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‹ Photo Notes · 22 dubna, 2013
A model release is an agreement between the photographer and the model on the use of photographs. What is such a contract good for to the photographer, what to the model, and is it really necessary?
The vast majority of photographers don’t shoot in order to put their photographs in a drawer; they want to exhibit, publish in books or on the internet, possibly sell them and so on. The model wants to show the photographs off to friends, perhaps on Facebook, but also to put together a portfolio for her website or her professional model profile, or to present them as a printed portfolio to a modelling agency and thereby win lucrative jobs.
In short, it can be expected that both – photographer and model – will publish the jointly made photographs publicly.
And precisely because two people play a role in this process (the photographer as author and the model as the person depicted in the pictures), it is necessary to agree in some way, ideally in writing, under what conditions the photographs may be published or otherwise handled.
Many people, once including me, underestimate the agreement on the use of photographs. The reason is mostly the same – „I’m a beginner without ambitions, that ‚girl‘ isn’t really a model either, this doesn’t concern me, only professionals will use such a contract…“.
A mistake!
Sooner or later it may happen that your photographs appear in some magazine or book. Subsequently you receive from a model you perhaps haven’t seen for years a brief SMS with wording like: „When do I get the money? And how much?“. I know a number of photographers who experienced exactly this, even though they published a shot completely for free. Publishers often profit from photographers‘ desire to publish, but try explaining that to a model who is convinced of your tens-of-thousands-of-crowns fees and wants her share of them.
Another common situation is that the model has a new boyfriend, a new career, a new life and writes to you „delete everything„. But you don’t shoot so that you can delete photos in a few months or years, throw them away etc… A frequently cited reason for deleting is something like „I let myself go somehow too much, but I probably don’t want anyone to see it…“. I already wrote about this here in the article Models and sensitive photographs.
The contract protects both the photographer and the model.
The agreement on the use of photographs should clearly define under what conditions the photographer may publish the photographs and under what conditions the model may, and what financial claims arise for both parties from this publication (even if none), and possibly other matters as agreed.
What does no financial claims mean? Say the photographer sells a shot (as a print, to a book, etc.). If the contract states that the model has no financial claims, it means the photographer doesn’t have to share his fee with her. If the agreement at the same time says that no financial claims arise for the photographer either, it means that the model doesn’t have to hand over part of her earnings to the photographer either.
So now you’re confused – the model surely can’t sell someone else’s copyrighted work, so how could she come into money? It’s simple – the photographer helps the model create her portfolio. It often happens that a model thanks you for the fact that precisely thanks to your photograph she won a contract for a job, a week’s flight to Mallorca and next month to Cannes, etc. At that moment you are most likely sitting at home editing photos for the portfolio of some future successful model and telling yourself that some kickback would come in handy… Do you understand now?
So that it doesn’t look as if I’m siding with photographers and see culprits in models – I wouldn’t like that, I’m only writing from the photographer’s point of view, as a model I would certainly write differently – I want to stress again that the contract is meant to protect both against needless future misunderstandings.
One more thing…
The contract may be signed by a model over 18!
You can shoot younger models, but signing a contract is a legal act and in such a case it must be signed by the model’s parents or another legal representative.
Model release to download
You can download a sample agreement on the use of photographs for free here and use it as it is, or adapt it to your needs.
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