Why We Copyright our Portraits

In 1976 the Federal Government passed a law making it illegal to copy materials protected by a copyright. These materials include items such as sheet music, books and photographs.

The portraits you have entrusted us to create for you are made by the finest craftsmen in the industry. The very high level of quality found 

in each portrait cannot be duplicated or copied without suffering a severe reduction in sharpness, color and clarity.

Since such a loss of image quality would reflect poorly on the reputation of our work, Giles Photography has reserved the copyright on each 

portrait we create. It is illegal to have copies made directly from the photographs, including, but not limited to: photographic copies, 

prints from copy machines, scanning into your computer, placing on a website, making invitations, having a bakery use a frosting image on a 

cake, etc.. In some cases we will give written permission to copy, but very rarely. Call us if you have an questions. We do retain all images on 

file, for minimum of ten years. Additional portraits can be made to our exact specifications for you at any time.

We sincerely appreciate your understanding and cooperation in helping us maintain the very highest levels of quality and integrity you have 

come to expect from Giles Photography.

Please be aware that there are very substantial penalties for making illegal copies that can exceed $100,000 per occurrence.

                           Addtional information on copyright

Most people do not understand copyright. The following information is provided as a service to our customers:

The copyright law protects the work of authors, artists, and other creative talents. The vast majority of these people are self-employed. In 

order to protect their income, the law provides harsh penalties for illegal copying (known as infringement of copyright).  The penalties can 

run from $10,000 to $100,000 or more per illegal copy!

The instant a professional photographer makes a photograph, it is copyrighted. The law provides that the author of the work (in this case, 

the photographer) is the copyright owner, and she/he owns all rights to the use of that image, even if they were paid to create the image.  The 

artist (photographer) owns the copyright for 25 years beyond his/her death.