Famed hotographer Bonnie Schiffman has filed charges against British rock singer Rod Stewart alleging that he recently used one of the lenswoman's classic photos of him as the centerpiece of his comeback tour without permission.

Schiffman filed a lawsuit in California on Thursday claiming the musician misused an image she took of his "signature bouffant hair style and shoulder," according to The Hollywood Reporter. The image was originally featured the cover of Stewart's 1989 greatest hits album "Storyteller."

The photo, according to the lawsuit, was taken in 1981. It was licensed non-exclusively at the time and was used for the album released by Warner Bros. Records.

"It has a powerful punch for the millions of fans who know the album, said Schiffman's lawyer, William Hochberg.

The complaint elaborates that Stewart's agent Arnold Stiefel reached out to Schiffman in 2010 to signify interest in using the image for the singer's "Rod's Back" campaign. The agent is said to have offered the photographer only $1500 for the use of photo, which she declined.

The lawsuit also refers to a photo released by Las Vegas' Caesars Palace to promote the singer's shows there in 2013. The company is alleged to have "misappropriated the most recognizable elements of the Schiffman image, if not exact image itself."

"It's a rip off of the photo my client took," said Hochberg, noting that the use could still constitute an infringement, Reuters has learned.

 Schiffman, who has photographed celebrities including Muhammad Ali, Steven Spielberg, Andy Warhol and Michael Jackson, is now seeking an injunctive relief not less than $2.5 million in compensatory and punitive damages.

"One of Rod Stewart's greatest hits is called 'Every Picture Tells a Story,' and certainly this one does. Bonnie Schiffman's picture of Rod's back announces his comeback better than any other," said Hochberg.

"That's why they're using it. But turning their back on their obligation to license the picture before splashing it all over Caesar's Palace and elsewhere is not a pretty story and it's unlawful," he said.

Rod Stewart has not issued a statement as of writing.