 Koren Mitchell |
Model releases for amateur photographers My husband and I, both BetterPhoto members, have read a lot of the comments and articles on this site regarding model releases, and we're still confused. Here's our situation: We live outside the US (currently in Hong Kong, soon to be back in Australia). My husband in particular loves taking photos of people, mostly on holiday in Asia, but elsewhere also. Some of the shots are 'candid', ie taken without the people's knowledge. For many, however, he has asked their permission (verbally) and gotten them to pose. His subjects include children as well as adults. Neither of us are professional photographers,we make no money from photography, and do not intend to publish any of these photos in any professional sense. My husband does, however, have some of the photos in his BetterPhoto gallery. So, the questions are:
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chrisbudny.com - Chris Budny Contact Chris Budny Chris Budny's Gallery |
I believe you'll hear back from others, that your status as a photographer makes absolutely no difference in the equation---if the person or private property is recognizable, you need a release to legally 'publish' the image... which can be interpretted to include your online gallery, whether or not you are selling the images in question. I believe there may be looser rules governing images of people in public spaces, and whether or not they fit with the 'context' of the image (rather than being the main point of the image.) ie, think photojournalism; newspaper images with dozens of recognizable faces at an event or situation; releases are obviously not obtained from all of them. Then again, I seldom photograph anyone, so I'm only repeating what I've read in the past ;)
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Mark Feldstein |
Interesting questions, Koren. Christopher is correct in his explanations insofar as the United States is concerned. Publishing includes electronic on the net. And he's also correct in that professional status has nothing to do with the release rules. But otoh, international laws of privacy are probably distinctive in their own ways and I'm pretty sure that around this site any way, all you'll get is anecdotes, a few book referrals that apply to U.S. laws and rumors as far as international privacy laws are concerned. My suggestion is that when you get back to Australia, you need to buy a little time from a barrister who specializes in intellectual property laws and/or laws pertaining to privacy there and get their spin on your questions. I'm sure there are international treaties on this issue, I just never had occasion to read them and when working in the UK, we just had the subjects sign releases. Generally the way you do that is (speaking their language) walk up to them and ask politely, maybe offering to give them a copy of the photo by mail or a buck for their effort. Could be a nice way to meet new friends. Whaddya think?
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Koren Mitchell |
Thanks for your responses. Mark, you always seem to give well-thought-out advice. I am certainly conscious of the fact that privacy laws differ throughout the world, and that 'publication' is a separate issue from making money from the photographs. I guess my difficulty is one of practicality (which I know is not relevant from a legal perspective). How do I get someone to sign a release form when we have no language in common (and no translator)? On our recent trip to Taiwan, my husband took photos of two coffee-shop waitresses and a newspaper salesman. In all cases, communication was via gestures and smiles, and he took 1 or 2 photos of each of them in about 15 seconds each. Signing a release form, even if we had one that they could a) read and b) understand the purpose of (remember that these photos will only ever be 'published' on a web site), would completely ruin the spontaneity of the moment.
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Mark Feldstein |
Yeah, I know Koren. It can be a sticky wicket, errr, so-to-speak. Here's a thought I had. Every consulate seems to have a legal attache' assigned to it. They're usually available by e-mail. Why not send them a quick note and ask them if they know what the rule is for that country. Even the American Embassy should have a handle on that, and I know they all have legal officers available. Maybe if you find something out, let us know. Very interesting subject particularly if you don't happen to have a translator available. Sign language is good though. M.
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Daniel O |
OK, I'm going to go out on a limb here, speaking as an amateur photog and not a legal type. But in strictly practical terms, the "risk" in question is being sued by the person in the photograph, and I can't in my wildest imaginings envision this occurring in this situation. And as you're not making a profit (and depriving the subject of his/her share), or otherwise acting dishonestly, I really can't find a problem here. Dan
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Mark Feldstein |
That may be true, Dan. I guess that's the theory behind the phrase: "Better to ask for forgiveness rather than permission". More and more amateurs decide at some point to try and plunge into the seemingly alluring but yet dark and murky waters of the stock industry. If they want to profit from their images in any way, they're precluded from doing that because they don't have a release. That's certainly a drawback for some and an equally a major consideration.
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