It's easier than ever to share your photographs online. Unfortunately, it is also easy for others to use those pictures without your permission.

Fortunately, copyright law is designed to protect creators. Just by taking a photograph, you have certain rights to that image, even if you don't add a copyright or trademark symbol. Enforcing those rights is another story.

Whether you want to register your copyright or you just want to make sure that prospective content thieves are aware that you know where you stand, you have options. In this explainer, we're going to discuss how to copyright a photo in order to protect the ownership of your work.

When you possess a copyright protecting a photograph, you have the exclusive right to reproduce the work, to create derivative works based on it, to distribute copies, and to display it in public.

In the United States, when you take a photograph, you automatically hold the copyright of the image as soon as the shutter is released, as long as it isn't a photo of an existing artistic work. If you've been commissioned to take the photographs by an employer, however, this will not be the case. Instead, they would hold the copyright since they're footing the bill.

If you don't register your copyright with the US Copyright Office before an infringement or within three months of its first publication, you will only be entitled to actual damages. This amount is calculated based on your normal licensing fees, and sometimes any profits made from the illegal usage.

If you have already registered your copyright, you can pursue statutory damages, which could potentially be worth a lot more. For professionals, it's worth making the investment of money and energy in registering the copyright on your work.

If you're an amateur, you'll probably be fine with the automatic protections afforded to you automatically as a creator. Nobody really needs to copyright personal photos.

You may have heard of "poor man's copyright," which some posit as a basic alternative to proper copyright registration. The idea is that you register the date of creation of the media using an alternative source, such as a notary, via an email, or another method that establishes possession at a specific time.

While poor man's copyright can help establish legal ownership in countries without an established system of copyright law, this really isn't how to copyright a picture the foolproof way. There is no provision or protection in US copyright law that covers this method.

Another thing you may have heard about is copyleft. Here's what copyleft is and whether it applies to your work.

To start the copyright process, head over to Copyright.gov. When you make it to the home page, scroll down and click Learn More in the Register Your Works module.

Copyright photos online

You will be met with another page, prompting you to log in. If you need to create an account, make sure to do so here.

How to trademark photos on Copyright.Gov

To the left, select Standard Application beneath the red "Register a Work" heading. On the next screen, click Start Registration to get started.

How to trademark a photo on Copyright.Gov

First, you'll have an opportunity to identify the type of work that you would like to register. To copyright a photo, choose Work of the Visual Arts from the dropdown. Confirm that you agree with the block of red text, and hit Continue again.

How to copyright pictures on Copyright.Gov

The next few steps: giving your photo a legal title, attaching your author and any third-party correspondence information to the application, specifying any extenuating circumstances that may require special handling, and certifying the application officially.

How to copyright your photos on Copyright.Gov

Once you've made your way down the list, hit Add to Cart. You'll be taken to Pay.gov to seal the deal.

After forking over your $65 filing fee, you'll be able to upload your photo to the copyright office's archive. Now, all that's left to do is wait for your letter of acceptance.

Related: What Is Fair Use?

The most extreme way to protect your copyright is to get in touch with a lawyer. They will help you file a copyright infringement lawsuit. In many cases, however, that won't be necessary.

If you're happy with someone using your photograph but you would like to be attributed, you should try to get in touch with the owner of the website or publication first. In most cases, they'll be happy to comply.

If you decide that you want the photo taken down, you might need to take things one step further. One option would be to draft a cease-and-desist letter or to have a lawyer do so on your behalf. A DMCA takedown notice is probably a simpler option. You can find plenty of templates online, like this one from IP Watchdog.

Both of these options will usually be sufficient if you find your work published on a blog or a smaller print publication. If it's a bigger entity like a major magazine or website, it might be worth sending them an invoice at your normal rate. These companies have a budget for images. Many of them would rather pay up than deal with the hassle.

If you don't want to pay to register a copyright, you do have another option. Placing a watermark over your photograph isn't necessarily how to copyright your images legally, but doing so does offer two major benefits:

  • Anyone found to be in violation of the copyright cannot claim ignorance, which might dissuade them from using your work.
  • A well-placed watermark will require some slick editing if whoever is infringing upon your copyright doesn't want to give you credit.

The correct format for a copyright watermark is the word "copyright" or the copyright symbol followed by the year it was created and the name of the author. For example:

© 2021 | Gavin Phillips

To create a copyright watermark, open up your photograph in your preferred image editing software. Add a text element with your copyright information. It's worth choosing a thicker, bolder font that's going to take up as much space as possible.

Adding a watermark isn't how to copyright photos online in a legal sense, but it might help in some cases

You want to make sure that anyone that's looking to use your image without permission can't just crop it out. It's best to stick to either white or black for your font color; choose whichever comes across clearly over your photograph. If you don't want the watermark to look too obvious, you can always lower its opacity to make it blend in more with the photograph.

Related: How to Check If a Video Is Copywritten

If you're an artist in the industry, copyrighting photos is the surest way to protect your name and business. A full-blown copyright claim gives you the legal ground to stand on if somebody tries to rip you off.

You might not always find recourse through the copyright, especially if someone in another country steals your work. However, there is a strong chance it will put some would-be pirates off, and it does give you a legal standing.

To learn more about how to copyright a photo, Copyright.gov provides plenty of detailed information about the process.