Copyright & Image Licensing

Last Updated: September 4, 2026

Copyright Notice

Unless otherwise expressly stated, all photographs, images, photographic compositions, edits, and other original visual works displayed on this website or distributed by DS Portrait Arts are protected by applicable United States and international copyright laws.

© DS Portrait Arts / Darrell Sheffield. All Rights Reserved.

Copyright ownership is not transferred merely because an image has been photographed, commissioned, purchased, downloaded, delivered to a client or model, posted publicly, or shared through a website or social media platform.

Except where copyright has been expressly transferred through a written agreement, DS Portrait Arts and/or the identified photographer retains all applicable copyright interests in its photographic works.

Any permission or license granted by DS Portrait Arts is limited to the specific uses authorized by the applicable written agreement, license, release, or other written authorization.

1. General Image Usage

No photograph or other copyrighted image owned or controlled by DS Portrait Arts may be reproduced, copied, downloaded, published, distributed, displayed, transmitted, modified, sold, sublicensed, incorporated into another work, or otherwise exploited except:

  • as expressly permitted by a written license or agreement;

  • with prior written authorization from DS Portrait Arts; or

  • where the use is otherwise permitted by applicable law.

Possession of a digital file, print, screenshot, proof, gallery image, or social-media copy does not by itself grant copyright ownership or an unrestricted license to use the photograph.

2. Social Media Sharing and Reposting

Clients and models may share photographs delivered to them when such sharing is permitted by their agreement with DS Portrait Arts.

Unless otherwise agreed in writing, permitted personal social-media use does not include the right to sell the photograph, license it to another party, use it in paid advertising, submit it for commercial publication, create merchandise from it, or authorize another person or business to exploit the image commercially.

When reasonably practical, DS Portrait Arts requests that social-media posts credit:

Photo: DS Portrait Arts

or tag the official DS Portrait Arts account where appropriate.

Third parties—including businesses, publications, brands, social-media accounts, content aggregators, and promotional pages—should not assume that an image may be reposted merely because it appears publicly online.

Downloading, screenshotting, copying, or reposting an image does not create ownership or licensing rights.

A social-media platform’s terms may separately grant that platform certain rights when content is uploaded to its service. Those platform-specific rights do not constitute a general license from DS Portrait Arts to unrelated third parties.

3. Commercial and Promotional Use

Prior written authorization from DS Portrait Arts is required for commercial exploitation of DS Portrait Arts photographs unless such use is already covered by an existing written license.

Commercial use may include, without limitation:

advertising; sponsored content; product promotion; brand campaigns; websites operated for commercial purposes; brochures; catalogs; packaging; posters; merchandise; paid social-media advertising; corporate marketing; promotional materials; commercial publications; and other uses intended to market, advertise, endorse, or generate revenue for a person, product, service, organization, or business.

Commercial licenses may specify limitations concerning:

Media • Territory • Duration • Placement • Audience • Exclusivity • Campaign • Distribution • Modification • Attribution

A license for one purpose does not automatically authorize another. For example, permission to post an image organically on social media does not necessarily include paid advertising, print advertising, merchandise, or third-party licensing.

For commercial licensing inquiries, please contact DS Portrait Arts before using the image.

4. Models and Clients

Being depicted in a photograph does not, by itself, transfer the photographer’s copyright in that photograph.

Models and portrait clients may receive specific image-use rights under their applicable photography agreement, model release, collaboration agreement, print release, or license.

Unless otherwise stated in that agreement, personal-use permission should not be interpreted as an assignment of copyright.

Models and clients may not sell, commercially license, sublicense, or transfer DS Portrait Arts photographs to brands, publications, agencies, businesses, or other third parties unless their agreement specifically permits such activity or DS Portrait Arts provides additional written authorization.

Businesses or publications wishing to use photographs obtained from a model or client should contact DS Portrait Arts directly to determine whether a separate license is required.

Nothing on this page expands or reduces rights specifically granted under a separate written agreement. Where a specific written agreement conflicts with these general website terms, the specific agreement controls with respect to the parties and photographs covered by that agreement.

5. Editing, Filters, Cropping, and Alteration

Unless permitted by an applicable agreement or approved by DS Portrait Arts, photographs should not be materially altered in a manner that misrepresents the photographer’s finished work.

Unauthorized alterations may include:

  • substantial color changes;

  • heavy filters or presets;

  • compositing;

  • object or background replacement;

  • AI-based alteration;

  • face or body modification;

  • removal or replacement of watermarks;

  • misleading manipulation;

  • creation of derivative promotional graphics; or

  • editing that materially changes the artistic character of the finished photograph.

Reasonable cropping or resizing required for ordinary social-media presentation is generally acceptable when the client’s or model’s license permits social-media use and the alteration does not materially distort the image or remove a required copyright notice or watermark.

Contact DS Portrait Arts if a publication, designer, brand, or other licensee requires modifications for a particular use.

6. Artificial Intelligence and Machine Learning

DS Portrait Arts expressly reserves its rights concerning the use of its photographs and other copyrighted visual works in connection with artificial intelligence, machine learning, generative technologies, computer-vision systems, synthetic-media systems, datasets, and similar technologies.

