copyright

[Bats21]

How do you go about copy righting a picture? thanks

[ShaneKislack]

You depress the shutter. Visit here if you want to register it with the copyright office which will grant you more money if you are infringed..

http://copyright.gov/

[DigitalScape]

Louis,
Carolyn Wright has an excellent website/blog on the various legal matters related to the world of photography. Take a look at her website (http://www.photoattorney.com/).

[wjmphoto]

You own the copyright the instant you take an image. Of course there is a big difference between owning the copyright and being able to use an image for commercial purposes or even being able to display them on your website without fear of litigation. If you have people in your image that are identifiable, you need model releases in order to display and sell the images and protect yourself. Copyright does not give that type of protection, it just determines who owns the image, not who can display or sell it.

If you are concerned about copyright in the case of someone stealing your images, selling them without your permission or any other unauthorized uses, then you need to register your images through the us copyright office at the link already given in this thread. Registration does give you stronger ground in court and will give you the ability to collect higher damages. It's a good idea to send a disc for registration every quarter if you have a high volume of shots or display them on the web for all to see and steal.