For photographers, sharing images with clients is an essential part of doing business. But the moment an image appears on a screen, another concern enters the picture:

What happens if a client screenshots or saves an image they haven’t purchased?

For photographers whose sales depend on clients selecting and purchasing individual images, collections, albums, prints, or digital files, unauthorized image capture can affect more than image security. It can undermine the sales process itself.

And as technology changes, the tools photographers use to protect their work are changing too.

Image by Jackie Orlando

Three Common Approaches to Photography Sales

There is no single sales system that works for every photography business. Photographers generally build their process around one of several approaches.

Online Sales

With an online model, clients view their images through a digital gallery and make selections or purchases on their own.

It can offer tremendous convenience for both photographer and client, but it also means your images are being viewed digitally outside of a traditional in-person sales appointment.

For photographers using this approach, protecting images during the viewing and purchasing process becomes especially important.

In-Person Sales

In-person sales allow the photographer to guide clients through image selection and purchasing, often during a dedicated ordering appointment.

This creates a very different sales experience and gives the photographer greater involvement in how images are presented and purchased.

However, it can also require more time, scheduling, and hands-on involvement from the photographer.

A Hybrid Approach

Many photographers combine elements of both.

A photographer might personally guide part of the sales process while still using digital tools or online galleries for viewing, selection, ordering, payment, or delivery.

The challenge is finding the right balance between convenience for the client and protection for the photographer.

Is a Watermark Enough?

Photographers have traditionally relied on tools such as watermarks, proofing galleries, reduced-resolution images, contracts, and clearly communicated usage policies to help protect their work.

These tools can still have an important place in a photography business.

But the digital landscape continues to change. Safe Frame, for example, points to increasingly sophisticated tools for removing watermarks and improving lower-resolution captures as part of the reason it developed a different approach to client galleries.

That has created an interesting new question:

Instead of trying to make a screenshot less useful after it has been taken, what if the gallery itself could help prevent the screenshot from being taken in the first place?

A New Approach to Screenshot Protection

Safe Frame is a client-gallery system created for photographers with built-in screenshot protection as part of the viewing experience.

The system has two parts working together.

Photographers use SafeFrame Pro to create and manage client galleries, upload images, choose protection settings, receive orders and comments, and release purchased images for download.

Clients use the MySafeFrame mobile app to access their private gallery, view photographs, select favourites, leave comments, submit an order, and receive their final purchased images.

The important difference is what happens while those photographs are being viewed.

On supported devices, MySafeFrame is designed to block or respond to screenshot and screen-recording attempts while protected gallery content is visible. Safe Frame can also add automatic watermarks and animated visual noise as additional layers of protection.

That means the technology isn’t simply trying to identify image theft after it happens. It is designed to put protection directly into the gallery experience.

Written by: Liz Lockie. 

Toddlers are wonderful, hilarious, and completely unpredictable and I mean that in the best possible way. Even the most gentle, loving little one can wobble, lurch forward, or simply lose interest and move on in the blink of an eye. Which means relying on a toddler to physically support or hold a newborn is simply never something I’d do. Safety isn’t a box I tick; it’s the foundation everything else is built on.

Whilst baby is snuggling up with Mum or dad, I can give all my attention to the toddler and  photograph them first, sitting on their own as we play. No baby, no pressure, just fun for them. Then the toddler gets a sticker from me and runs off to play/have a snack and only then does the newborn come in! I will have already wrapped them in a way that supports their chin to rest gently on their hands, keeping their airway completely clear and unobstructed. I use mum or dad to help and sit right beside with their hand on baby the entire time. Two completely separate setups. Two separate photographs.

(You can see exactly how this works in the images here – the toddler shot, the newborn shot with mum supporting, and the final blended result.)

One thing that often gets overlooked when people think about composite photography is how much work happens beforethe editing even begins. For a composite to look truly seamless, both shots need to be taken with exactly the same lighting setup and from exactly the same camera angle. If the light falls differently across the toddler than it does across the baby, no amount of editing will make them look like they belong in the same image. Getting it right in camera first is everything.

I keep my lighting consistent between both setups so that the shadows, highlights, and overall feel match perfectly. It’s possible to add or refine a shadow in post-production if needed to help the two images sit together naturally but the goal is always to need as little of that as possible. The more accurately the two shots are captured, the more realistic and effortless the final result will look.

Newborn photography is still largely unregulated which puts the responsibility on photographers to hold themselves to a high standard. Parents of course do their research too but may not be aware of safety practises and how certain poses are achieved until they arrive.

Composite photography isn’t about faking something. It’s about doing things properly. Some may feel that somehow the image is less meaningful because it wasn’t one perfect moment but the magic is still very real! Those moments happened and still tell a story. The closeness you feel when you look at that photo? That’s real too. I’ve just constructed the scene around keeping everyone safe, rather than leaving anything to chance. Props and posing should never come before a baby’s wellbeing.

It’s a balance of artistry and responsibility and that balance is what I love most about this career and I’m so passionate about sharing it!

2026 Accreditation #2 Results

A warm congratulations to all of our talented makers for bravely entering this round of APNPI Accreditation submissions! Each accreditation round marks progress in your professional journey as a newborn, maternity, or family photographer. We are proud of your dedication and passion.

The APNPI Accreditation Program recognizes photographers who show artistry, technical skill, and professional standards. Categories include newborn photography accreditation, maternity photography, baby, child, and family photography. By submitting a portfolio to our international panel of judges, you take a strong step forward in building trust with clients and growing your business.

Meet Our New Accreditation Recipients

We are thrilled to announce the successful photographers from this round:

• Liz Lockie – Sitters Category

• Stacey Marsh – Maternity Category

Each recipient demonstrated consistency, artistry, and technical excellence. Please join us in celebrating their well-earned achievements.

Applause for All Entrants

We also want to applaud every photographer who submitted work for review. Professional photography accreditation is not an easy milestone. Submitting to an image competition requires courage, determination, and vulnerability.

Judge feedback can sometimes feel challenging. However, it provides valuable insight and guidance. With each submission, your skills grow stronger and your artistry improves.

Keep Striving Toward Accreditation

We encourage you to use feedback as a tool for growth. Apply what you learn. Resubmit in future rounds. Each step brings you closer to accreditation and professional recognition.

If you are considering submission, remember the benefits. APNPI Accreditation builds confidence and credibility. Clients searching for baby photographers and maternity specialists trust photographers who hold professional credentials.

Congratulations to All

Congratulations once again to our new Accreditation recipients. Thank you to every participant for inspiring our community with your dedication, passion, and artistry!

Have you been thinking of applying for your Accreditations?

If you’ve been contemplating applying for accreditations but aren’t quite sure where to start, we have a wealth of resources to guide you through the accreditation process.  First and foremost, all apnpi members have access to the APNPI Mentorship Program where they have the opportunity of being matched with a mentor at no extra charge, to help with the journey of working towards a successful accreditation submission.

Prefer to work at things on your own?  We have a professional development section in the APNPI Library dedicated to providing you the resources you need to achieve your goals.

So, if you’re ready to turn your aspirations into achievements, we invite you to explore our resources and take the first step toward your accreditation goals. Let’s embark on this journey together and unlock new opportunities for growth and recognition.