Thomas Maddrey

Thomas Maddrey is the Chief Executive Officer of the American Society of Media Photographers (ASMP), the nation’s leading trade association for professional photographers and visual creators. His career brings together extensive experience in photography, creative-business education, copyright law and national arts advocacy.

Before becoming an attorney, Maddrey spent more than a decade as a commercial and fine-art photographer. He co-founded the Dallas photography gallery Blue Square Art and established the Eclipse Photography Institute, an education company that produced workshops, courses, and instructional materials for working photographers. Those experiences gave him a firsthand understanding of both the creative process and the practical challenges involved in building a sustainable career in the visual arts.

Maddrey later founded Maddrey PLLC, a boutique law firm dedicated to representing photographers, artists, creative businesses, galleries, museums and performing-arts organizations. He subsequently joined ASMP full-time, initially serving as General Counsel and Head of National Content and Education and later as the organization’s first Chief Legal Officer. In December 2024, he was appointed Chief Executive Officer.

A nationally recognized advocate for creators’ rights, Maddrey has served as primary author and counsel on numerous appellate and U.S. Supreme Court briefs addressing copyright and photography, including briefs in Andy Warhol Foundation v. Goldsmith, Allen v. Cooper and Unicolors v. H&M. He regularly teaches and writes about copyright, licensing, business practices, and the legal issues affecting photographers and other creative professionals.

Maddrey holds a B.A. in Commercial Photography from Brooks Institute, a Bachelor of Business Administration from the University of Texas at Dallas and a Juris Doctor from SMU’s Dedman School of Law. His teaching draws upon the unusual combination of a working photographer’s perspective, an attorney’s grasp of the law, and an organizational leader’s understanding of the rapidly changing creative economy.