Posted by Andy Heath on January 17, 2007 at 8:27 AM
Hi,
though an experienced photographer (hobbyist) I am a novice at marketing/selling my work.
I've just rejoined NPN and am about to use PhotoPortfolios to display my (mainly) underwater photographs.
This raises the question of when I require model and/or property releases? A few of my images contain other divers (normally friends or aquaintences) and one particular above water image contains sihouettes of hikers climbing a mountain. At what point do I need to consider if a release form is required?
Sorry if this is a basic question but I do appreciate any help
Thanks in advance.
Andy
Posted by Dan Borzynski on January 17, 2007 at 11:00 AM
Ideally, you should always get the release as a cover your butt type of thing. Practically speaking, as I understand it (and someone correct me if I am wrong), if you can recognize the person you should get the release. If you are on private property, you should get a release.
Editorial use generally does not require a release, although many editors will require one anyway to cover themselves. Anything used for marketing, advertising, posters - read profits, should have one. If you decide one day to use the photo as stock, you will need one since you won't necessarily know where it is being used.
With the diving photos you mention, you probably will want one. If your relationship with these people goes bad, or you hit the jackpot with one of the photos and greed takes over, you are covered. I hate to sound pessimistic here, but this is the answer you need to hear.
For the silhoulette images, if you cannot recognize the people, you'll probably be okay,
An advantage of the release, in addition to covering yourself, is that it makes it very clear to the person or the owner of the property you are photographing that you may pursue selling the image at some future point in time. Their signature acknowledges this. It still won't prevent you from being sued, but it does make your defense stronger.
For the average person selling a few prints here and there, it is unlikely that someone will come after you for money. But I used "unlikely", and even a release cannot dampen greed.
Dan's right. For peace of mindas well as legal coverage it's better to get them if at all possible if you hope to use the photo for anything other than editorial-type uses. On that matter, you also need to be really clear in your mind on what consitutes allowable use of un-released photos.
In my experience it's a whole lot easier to get model releases than property releases due to the difficulty and effort required to track down property owners. In your situation photographing mostly family and friends, I'd make it a quick project to collect releases from them all. As a matter of course we "trade" model releases with any photographers who shoot with us, simply because they are likely to appear in our photos by design or chance. As a matter of fact, that works really well because it provides a pool of "models" to slip into any photo when you come on a great location. Shoot your landscapes without people, then put a couple of your companions in the same shot and see which one sells better! Of course, you kind of have to turn into the clothing police coordinating colors and styles, but that's part of the fun, too.
Very good points mentioned above. But one of the most important points to consider is that in today's stock photo markets, any un-released image is not very valuable or profitable. You can send the image to editorial markets and make a few hundred, but the advertising markets, where big money is, wont touch an unreleased image. The risk is just to high to take the chance.
Discussion
5 repliesthough an experienced photographer (hobbyist) I am a novice at marketing/selling my work.
I've just rejoined NPN and am about to use PhotoPortfolios to display my (mainly) underwater photographs.
This raises the question of when I require model and/or property releases? A few of my images contain other divers (normally friends or aquaintences) and one particular above water image contains sihouettes of hikers climbing a mountain. At what point do I need to consider if a release form is required?
Sorry if this is a basic question but I do appreciate any help
Thanks in advance.
Andy
Editorial use generally does not require a release, although many editors will require one anyway to cover themselves. Anything used for marketing, advertising, posters - read profits, should have one. If you decide one day to use the photo as stock, you will need one since you won't necessarily know where it is being used.
With the diving photos you mention, you probably will want one. If your relationship with these people goes bad, or you hit the jackpot with one of the photos and greed takes over, you are covered. I hate to sound pessimistic here, but this is the answer you need to hear.
For the silhoulette images, if you cannot recognize the people, you'll probably be okay,
An advantage of the release, in addition to covering yourself, is that it makes it very clear to the person or the owner of the property you are photographing that you may pursue selling the image at some future point in time. Their signature acknowledges this. It still won't prevent you from being sued, but it does make your defense stronger.
For the average person selling a few prints here and there, it is unlikely that someone will come after you for money. But I used "unlikely", and even a release cannot dampen greed.
In my experience it's a whole lot easier to get model releases than property releases due to the difficulty and effort required to track down property owners. In your situation photographing mostly family and friends, I'd make it a quick project to collect releases from them all. As a matter of course we "trade" model releases with any photographers who shoot with us, simply because they are likely to appear in our photos by design or chance. As a matter of fact, that works really well because it provides a pool of "models" to slip into any photo when you come on a great location. Shoot your landscapes without people, then put a couple of your companions in the same shot and see which one sells better! Of course, you kind of have to turn into the clothing police coordinating colors and styles, but that's part of the fun, too.
Very good points mentioned above. But one of the most important points to consider is that in today's stock photo markets, any un-released image is not very valuable or profitable. You can send the image to editorial markets and make a few hundred, but the advertising markets, where big money is, wont touch an unreleased image. The risk is just to high to take the chance.
Charlie Borland
Vice President
www.fogstock.com
CB