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I have very mixed feelings about this issue. I've had clients ask me for copies, mentioning as an afterthought that they intended to use one for their Christmas card. This is offensive. I consider all my work to be copyrighted and moreover I am not a photographer, I am a portrait artist; the photographs are incidental to the finished painting. On the other hand, many of the photos I produce, even if they're not going to be used for the portrait itself, really capture some wonderful expressions, and especially if I've developed a relationship with the client it's hard for me not to want to share them with them. However I end up handling it, I always make it clear that I have a policy that nothing can be done with the reference photos for the actual painting; those are off-limits.
Before I began painting portraits I dabbled in portrait photography and my stuff is good. I'm aware of how much professional photographers charge, and don't want to give my work away. Also my fees are low to begin with and I don't care to offer two services for the price of one. So when the client/artist relationship is a formal one, I don't give them the photos. When the client is someone I know, I'm more likely to share them, with the above caveat.
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