The usual starting point is the photographer.
In the United States, an original photograph is generally protected by copyright when it is created and fixed, and the person who takes it is generally the author and initial copyright owner. That copyright can include rights to reproduce, distribute, display, and adapt the photograph.
The starting point is not the end of the analysis. Work created by an employee within the scope of employment may be a work made for hire. Certain specially commissioned works can qualify only if statutory requirements and a signed agreement are satisfied. Copyright can also be transferred in writing.
Paying for a shoot or owning a copy is different.
A client can pay a photographer and receive files, prints, or a license without receiving the copyright. A subject can possess a copy of their portrait without owning the photographer's copyright. A collector can own an original print without gaining a general right to reproduce the image.
The actual agreement matters. It may grant portfolio rights, define client uses, transfer copyright, limit edits, require credits, or reserve rights. Avoid using shorthand such as “full ownership” unless the document explains exactly which asset and rights are included.
The depicted person may have separate rights.
Copyright in a photograph and permission to use a person's name, image, or likeness are separate questions. A photographer may own copyright yet still need an appropriate release or other authority for a proposed advertising use. A subject's permission does not, by itself, give the subject the photographer's copyright.
Publicity, privacy, contract, consumer-protection, employment, and other rules vary by jurisdiction and facts. Editorial, artistic, newsworthy, and commercial contexts can be treated differently. A rights review should identify the specific proposed use instead of declaring an image globally “cleared.”
A useful asset record keeps the layers separate.
For each image, record the source and derivatives, claimed author, copyright basis, depicted people, releases or agreements, permitted portfolio uses, buyer licenses, restrictions, disputes, and the evidence supporting each statement. Keep original documents and their versions; do not reduce them to one green check.
Registration with the U.S. Copyright Office is not required for copyright to arise, but registration can create a public record and affect enforcement options for U.S. works. A vault entry is not a copyright registration and should never be presented as one.