<p>Hi there!<br>
I hope this is the right section for my question... I'm a humble dog trainer (not a photographer) starting my own little business here in Oslo, Norway, so I thought I might use your expertise for a little issue.<br>
I'm just building my website now to promote my services. In the future I plan to create a YouTube Channel, Facebook page, etc. as well.<br>
Now, I have some pictures and videos of the dogs I've worked with, plus my 2 foster dogs (from private owners, not a shelter). I was the author of these materials and for now <strong>the owners are not present in them</strong> (just me and the dogs or the dogs on their own). I really want to use them on my website and others to promote myself because they are much more personal than stock pictures, i.e. people can see me working with the dogs and they can see they are in Oslo.<br>
So far, I think I've followed good ethics in asking the owners for permission before I publish anything. They have all said yes, but there is nothing in writing to prove this...<br>
Me being a bit of a fatalistic thinker, I can't help but wonder: if one day I had a fight with one of these people, <strong>could they sue me</strong> <strong>and ask for money for publishing the pictures / videos / stories of their dogs, or using them in courses, future e-books, flyers, etc.? Do I even need to think about getting rights to these materials or am I just over-reacting?</strong><br>
Pardon my naiveness but I've just never had to deal with something like this..<br>
And if I do need to "cover my back", <strong>do I need to hire a lawyer to write up a document or could I just download some sort of standard form for the owners to sign?</strong> I'm doing all in English so language won't be an issue.<br>
Thanks in advance for any advice or tips in the right direction. Looking forward to hearing from you soon.</p>
<p>Kind regards,</p>
<p>Jose</p>