Except where expressly authorized in writing or otherwise permitted by applicable law, DS Portrait Arts does not grant permission or a license for its copyrighted photographs to be intentionally collected, copied, scraped, downloaded, reproduced, ingested, uploaded, indexed, incorporated into datasets, or otherwise used for:

  • training artificial-intelligence or machine-learning models;

  • fine-tuning models;

  • developing generative-image systems;

  • creating training or evaluation datasets;

  • image-to-image model training;

  • style imitation or style-model development;

  • facial or biometric model development;

  • synthetic-data generation;

  • creating digital replicas;

  • generating derivative or substantially similar imagery; or

  • commercial AI research or development.

The public accessibility of an image on a website, portfolio, search engine, or social-media platform should not be interpreted as an affirmative license from DS Portrait Arts for AI or machine-learning use.

Organizations seeking permission for such uses must obtain express written authorization from DS Portrait Arts where authorization from the copyright owner is legally required.

Nothing in this section is intended to restrict uses that cannot lawfully be restricted by contract or copyright law.

7. Copyright Metadata and Rights Information

DS Portrait Arts photographs may contain embedded copyright and rights-management information, including IPTC, EXIF, XMP, or other metadata identifying the photographer, copyright owner, licensing terms, contact information, or source.

Users should preserve copyright and rights-management information associated with licensed images unless DS Portrait Arts expressly authorizes its removal.

The removal of metadata does not transfer copyright ownership or convert a copyrighted photograph into a work that is free to use.

8. Watermarks

Watermarked proofs, previews, gallery images, and social-media images remain protected works.

Unless specifically authorized, users may not intentionally remove, obscure, crop out, cover, clone out, or otherwise circumvent a DS Portrait Arts watermark or copyright identification for the purpose of using an image without authorization.

Receiving access to a watermarked proof or online gallery does not constitute permission to reproduce or publish that image.

9. Unauthorized Reproduction and Use

Unauthorized use of DS Portrait Arts photography may constitute copyright infringement or violate applicable licensing agreements.

Examples may include unauthorized:

copying; downloading; screenshotting for republication; reposting; commercial advertising; publication; merchandise production; resale; sublicensing; alteration; distribution; removal of rights-management information; or use beyond the scope of an existing license.

DS Portrait Arts reserves all rights and remedies available under applicable law and contract.

When unauthorized use is discovered, DS Portrait Arts may seek appropriate remedies, which may include requesting removal of the image, requesting attribution where appropriate, seeking a retroactive license or compensation, issuing a platform or hosting-provider notice where legally appropriate, or pursuing other available legal remedies.

Nothing on this page constitutes a waiver of any copyright, contractual, statutory, or other legal right.

10. Editorial and Publication Licensing

Editors, magazines, newspapers, blogs, publishers, galleries, agencies, and other media organizations interested in publishing DS Portrait Arts photography should obtain appropriate licensing authorization before publication unless a valid license has already been granted.

Licensing terms may depend upon the publication, circulation, placement, duration, territory, exclusivity, medium, and intended use.

Credit requirements may be included as a condition of a particular license.

11. Model Releases and Copyright Are Separate

Copyright ownership and permission to use a person’s likeness are separate considerations.

A copyright license from DS Portrait Arts does not necessarily represent or guarantee that a particular use of a person’s name, image, likeness, trademark, property, artwork, or other third-party rights has been authorized for every conceivable commercial purpose.

Licensees are responsible for ensuring that their intended use complies with the terms of the applicable license and any other permissions required for that particular use.

12. Requesting Permission or a License

To request permission to reproduce, publish, advertise with, modify, distribute, or otherwise license a DS Portrait Arts photograph, please provide:

  • the photograph or a link identifying it;

  • your name or organization;

  • the intended use;

  • publication or platform;

  • commercial or noncommercial purpose;

  • geographic territory;

  • anticipated duration;

  • approximate distribution or audience;

  • requested modifications, if any; and

  • whether exclusive rights are requested.

DS Portrait Arts can then determine whether permission is available and, when appropriate, provide licensing terms and fees.

Licensing Contact

DS Portrait Arts
Darrell Sheffield
Nashville, Tennessee
Website: www.dsportraitarts.com
Email: [Darrell@DS-Portrait-Arts.com]

13. Copyright Notice

Unless a particular photograph carries a different copyright designation, the recommended copyright identification is:

© [Year of First Publication] DS Portrait Arts / Darrell Sheffield. All Rights Reserved.

The year may vary by photograph according to the year of first publication.

14. No Implied License

No license should be inferred merely because DS Portrait Arts:

  • displays an image publicly;

  • posts an image on social media;

  • allows an image to be indexed by a search engine;

  • provides a proof or preview;

  • delivers photographs to a model or client;

  • does not immediately object to a particular use; or

  • previously licensed another photograph or another use.

Licenses must arise from an applicable agreement, express authorization, or applicable law.

15. Questions and Licensing Requests

For copyright questions, publication requests, commercial licensing, image permissions, or suspected unauthorized use, contact:

DS Portrait Arts
Nashville, Tennessee
www.dsportraitarts.com
[Darrell@DS-Portrait-Arts.com]

Please identify the photograph and describe the proposed use when requesting permission.

Legal Notice

These Copyright & Image Licensing terms describe the general policies of DS Portrait Arts. They are not intended to eliminate, restrict, or mischaracterize exceptions, limitations, defenses, or other rights established by applicable law.

Specific photography contracts, model agreements, releases, and licensing agreements may contain different or additional provisions. The applicable signed agreement controls where its terms differ from these general website policies.

DS Portrait Arts reserves all rights not expressly granted.