*Always* get a model release

[bhneely]

How many hundreds of times have we read and heard that? How many of

us do, most of the time? But then we have a shoot with a close friend

for an exhibit, and since the friendship is so great, and the friend

is an artist himself, we think, "Oh, why bother introducing a silly

legal document that might imply a lack of trust."

 

Always, always, always, always get a model release. I touched my hand

to the burner, and it was very hot. Roasted the flesh right off my

fingers. Worse, the friendship appears to have ended in bitter

hatred.

[art_haykin]

Two things come to mind: just how serious was the "breach of trust?" And, if not too serious, perhaps you overestimated the depth of your friend's devotion and loyalty, not to mention his intelligence and judgment.

[ian green]

they say "business is the best way to lose friends" and they are damn right

[ramsesm]

Iain is right... even with the introduction of the release... Its a hard balance.

[elliot_n]

'the friendship appears to have ended in bitter hatred'

 

Do you really think a model release would have prevented this falling out? How?

[ian green]

of course it is totally offtopic here<br>

but what about a 'friendship release'?

[aaron l]

I tell my friends when I'm shooting them that I have to have it to put the photos on stock sites as they won't accept otherwise. Everyone thus far has not felt any ill will when I introduce the document with that preface.

 

Also, I understood editorial/book usage didn't require releases whereas commercial useage (advertising et al) did. Am I wrong there? I had a request to use a shot for a China travel book cover and they asked for a release. Does anyone get releases when taking international people photos? I don't think I'd sign anything a foreigner gave to me, especially when I don't speak their language.

Any suggestions on that one?

[Jerry_]

"Does anyone get releases when taking international people photos?"

 

 

 

 

Why not visit the embassy/consulate of the country you are going to and ask if someone there can translate a 'standard' model release to the language of that country? Xerox a few for the trip and you should be good to go.

[john_aceti]

I have only been getting a release when doing a tfp shoot or a commercial shoot. Do I need a release if my client is paying for me to take his or her photo just for them? ie, family portraits, model portfolios etc.?

 

I'm not sure if they would be willing to sign a release as mine basically says I have full use of the photos.

 

Am I missing something?

[bhneely]

In this case, doing a release would probably have opened a line of communication. He might have said, "Hey, wait a minute, you can't do just any old thing with my picture." Basically, I had an insane lapse of judgment and used his portrait in a manner that could cause him professional problems without showing it to him before public release. So it's really a combination of getting the model release and just being a decent, civil human being.

 

It appears that every 20 years I need to do something that destroys a great friendship...as I did something similar back in '85. Maybe by the time I'm 60 I'll have developed some wisdom.

[kelly_flanigan1]

Ask yourself "a release from what". Did you tell the model these images were for fashon, but you sold the images to a scummy magazine with a 1-900 number? What if the girls dad is the local DA, and her uncle the sheriff? The paper "release" can be shotdown, and you tar and feathered. What if the model tape recorded the photographers BS hype on tape, and has the tape ready to produce in court?

[Jerry_]

"Do I need a release if my client is paying for me to take his or her photo just for them? ie, family portraits, model portfolios etc.?"

 

 

 

Best course of information on this would be to seek out a lawyer. That said, take the 'what if' that a beer company wants to use one of your client's images for a beer commercial. No release, big problems. You, a real risk taker, assumed no release was needed...but if you had one in hand, clear sailing (perhaps.)

[aaron l]

Gerald - That's a good question. What do the other 1000's of photographers do? Clearly the photos I've seen of Morroco in my latest Natl Geo Adventure don't have releases of the people in downtown Fez.

 

I would feel strange if someone walked up to me in the US and pointed to the release to sign, smiling. And they didn't speak a word of English. We're too freaked out in America to do that nowadays. Would you sign?

 

Plus, how legally binding is something in foreign legal mumbo-jumbo in the US? Unless you have the freak event another poster mentioned of someone moving to the US (becoming a famous model) 20 years after a photo was taken and coming after you, I don't see a high probability of trouble. Especially for editorial usage. Any comments, Carolyn?

 

Brian - Ah, you made a critical mistake, then. Perhaps a severe lapse of judgement?

[mona_chrome]

There is no reason for a release if you are shooting someone's portrait for their own use,

you need a release when a photo is used by you for some reason.

 

A news photo of a person, while the photo is still news, doesn't need a release, but the

same photo printed outside the context of the news being current does. Yes, you need a

release for magazine editorial use, some mag editors don't think so, and probably if you

are shooting a portrait of someone there is an implied release, but I would rather have one

signed than rely on the assumption. All the magazine would have to do is print a story the

person didn't like and then you are knee deep in it.

