Can you print and share your wedding photos? Rights, prints and albums

The short answer

Yes. With us your photographs arrive in a private online gallery with high-resolution digital downloads, and you get full rights to them, so you can print them for yourselves, your families and your walls. Luxury and above also include a USB.

Whichever photographer you book, check the licence in your agreement before you order prints. It is the licence, not ownership, that tells you what you can do with your photographs.

Who owns the copyright in wedding photographs?

In the UK, the person who takes a photograph normally owns the copyright unless a written agreement says otherwise. That is why photographers give their clients a licence, which sets out what the clients may do with the photographs.

With us it is simple: you get full rights to your wedding photographs. You are free to print, share and use them, and you do not need to get in touch with us first. This is general guidance, not legal advice, so with any other photographer, read the agreement and ask if anything is unclear.

What full rights means

It means your wedding photographs are yours to use. Print them as wall prints, canvases, cards, thank-you gifts or photo books, share them with the people you love and use them in other ways too, such as for a business or an advert. You are free to use them, and you do not need to ask us first.

Sneak peeks arrive within 24 hours of the wedding and are a few favourites to share with family while the full gallery is edited. The full gallery itself is private and comes with high-resolution digital downloads, so you always have files to print from.

How to print your photographs well

Use the high-resolution downloads, not the small web-size copies, because small files print soft. Order one test print first and check it in daylight before you order a large batch.

Photographs from professional cameras are usually a 3 to 2 shape, which does not fit every standard frame size. Ask your print lab how they will crop your photographs, or choose a frame that matches the shape.

Keep your own copies. Save your downloads to a hard drive or cloud storage as well as the online gallery. We make two separate backups of your photographs after the wedding, but your own copies are the safest of all.

How albums work

An album is made to be held and passed around, which no folder of files can do. We design albums in-house: you choose 60 photographs and approve the layout before anything is printed.

Luxury and Platinum photography packages include a wedding album, and albums can be added to other packages: £399 for one or £599 for two. Our guide to how many photos you get from a wedding photographer explains what is in your gallery.

What to check in any photographer’s agreement

Ask what rights you receive, and whether they are full or limited. Ask whether you get high-resolution downloads or only web-size images, whether files come on a USB or only online and how long an online gallery stays available.

Ask, too, whether the photographer may share your photographs in their portfolio and on social media. With us, selected photographs and clips may be shared in our portfolio and on social media unless you say not to, and saying so is absolutely fine. Tell us before booking or contact us afterwards.

If you are not a client and would like to use one of our photographs, our image licensing page explains how to ask.

If you are still deciding

When you compare photographers, put rights and delivery on your list next to price and style. Our questions to ask a wedding photographer guide covers the rest.

When you are ready, send an enquiry with your date and venue, and we will reply within a few hours. An enquiry does not reserve your date; the £120 deposit does, once you are happy to go ahead.

Questions couples ask