Do I own the copyright to photos taken of me?

photographer3CC0If there is no rule or agreement to the contrary, then the copyright to a photograph is owned by the person who pressed the shutter button. So, when someone else takes a photograph of you, you do not own the copyright unless it has been assigned to you in a written agreement. However, depending on the circumstances, you may have other rights, such as the right to privacy and the right to publicity, that affect what the photographer can do with a photograph of you. For this reason, a professional photographer will usually have a model sign a model release, which may include terms stating that the model agrees to give up any of these rights they may have in the images produced, in exchange for payment or other consideration.

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