 

If you sell your photos made on your foreign travels and someone is recognizeable, you

are rolling the dice and probably will be ok, but not legally. Several years ago, a

photographer I know, was sued for the sale of a photo he took in Europe and sold for

stock. It was a fluke that the person saw it, but it was a pretty costly experience for him.

[aaron l]

Interesting, thanks Mona. It seems to be a roll of the dice alright. The most interesting photos I have are of people all over the place. Everyone has got their basic tourist shots but that's nowhere near as interesting as the people shots.

[Spearhead]

<i>Yes, you need a release for magazine editorial use,</i><p>

 

Can you cite any references on this? Every reference I've read on the subject, and the training classes I've taken, have said that editorial use is generally protected.<p>

 

<i>Several years ago, a photographer I know, was sued for the sale of a photo he took in Europe and sold for stock.</i><p>

 

This is probably because the stock allowed commercial usage. I'm surprised a stock agency accepted the image without a release, I've never heard of that. I've been asked for releases for stock on buildings that were torn down, even without a person in it.

[mona_chrome]

Jeff, I would have to look it up, but it goes back to whether the shot is news or not. If it is

about a news event and current, it doesn't need a release, but if not, it does. This is an

area that is pretty loose because if you are going out to shoot someone for a story, it is

pretty sure that they are giving their permission. I have shot for some of the big mags and

most want releases these days, but some still don't think they need it--others want you to

sign an indemnity agreement if they are sued over the photo--I guess that tells you

something. One of the major people magazines actually wants the release on their form,

but I always get mine signed too.

 

I agree that stock companies generally do ask, mostly because of lawsuits and wouldn't be

surprised if his wasn't a stimulus. But I will tell you that I have people shots at a stock

agency, one of the major ones, and they have never asked for the releases and some are

even of minors. I sent this work in many years ago and I do think things were more loose

back then. I hate stock agencies, so if I don't sell it myself, I don't sell it--they just have

what they have of mine and get nothing new.

[robert_k1]

"*Always* get a model release" is not practical in many cases. What will you do with a shot of a Superbowl crowd?

[aaron l]

I'm planning to go international here in the near future, perhaps to Morocco. You always get permission to shoot people no matter what in that culture (!) but getting a release signed is a whole other deal. I'm sure I could have someone translate my release into Arabic but it's impossible for me to explain what it means to someone because I don't speak the language.

 

Plus, what legal weight would a document signed in a foreign language on foreign soil have in the US/Europe? I'm guessing it could defend me if it came blow to blow but the complication of communication and speed would make it basically impossible to get signatures.

 

I wish someone who has travelled internationally and commercially sold images of people would pipe up here. I'm completely curious, now. Maybe I would even try to get a release signed by a random person. I'm sure the guys at the Nikon School didn't get releases of the girls he used in his demonstration but they weren't used for advertising, either.

 

I feel like I'm whining that something is difficult to get here. Maybe what I've said is garbage, I don't know.

[billy_l]

Travel Photography by Susan McCartney

 

"McCartney not only details the crucial steps in organizing a travel shoot and setting up

equipment, but also reveals what to expect while actually shooting. She provides exciting

self-assignments and sample itineraries to get started, as well as model releases in more

than thirty languages. Packed with invaluable resources, business know-how, and

inspirational examples of the author's own work, this book is indispensable to any

photographer's work and career."

[hector_fernandez_rivera]

Years a go i worked as last dog-assitant for some german guys that did film and photo stock for getty in Mexico City and I know that they hired an assistant to chase people that were in the shots (images from the underground, bussy streets, etc.)just to get the model releases and sometimes I had to do it too. There was some logic in the release thing like visible face in 70% or more of the frame in focus we had to run like a greyhound, visible face soft still run, outoffocus not discernible (ouch my spelling?)or the just the backs or the butts or that kind of shot: no problem. The model release was in Spanish and it he had to link it with the continuity girl to be sure they had the model releases of everything.

 

Other time a friend worked as an assitant for a National Geographic photographer with production unit (remember they now have their own TV Channel) and they had model releases and sometimes the producer fixed a contribution to the community not necessarily money but sometimes some soccer balls for the kids and presents like that. That's why there's a job called fixer in the international production industry. It's very romantic to see the lone photographer that is received by a lost community in the middle of nowhere but the truth is that many work is inside that sometimes the relationship of years done by an anthropologist or missionary besides that I think is decent to ask and also to pay if you are making money with them; to be completely honest in the stock bussiness the images are not categorized in an artistical way they are categorized in a ethnical-racial way plus activities and age.

 

So if you want to pics of indians in the jungle to sell some pure, bothanical or alternative concept...ask and/or pay.