in its client roster, portfolio, case studies, and business development materials. Such use constitutes factual identification of a commercial relationship and does not imply endorsement, sponsorship, or affiliation. Marks are reproduced without alteration. Pooja Photography will remove a mark from its materials upon written request from an authorized representative of the organization.
Copyright. Pooja Photography retains copyright in all images produced. Client receives personal and professional profile use rights to purchased images. Reproduction, scanning, or alteration of images is not permitted without written authorization.
This policy summarizes terms contained in your service agreement. Where this page and your signed agreement differ, the signed agreement governs.
Questions about your situation?
If your role or organization has requirements we should know about, the best time to raise it is before you book.