Image Licensing Agreement

BanaKin Photos retains copyright in every photograph and video we create. When you receive your delivered files, you also receive a license to use them within the scope described below. This document explains what that license covers, what it doesn't, and how to upgrade to a commercial license if needed.

1. Standard personal-use license

Unless we've negotiated a separate written license, every image we deliver to you comes with a personal, non-exclusive, royalty-free, worldwide, perpetual license to use the images for personal, non-commercial purposes. That includes:

• Printing copies for yourself, your family, and as gifts
• Sharing on your personal social media accounts (Instagram, Facebook, etc.)
• Sending to friends and relatives via email or messaging apps
• Displaying in your home or family settings
• Including in personal photo books or albums you create
• Using as personal profile pictures on social media

Where reasonable, please include a credit such as “Photo by BanaKin Photos” or @banakin_studios when posting publicly.

2. Commercial use — requires a separate license

Any use that promotes a product, service, brand, employer, or for-profit activity is commercial use and is not included in the standard personal license. Examples that require a commercial license:

• Using your photos on a business website, e-commerce store, or sales page
• Including them in paid social-media advertising (boosted posts, Meta Ads, Google Ads)
• Featuring them in marketing brochures, billboards, posters, or printed catalogs
• Using them in a press kit, annual report, or investor materials
• Including them in a book, magazine, or other for-sale publication
• Using them to promote yourself as a model, actor, influencer, or other paid talent
• Reselling them, sublicensing them, or transferring them to a third party

Commercial licenses are quoted individually based on intended use, geography, duration, and exclusivity. Contact admin@banakinstudios.com before any commercial use begins.

3. Prohibited uses

The following uses are prohibited under any license unless we agree otherwise in writing:

• Substantive editing — applying filters that materially alter the color grading, cropping that changes the composition, adding text or graphics that overlay the subject, or any edit that misrepresents the original work.
• Training machine-learning or AI models — neither the images nor their metadata may be used as training data for generative-AI systems, classifiers, or any automated learning system.
• Resale or sublicensing — selling prints, files, or rights to a third party.
• Stock-photo libraries — uploading to Shutterstock, Adobe Stock, Getty, Unsplash, or any image marketplace.
• Defamatory, obscene, or unlawful use — including any use that would harm the subjects' reputation or be illegal in the applicable jurisdiction.
• Removal of credit or watermarks when present.

4. Print rights

You may print the delivered files at any size, at any lab, for personal use, in any quantity. We don't lock prints to a specific lab. For best results we recommend a professional lab (we're happy to suggest one). Reselling prints or producing prints for resale is not permitted under the personal license.

5. Editing & color

We deliver images in a color-graded, final-edited form that reflects the BanaKin Photos style. Light cropping for social-media aspect ratios is fine. Heavy color edits, filters, or AI “enhance” tools change the work in ways we don't endorse and are not permitted in posts that credit BanaKin Photos. If you want a specific re-edit (different crop, B&W conversion, etc.), contact us and we'll handle it.

6. RAW files

We do not release RAW (unedited camera) files. They represent unfinished work and do not meet our quality standard.

7. Term and termination

The personal license is granted in perpetuity, subject to the prohibited-use provisions above. We may terminate the license if it's used in a way that materially breaches this agreement and the breach is not cured within 30 days of written notice.

8. Copyright remains with BanaKin Photos

For clarity: receiving the delivered files does not transfer copyright. We remain the sole copyright holder. See our Copyright Notice for more.

9. Governing law

This Licensing Agreement is governed by the laws of the State of Maryland and federal copyright law (17 U.S.C. §101 et seq.). Disputes will be brought in the state or federal courts of Prince George's County, Maryland.

10. Contact

admin@banakinstudios.com