TheLawTog

06/11/2026

Exposure is great. My landlord still prefers cash. 🤪

Follow along for more photography humor and education at TheLawTog® - The Go-To Legal Resource for Photographers

06/10/2026

Ever snapped the perfect event photo and wondered if you can actually use it in your portfolio, marketing, or social media? We've got you covered!

For a limited time, grab our Photography Crowd Release Notice for just $19 (regularly $79) and add an extra layer of protection to your next event.

Download Now >>> https://thelawtog.com/products/photography-crowd-release-notice

The go-to legal resource for photographers with photography contracts, legal courses and more!

05/07/2026

Seriously, your client is the one legally obligated to you on the contract. Unless you get their permission to discuss executed contracts with a third party - DONT.

Mother of wedding client emails? Email wedding client.
Grandmother of baby in newborn photos? Email the parent who contracted you.

Simple 😀

04/23/2026

It’s not an ego thing. It’s an education thing. If you want to retain copyright ownership, photographers….our education is never done. Verbal conversations. Contracts. Etc. you got this!

04/02/2026

Most people think paying for photos means owning them. It doesn’t.

In the U.S., the photographer usually owns the copyright the moment the image is created. Payment alone does not change that.

Copyright only shifts if the photographer is a true employee or there is a written contract that assigns ownership.

Usage rights and copyright ownership are not the same thing.

03/24/2026

Use digital contract signing systems. Makes it’s easier for you AND them!

03/18/2026

This is something that’s so overlooked.

If your editor is an independent contractor and your contract does not clearly assign copyright to you, your ownership may be joint with the editor. That can potentially affect how you can license, protect, and use your own work.

Without full ownership:
-You may not have the legal right to grant exclusive licenses to clients
-You may not be able to enforce copyright infringement if your images are stolen
-Your editor could legally reuse, showcase, or license the edited images
-Brand deals, commercial usage, and publications can be compromised
-Client contracts promising “full rights” may put you in breach

This is not about mistrust. It is about clarity.

When your editor agreement properly assigns intellectual property rights to you, you protect your ability to:
-License your work confidently
-Enforce your copyright
-Control how and where images are used
-Keep client promises intact

Ownership is the foundation of licensing.
Contracts are how you protect it.

02/19/2026

ChatGPT (or Claude) is not your lawyer - a federal judge just made that crystal clear.

A federal court in New York just ruled that information entered into a generative AI platform is not protected by attorney-client privilege or the work-product doctrine. Even if the person later gives those AI-generated materials to their lawyer.

The case involved a criminal defendant who used a consumer AI tool to analyze facts, draft arguments, and think through defenses after an investigation had already begun and after counsel was retained. Law enforcement later seized those AI-generated documents. The defense argued they were privileged but court determined this was a no.

Why? Because privilege only protects confidential communications between a client and a lawyer. An AI tool is neither. It is a third party and once you disclose sensitive facts to a third party, confidentiality is gone.

The court also rejected the work-product argument. Materials qualify as work-product only if they are prepared by an attorney or at an attorney’s direction in anticipation of litigation. Independent AI use by a client does not meet that standard. Handing the output to your lawyer later does not retroactively fix the problem.

The judge also emphasized something people gloss over: consumer AI tools openly disclose that user inputs may be stored, reviewed, or shared under certain conditions. That alone destroys any reasonable expectation of confidentiality, which is a core requirement for privilege.

Legal take:
Client-prompted, unsupervised use of consumer AI tools can waive privilege entirely. Courts will treat those conversations the same way they would treat emails copied to a stranger.

01/30/2026

Dollar Days are back in 2026!!!

Download the Photograph Crowd Release Notice for only $19 until January 31st.

🪩🪩🪩

You’re at an event, the lighting is perfect, and you’re capturing incredible shots. But later, a guest sees their face in your portfolio or a client’s ad and demands compensation—or worse, threatens legal action.

Without a Crowd Release Notice, you’re wide open to "Right of Publicity" claims that can tank your business.

Why you need this today:
🪩Legal Bulletproofing: It gives you the "green light" to use your photos for marketing, social media, and sales without asking for individual permission.
🪩Professionalism: It tells your clients you’ve covered the bases they didn’t even think of.
🪩Peace of Mind: Stop worrying about "background people" and start focusing on the art

Download your Photography Crowd Release Notice until 01.31.26 for only $19 | Reg. $79

https://thelawtog.com/products/photography-crowd-release-notice