Author states that he is owner of his photographs but they have been published in various journals
The responsibility of certifying and negotiating copyright issues is typically the responsibility of specialized staff at a publishing organization, not that of the scientific editor of a work.

The responsibility of an editor here is just to make sure that the authors follow the process the publishing organization asks the editor to have them follow, which typically includes making copyright assertions or providing contact information to the people who will actually ask them to make copyright assertions.

Thus, if you have concerns, you can convey them to your contacts at the publisher to be sure that they are aware of these concerns and can sort them out. If you aren't the legal personnel responsible for sorting out the details, however, you shouldn't be trying to make any arrangements yourself: that is likely to create more problems than it solves.