This is what I have to offer regarding a model release.
The document I have available by the link below is my standard model release form. It’s something all photographers should have signed by the models and most all serious photographers do. However, I haven’t done this much and until recently I didn’t believe it was necessary. Well, it isn’t all about the release, but being completely legal and covering all bases subsequent to a photo shoot.
A model release isn’t a contract. It’s only a release. It doesn’t hold the model to any terms or agreements. It only says the photographer is allowed to do whatever he wants with the images. If that sounds odd, it should. Most people believe photographers can do whatever they want anyway. The release is much like the Terms and Agreements no one has ever read on Facebook or other web sites where people post their images. It’s only written permission, nothing more.
As far as I’m concerned, it’s only a way to cover my bases. I don’t sell someone’s images to anyone other than whoever is in the picture. I don’t post the images on web sites for contests and the like. So, there isn’t any difference in how I do things if/when I have a model release. No one should be worried. I guess it all depends on how the photographer does their own paperwork. There is no right or wrong way I suppose. But the one time you believe something won’t bite a photographer, they will wish they had a model’s signature.
If you want to read my release, click the link (or paste it into your web browser) and download the word document. If the link is broken please contact me.
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