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Rights·8 min read · updated Sep 29, 2026
Image rights: three words worth more than the day.
On a campaign, the day rate is the small line. The big one is the right to use the pictures — for how long, where, on what. Here is how to read a usage clause, what a buyout is really worth, which phrases to have specified, and what to do when the pictures outlive the contract.
A usage clause grants three things: the media the pictures may appear on, the territory, and the duration, counted from first publication. A limited usage is rented and renewed; a buyout is sold for good and should cost three to five times the one-year usage. In France the fee for the use of your image is a royalty, not salary, so it sits on a separate line with its own contributions.
Written by the Odette team · reviewed by Arthur Feingold, Swapp Studio. About Odette
The three words.
Every usage clause, however long, says three things. If one is missing, the clause is incomplete — and the price is wrong.
Where the picture may appear: web, social, print, out-of-home, TV, packaging, in-store. “All media” is a buyout in disguise.
Where in the world: France, the EU, worldwide. A French e-shop that ships to Germany needs the EU; “worldwide” is a price, not a default.
How long, and from when: twelve months from first publication, not from the shoot. “In perpetuity” is a buyout; price it as one.
Buyout vs limited usage.
A limited usage is rented; a buyout is sold. Indicative Paris prices, added to the day rate.
| Usage | Added to the day | Worth knowing |
|---|---|---|
| E-commerce, web and social, France, 12 months | Included, or +€200–400 | The standard e-shop usage; renewable yearly |
| Lookbook, web and press, EU, 12 months | +€300–600 | Renewals at 50 to 70% of the first year |
| Campaign, web, print and out-of-home, EU, 12 months | +€1,500–4,000 | The one where the rights exceed the day rate |
| Campaign, all media, worldwide, 2 years | +€4,000–10,000 | A partial buyout; make the end date explicit |
| Full buyout, all media, worldwide, in perpetuity | 3–5× the one-year usage | No renewal ever; the client owns the use, not your image |
Indicative ranges as of September 2026. Rights are negotiated per job; a returning client’s renewal is the easiest money in the trade — if someone remembers the date.
Phrases to have specified.
Six expressions that sound standard and quietly widen the grant. Each has a one-line fix.
“All media”
Have them listed: web, social, print, out-of-home, TV, packaging. What is not listed is not granted.
“In perpetuity”
Replace it with a duration, or price it as a buyout. Perpetuity at a one-year price is the most common mistake.
“Worldwide”
Ask where the client actually sells. The EU is often enough; worldwide is a multiplier.
“Including social”
Whose social — the brand’s, the retailer’s, the influencers’? Paid ads or organic posts? Each is a separate use.
“From the shoot date”
Change it to “from first publication”. A campaign shot in March and published in September otherwise loses six months.
“Unlimited usage”
Not a term of art. Ask for media, territory and duration — the three words — in writing.
When it expires.
Eighteen months, three photo sets. The bar turns amber 60 days before the end, and red when the date has passed and the pictures are still up.
12 months from first publication · ends Sep 2027
the AW26 and SS27 catalogues · print, not web
ended Jan 2027 · still online
RunningEnds within 60 days — renewal draftedExpired, still online — take-down or renewal
Illustrative: three sets drawn at a single moment, to show the three states.
Rights and tax.
In France, the fee for your presence on set is salary, through the agency, or a service, direct. The fee for the use of your image afterwards is a royalty — a different line on the statement, different contributions, declared differently. Keeping the two apart on every job is not pedantry: it changes your net and your declaration.
Every usage has an end date, and Odette keeps it.
From the contract or the booking email, each photo set gets its media, territory and duration. Sixty days before the end, a renewal is drafted with a price. If photo watch is on, or you flagged a picture yourself, a take-down-or-renew message is ready on the day it is still online after the end. Nothing is sent without you.
See Pics in the app →Frequently asked.
Is a buyout always a bad deal?
No. A buyout is a price for certainty: the client never comes back, you never chase a renewal. It becomes a bad deal when it is priced like a one-year web usage. Rule of thumb: a true buyout is worth three to five years of the limited usage.
The photo is still online after the usage ended. What now?
First check the exact end date and the media — a web usage ending does not always cover social. Then a polite, dated message to the client: renew or take down, with a price for the renewal. Most renew. Odette drafts the renewal 60 days before, and the message on the day.
Does my agency take a commission on image rights?
Only if your agency contract says the rights are commissionable. Many do. Check the clause, then check the statement: the commission should apply to the rights line at the same rate, no more.
How are image rights taxed in France?
As a royalty for the use of your image, not as salary, when the usage is separate from your presence on set. The agency pays it on a different line with different contributions; direct, you declare it as such. The tax guide has the detail.
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