As a media producer, the properties that I create are protected by U.S. copyright law. Copyright and patent laws were enacted by our founding fathers to encourage the creation of new ideas. It works! There are many reasons that America is the most prosperous nation in history. One of the primary reasons is the fact that creators of new ideas are protected and allowed to prosper from those new ideas. What gets rewarded gets done.
Under these laws, every image and sound that I capture or record become my property (or the property of whoever I am under contract). This is true for any professional photographer, video/cinematographer, or recordist. I own and reserve all rights to the property I create and capture. As my customer, I give you certain and specific rights to my property based on money that you pay me. Just because I send you a file, that does not mean that you have the right to edit, copy, or print it. You may only legally do what I give you specific written permission to do. It is highly unusual for me to give an individual permission to edit, copy, or print my work. This is for two reasons. First, this is one way that I make my living. It is common among aspiring photographers to give their customers a “disk” for them to make their own prints. This is not a sustainable business model. The second reason, and this is just as important to me as the first reason, is that I am an artist. The final step in my art is the edited print. I take great care in ensuring each print is the highest quality and presentation, and deserves to have my name on it.