By Ghazali Ibrahim
A legal tweet from Nigerian lawyer Dammy Esquire (@Dammi_Esq) has set social media abuzz with a startling claim: the photos from your wedding, birthday, or graduation aren’t legally yours unless you’ve signed a copyright transfer.
In her viral post, she explains that under intellectual property law, photographers retain the copyright to their work, even after clients have paid for the shoot.
“You only paid for ‘use,’ not ownership,” she wrote, adding that even million-naira wedding pictures legally belong to the photographer, not the client.
The tweet has sparked mixed reactions, especially among couples and event planners who often assume paying for a photoshoot grants full ownership.
But unless a separate agreement explicitly transfers copyright, photographers have the legal right to reuse, publish, or even sell those images.
“Your wedding album isn’t yours. Your birthday shoot isn’t yours,” Dammy warned.
While clients may have physical copies or digital files, full legal control over the images remains with the photographer unless otherwise stated in a signed agreement.
