A little advise on asking for a release

[smcconsulting]

I am looking for a little advise on Releases. I have been thinking about a project i have been wanting to do for quite some time. Photographing inner city street life and urban landscapes. I don't intend to sell any images but i am thinking about showing at a gallery that features local artists, as well as showing here, other web sites and my photography club. My question is should i ask for a releases if a image has a human subject. I am not sure because I do not intend to sell any images, but want to show the images in a public forum.

My thought was to approach a subject,explain who and what I am and my intentions, and maybe offer a small gratuity for there troubles.

Any thoughts or opinions on the subject???

Thanks ..........Chris.

[jiro]

My thought was to approach a subject,explain who and what I am and my intentions, and maybe offer a small gratuity for there troubles.

That would be nice. I do that, too sans the gratuity and they don't mind me taking some shots of them. I believe if you have the intention of entering your work on a competition or for printing on a magazine they definitely requires you of a model release form to go with your entry. People who has the intention of building their stock photo portfolios do take the time to let everyone included on the shot to sign a model release form to avoid legal problems later on. Good luck.

[Chesil]

I'm not a lawyer and don't play one on TV.

Depends on what you are doing with the image. Street photography does not require a release - photojournalism would be impossible if you did and there would be no such thing as paparazzi if it was required - and for competitions and non advertising magazine use you should not be required to furnish a model release. Think National Geographic in this respect.

Stock would require a release if the person was identifiable. It's commercial use and fine art type prints don't seem to be considered as commercial.

Giving your subject something for posing is nice to do.

[revi]

I'm not a laywer either, but please, keep in mind that the applicable rules depend on the situation, the use that is going to be made of the photo, the country the shot is taken/used and (at least in some countries) the age of the subject...

I've recently been taking pictures at an international conference, indoors, so not a public location, and I was told that I would need a release for any kind of publication... This is in France, and the information was supposed to come from the in-house legal counsel of the organisers. (If the subjects were under-age, I would indeed have needed a release for publication. I am a bit surprised I would also need one for non-commercial use in this case, and I'd double-check if I needed to publish them)

Bottom line: if you need to be sure, ask a local specialist.

Remco