Photographing people is my passion and from a lot of people. Capturing a character can be the most amazing thing, but as with most people, characters or situations can change. As a photographer of people it’s therefore very important to make sure you can never get into trouble, and that’s easier than you might think. A lot of the mails I get are about contacts, how do we do that and how do I approach this issue that for some people is somewhat uncomfortable. In reality however it’s very easy and never uncomfortable to be honest.

When you shoot a person you are using their portrait or their appearance for your work, you have to realize that people have rights. You can’t for example not use the image to hurt the reputation of that person, or make the person ridiculous, now that’s probably not something you will do but there’s more. It could be that the situation of the person changes or that his/hers opinion about your shot changes. That’s why it’s important to have a so called modelrelease (we never call it a contract).

What’s in a model release ?
Well this varies a lot per situation. I will mention below what’s in our modelreleases and could be of interest for you.

1. Only I can change the images
It has happend sometimes that a model loves an image but not as I shot it, but as a portrait. It’s absolutely horrifying to see what some models see as a great crop 😀 That’s the reason why in our modelrelease it’s mentioned that the only changes to the images can be done by me.

2. Use of the images
Images are of course shot with a certain goal in mind. For most models it’s the use in their portfolio, or for an agency. But for the photographer it’s often also for promotion of his/her’s work. Remember that if mention in your modelrelease that they can only be used for portfolio use you leave out a lot of options for yourself. That’s why our modelrelease contains the following options :

Model side :
Online and print portfolio / Agency / websites with non commercial status
Photographer side :
all forms of promotion (website/print/exhibition/articles in media), use for commercial activities.

For commercial activities you can add different options like :
1. publications below a certain number
2. publications without pay or under a certain amount

In our modelrelease however there is a clear statement that the good reputation of the model can never be hurt, or the content of the image as known by the model can not be changed to for example getting another meaning.

But I know my models very well, so why bother ?
100% true, however things change.
Let’s say you have a killer shots that’s winning you awards everywhere you show it, it’s the prime sample of your portfolio and you love it. However your model is posing in lingerie, and at this moment this is no problem at all. A few months later however just before you publish your first exhibition with this piece as your main attraction your model has a new boyfriend and he hates that image and doesn’t want to see his new girlfriend in lingerie in an exhibition. Remember that if your model starts protesting against the image you can be in a whole lot of problems and stress. To be sure this doesn’t happen you have to use a model release. It’s a very simple procedure and you are 100% sure that you can without a problem use the images you have (although nothing is 100% sure of course).

So I never have to stop using an image ?
No,
Above all we are all human and our opinions can change of course.
Being a photographer is a social profession and you as a person will have to evaluate your options. If the model in the above sample is going to have problems in her relation with a certain image and you have a modelrelease you could of course always consider taking the image offline and not using it anymore, not because you have to but simply because it’s the human thing to do. When you have a signed modelrelease however this is always your choice and you can’t be forced.

What about outside ?
Difficult issue, in most countries it’s not a problem when you shoot a scene where the “model” is part of the whole and not the main subject of attention. However when the attention of the viewer is clearly drawn to the subject it’s wise to not think “he/she will never find my website” but just ask if the person would like to sign a model release. You can carry around a few smaller modelreleases that you can use, or you can use in some countries a nice app for the iPhone or iPad.

I hope that your attention is triggered by this article.
Please leave a comment if you liked this article or if you have a question.