Although every photograph you take is automatically under copyright protection, registering the images gives the copyright holder much greater legal protection. If your image is infringed and you have registered the image prior to the infringement, you can obtain punitive damages and recover legal fees. Without registration, you can only claim actual damages, which must be proven.

Registering unpublished photographs is very easy and I register all my images with the U.S. Copyright Office. The process is simple: just download and complete the short form, and mail it to the copyright office with a check for $30 and a copy of your work. You will need to use a different form if your image has already been published.

If I am registering slides or transparencies, I copy these by placing my sleeved work on a lightbox. I take pictures of it with negative film and I develop it at the local 1-hour lab with double prints. I send one copy with the registration forms to the U.S. Copyright office; I place the other copy into my records.

If I am registering digital images, I use Nikon Capture to batch process my RAW files and create low resolution copies in jpeg format. I then burn files these to a CD which I include with the registration form. The copyright office also recommends including a hardcopy of the images, so I print contact sheets using Nikon View. I can fit 45 images per page with each image sized 1"x1.5". Again, I print two sets and one goes to the Copyright office and the other stays in my files.

Finally, you should use Federal Express to deliver the registration forms to the copyright office. Because of increased security, the U.S. postal service has not been delivering mail (or is extremely slow to deliver) to the copyright office.