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When do you need a model release? A plain guide

Published · Business deals, money and releases

Short answer: get a signed release whenever a recognisable person appears in a photo or video that will be used to sell or promote something. For news and editorial use you often do not need one, but a release costs nothing and settles the question.

Commercial or editorial use

What matters is how the image is used, not how it was taken.

UseExamplesRelease?
CommercialAdverts, a business website or social media account, brochures, packaging, commercial stock photosYes, get one
EditorialNews, documentary, commentary, education, a book about a public eventOften not needed, depending on where you are
PersonalPhotos kept or shared privatelyUsually not needed

In the US, many states protect a person's right of publicity: using someone's name or likeness to advertise or sell without consent can lead to a claim. Rules on privacy and the use of images differ by state and country, so a written release is the simplest way to be safe wherever you work.

Common situations

  • Posting client photos on your business account. Treat it as commercial use: you are promoting your business. Get a release, or at least written permission, first.
  • Stock photography. Stock agencies generally require a signed model release before they will license an image of a recognisable person for commercial use.
  • Crowds and public events. People in a crowd who are not the focus of the image are a lower risk, but an advert that features one person's face needs that person's release.
  • Staff and volunteers. Employees are not automatically consenting to appear in your marketing. Ask, and put it in writing.
  • Private property and artworks. Recognisable private buildings, logos and artworks can need a separate property release for commercial use.

What to put in a model release

  1. Who is released: the photographer, and the client if the images are for someone else.
  2. Which images: the date, the place and the project.
  3. How they may be used: any commercial use, or only the uses you list, and for how long.
  4. Use of the person's name, or a promise not to identify them.
  5. Any limits the person asks for, such as no political, medical or adult-content use.
  6. What the person receives: a fee, or something else such as copies of the images.
  7. Signatures and the date, and a parent or guardian's signature for anyone under 18.

Minors

A child usually cannot give a binding release on their own, so a parent or legal guardian should sign as well. Schools, clubs and youth organisations often have their own consent rules, so check them before a shoot.

Outside the US

In the UK and the EU, a photo of an identifiable person is personal data under the GDPR. Tell people how their images will be used and stored, keep the signed releases, and be ready to stop using an image if someone has a right to ask you to. France and some other countries also protect a person's right to their own image, even outside advertising.

Free template

The free photo and model release template covers each point above as a question: commercial or limited use, a time limit, use of the person's name, restrictions, payment, and a guardian's consent for a model under 18. For the shoot itself, use the photography contract or the video production contract.

General information, not legal advice. Image and privacy rights differ between countries and states.

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