Credit & provenance

Your photograph. A record worth keeping.

Keep your image, your credit and its file fingerprint together in a thoughtfully presented PDF certificate. A signed evidence file accompanies it, so the record can be checked against the exact photograph you submitted.

Photograph provenance certificate

Made for the work you want to preserve.

Your image leads the certificate. Your stated authorship, useful file metadata, a SHA-256 fingerprint and the time FernsPhoto received the file give it a documented place in your archive.

Signed submission record and authorship claim. Authorship and copyright ownership are not independently verified.

Sample certificate cover showing a synthetic exposure chart

Preview a sample certificate (PDF)

Demonstration with a synthetic exposure chart; no ownership claim or valid signature.

01
A reproduction of your photograph
A readable PDF to save with your work.
02
Your claim, clearly attributed
Creator, rights basis and optional archive notes.
03
A checkable file record
Exact-file hash, signed evidence and verification guidance.

1. Choose the file you will keep

Use your master scan or a carefully saved export. We hash the exact uploaded bytes. Editing, cropping or resaving a file changes that fingerprint.

2. Add the work's history

Name the photographer and explain your claim. Add the negative, roll or archive reference that will help connect the digital record to your originals.

3. Confirm, download, preserve

Confirm your email with a code, then save the PDF and signed JSON evidence. Keep both with your original file, negatives and supporting documents.

Make your private certificate

Upload a JPEG, PNG, WebP or TIFF up to 12 MB and 40 megapixels. We calculate its hash, make a reproduction and extract selected metadata, then discard the original upload. A private preview, your claim and the certificate are retained until you request removal; this does not post your photograph on the wall.

Your delivery email, GPS tags and camera serial-number tags are excluded. Optional text and embedded copyright or artist information may contain personal details: review them before sharing. Metadata is recorded as found in the file, without verification.

Photograph or artwork fileTitleClaimant nameThe person making this claim. This name appears on the certificate.Email for your code and certificate

The work and your claimPhotographer / creatorLeave blank to use the claimant name if you are the creator. For another relationship, a blank name is recorded as “Not stated”.Claimed copyright holder, if knownMay differ from the photographer or submitter; leave blank if uncertain.Basis for your claimDate the photograph was made (optional)Your stated date, which may differ from the scan or file date.Negative, roll, frame or archive reference (optional)Film and exposure (optional)Camera (optional)Development / scanning process (optional)These notes appear as your stated process, separately from embedded file metadata.Rights or authorship notes (optional)Printed on your certificate. Leave out private addresses, contact details and confidential agreement terms.Public credit or licensing link (optional)A public website to print on the certificate; do not enter a private sharing link.

I confirm that the information I supplied is accurate to the best of my knowledge, that my relationship to this photograph and any claimed rights are correctly stated, and that I am entitled or authorized to make this submission. I understand that the certificate records this claim and does not decide ownership.

Unconfirmed records are removed after seven days. To request removal of a retained private record, contact hello@fernsphoto.com from the email used for your submission and include the record reference.

Want to show it here too? Share a frame on the moderated wall. You can request the same certificate while sharing.

What the certificate records

FernsPhoto's receipt of a file with the stated SHA-256 digest at the recorded server time, your claim, and confirmation that someone with access to the supplied email entered the code.

The claimed creator, rights basis, creation date and notes are your declarations. File metadata can be changed. The recorded submission time is not a verified date of creation.

The certificate cannot establish who took the photograph or who holds copyright, and cannot stop copying. Another person could submit the same file. Its value grows with the independent evidence you preserve alongside it.

Build the archive behind the claim

Keep negatives, transparencies, original camera files and first scans.
Save contact sheets, edit history, dated communications and publication records.
Keep assignments, licenses and estate records that explain who holds which rights.
Add creator, credit and rights information to the metadata of files you distribute; platforms may remove it.

Copyright and registration

A photographer, copyright holder and person who owns a print can be different people. Employment, assignment and inheritance can affect who holds rights. This certificate records your stated relationship and does not grant or transfer rights.

Official registration offers legal benefits in the U.S. and Canada; this certificate does not replace it. The UK has automatic protection and no government copyright register. Applicable law and the facts of each work matter.

Check a signed record

Choose the signed JSON evidence delivered with your certificate, then add the exact photograph and PDF to compare them. Both files are hashed in your browser; only their digests are sent for checking. The JSON signature can confirm the original file fingerprint and whether a PDF is the exact certificate FernsPhoto issued.

Keep the original downloads unchanged and back them up. The certificate and evidence contain your image or claim details: share them only with people you intend to receive that information.

For independent checks, save a copy of our public signing key with your receipt.

Read the source material

U.S. Copyright Office: what photographers should know — authorship, protection and registration.
Canadian Intellectual Property Office: copyright guidance — ownership and official registration.
UK Intellectual Property Office: ownership of copyright works — creators, employment and transfers.
IPTC Photo Metadata User Guide — creator, credit and rights fields.
C2PA Content Credentials explainer — what signed provenance does and does not establish.