All images are copyrighted by me…and that means I own the rights to your image. It is illegal and unlawful to scan, copy, or reproduce my work in any manner or medium and punishable by law with fines starting at $150,000. As an artist, I wish to have complete control over the final look of my clients’ images, and scanned images damage my reputation as a photographer by distorting and devaluing the image quality.
The photographers copyright law is a federal law meaning that it is the law in every state and the government set the law to be what it is. When a photographer takes images of you or your child, the images are copyrighted. You have the permission to hang the images up in your home and enjoy them; you do not have permission to make copies of the images. This includes home printers or printers at local camera shops and convenience stores (such as Rite Aid, Wal-Mart, etc). I keep in close contact with local stores, letting them know that I am to be alerted when issues of copyright come up in their stores. In addition, every image that is taken is embedded with code that stays with that image forever, so the same is to be said with digital files.
You are welcome to purchase additional prints of your child if you are in need of extras for family. You are also welcome to purchase digital files which you can print yourself. Digital manipulation to those files is again copyright infringement and illegal.
To reiterate, do not scan, copy, download, or post my images or you are stealing. Stealing is illegal and you will be prosecuted.