What copyright do I own over my own photos?

I was fired from work today on unfair grounds(Plan to chase it up with the citizens advice buerua). On saturday I had been working at a Art Fair for my employer and was asked to take a number of photo’s and email them to her, which I did yesterday. When I was fired today (Unfairly) I decided I do not want her to use the photo’s as she had planned to use them in newspaper articles in the local press. I have sent her a email saying I own the photo’s and do not give her permission to use them but was wondering do I Have any other copyright over the photo’s? Thanks for the help.

YES, you own the copyrights for the photos, unless taking photos was your actual job at the company. Even if your employer asked you to take photos, the copyrights in the photos are still yours, unless taking photos was an official part of your job description. If she uses the photos without your permission, you can sue her. The only problem is that you'll have to hire a lawyer to do it, and you should probably register the copyright in the photos before you sue. Any photos you take are copyrighted by you as soon as you click the shutter, but in order to sue, it's best to register your photos with the government first, which you can do here (it's not free, though): http://www.copyright.gov/eco

You do not have any rights over those photos. You were there and taking pictures on the behalf and at the behest of your employer. As long as you were in her employ your work product belongs to her. Any pictures you took that day at that Art Fair belong to her whether you thought you were taking them for her project or not. If you are going to freelance you had better get a contract lawyer to help you draw up a protective contract so you don’t get your work stolen by overreaching clients.

They are NOT your copyright if you took the images in the course of your employment. The copyright belongs to your employer.

The “author” of a photo is the person who snapped the photo, and owns the copyright, unless you are employed by a photography studio or the media. If your job does not entail being a photographer, you own those photos, including publishing rights. If you were working the fair as a photographer for your employer, she owns the copyright. Note that registration is not required for photo copyright protection.