How can I copy a professional photo?

Yes it is true but that doesn’t mean you can’t do it. I took one to Walgreens, scanned it and printed it without a problem. I hate to say this but it all depends on how alert the clerk at the photo counter is. I would give it a try and see what happens. If you don’t have any luck contact the photo studio and they can give you a release letter (you may have to pay for it, but it is generally less expensive than ordering copies from them).

professional pictures are actually copyrighted for 70 some years. i am a professional photographer and have worked in numerous studios. you would be surprised how many people try this. i actually was developing prints at walmart and someoine made a copy at the machine and when they took it to pay, the person asked for the original. it was copywritten and the clerk ripped it up right in front of them. go to the place you had it taken and ask if they can email you a low res copy. if thety cant they may give you a copyright release to take it somewhere to have burned on cd or something. but beware the copyright release will state exactly what you can do and the photo place wont let you do anything else.

i even have trouble sometimes getting my photos developed from a cd i burned at home because they are professional. lol. i always take my memory card too.

for those that said take a picture of the picture that is also illegal. i tried to do that for a pic of a unicorn for my daughter’s room. it wasn’t a professional pic but art and i didnt see the harm in it. they wouldn’t print it.

In theory if you want to copy a professional picture the store should have you sign that you have the rights to copy that photo. But really for baby photos, school photos, wedding, and the like photographers do not retain the rights to the photographs. Part of what you are paying for is the rights.

So take them to the shop and they should scan them for you. If CVS won’t try a specialty shop. My uncle actually edits photos for a living. Fixing up old wedding photos, etc.

most professional photos can not be taken to a photo place to be enlarged or copied.. they have a watermark stamp on the back of the photo (normaly the name of the photo company) which tells people they are professionally done..

If you take it to walmart, they have copy machines that you can use yourself to enlarge the photo, but the techs may not print it off for you if it looks professionally done..

I would just scan it onto your computer and get photo paper and enlarge it yourself or copy it..

The photo place that took your professional pictures "owns" that image for 7 years. It is copyrighted.

I decorate cakes and people bring in pictures all the time to put on the cakes… if it is a portrait taken in the last 7 years, I CANNOT COPY it. We could get sued.

If you can get it to scan and you send it out, good for you. But you are doing it illegally.

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The answer to your initial question is NO. it is against copyright law to do so without the express permission of the photographer. As to your trying to scan – that is your scanner which is up the creek rather than the picture "stopping you". If you take them to a copy shop then any shop worth being in business should not copy them for you without permission of the copyright holder. You can share the pictures – go to the photographer and get more copies, it would not cost much to buy a couple of 5×7 prints.

If they have the photographers watermark behind the picture then it is illegal for any photo centers to copy. So yes it is true. I don’t even think they need the watermark. They usually can tell if its professional.

The only way you can do it is scan it email or print them yourself.

yeah- unfortunately too many people try to reproduce copyrighted photos so the drug stores wont copy them- scanning them is near impossible too because of an invisible filter they put on them- some places offer an option to see them online so you can have family buy prints directly from them- like jcpenny- ask the people who took the photo if they do this- or if it costs extra!

That’s not true. We scanned our professional JcPenney photos and they came out great. Once we finished scanning them, we took them to walmart and asked them to print it potrait and they did.