Ownership of Photographs and Video
All photographs, video, motion content, behind-the-scenes footage, editing treatments, color profiles, and written editorial that appear on ridethewave.co (the “Site”) are the original work of RTW Photography (“RTW,” “we,” or “us”) unless explicitly credited otherwise. Under the United States Copyright Act of 1976 and the Berne Convention, copyright in each image and video belongs to RTW from the moment it is created. Purchasing prints, digital files, or commissioning a session with RTW does not transfer copyright ownership.
Personal Use by Clients
Clients of RTW Photography receive a personal-use license to share, print, and display the final edited images delivered to them. This license is non-exclusive, non-transferable, and limited to personal social media, messaging apps, personal websites, family photo books, gifts to friends and family, and personal print orders for home display. Watermarks or RTW credit may not be cropped, blurred, or otherwise removed from any delivered file. We kindly ask that clients tag @ridethewavephotographywhen posting our work on Instagram, TikTok, or LinkedIn.
Commercial & Editorial Use
Any use of RTW imagery for paid advertising, sponsored content, e-commerce product pages, brand campaigns, paid endorsements, press releases, merchandise, NFTs, AI training datasets, or any other commercial purpose requires a separate written commercial license. This includes use by third-party brands, agencies, magazines, publications, podcasts, news outlets, influencer partners, and venues that wish to feature work from a session paid for by an individual client. License rates depend on usage, territory, exclusivity, and duration. Contact info@ridethewave.co for a quote.
Venues, Vendors & Industry Partners
Wedding planners, florists, venues, makeup artists, hair stylists, videographers, caterers, stationers, designers, and other vendors who appeared on the production may request high-resolution files for portfolio and social media use at no charge, provided RTW Photography is credited in the caption and tagged on every platform the image appears. Vendor use does not extend to paid ads, blog syndication for SEO backlinks without permission, third-party stock licensing, or use of cropped images in a way that removes RTW’s visual identity. Please reach out before submitting our work to wedding blogs or print publications so we can submit jointly.
Model & Likeness Rights
RTW retains the right to display, exhibit, publish, and use all imagery for self-promotion, including the Site, social media, advertising, portfolio books, awards submissions, photography competitions, educational courses, and printed marketing collateral. If you would like an image of yourself or your child removed from public-facing marketing, email us and we will honor the request within thirty (30) days.
AI Training, Scraping & Generative Models
RTW Photography does not consent to any image, video, caption, alt text, or editorial copy on this Site being used to train, fine-tune, or evaluate generative artificial intelligence models, machine-learning datasets, or large language models. Automated scraping, bulk downloading, and reverse image searching for the purpose of dataset assembly are prohibited.
DMCA Takedown Requests
If you believe an image displayed on the Site infringes a copyright you own or control, please send a written notice to info@ridethewave.co containing: (1) a description of the copyrighted work, (2) the URL or screenshot of the allegedly infringing content, (3) your contact information, (4) a statement that you have a good-faith belief that the use is not authorized, and (5) your electronic or physical signature. We respond to valid DMCA notices within five (5) business days.
Reporting Unauthorized Use
We actively monitor reverse image search results and routinely pursue unauthorized commercial use of our imagery. If you encounter our work being used without credit or license, please let us know. Damages for unauthorized commercial use of registered photographs in the United States can include statutory damages up to $150,000 per work plus attorneys’ fees under 17 U.S.C. § 504.
Questions
For licensing quotes, press inquiries, vendor file requests, or any other copyright question, contact info@ridethewave.co or visit our contact page. To book a session, request a quote on our booking page.