Nude Photo Pro

Photographers who only shoot images for personal use that will never be published don’t need a model release, but professionals or indeed any amateur who is publishing material in a way that could be deemed commercial should really obtain a signed model release, where the subject consents to the usage of their image in various media as specified in the release.

There are many misconceptions in this area of model releases and my comments should not be interpreted as any kind of binding legal advice because different laws apply in various countries, but in general terms any images used for editorial purposes don’t require a model release, however you might still sleep easier if you did some nude images of a subject and published them in a magazine or online without their permission.

I don’t know any photographer who has had any real problems like this, but defending a legal action, even if it has little merit can still be expensive, stressful and time consuming. Problems are most likely to happen if you photograph an amateur who then decides 6 months later that she wasn’t happy to be photographed naked and suddenly decides to kick up a fuss. This is one of the reasons why I invariably work with professional models from established agencies because there are fewer problems.

Most editorial assignments involving models for magazines never involve a full written release as such. This is quite deliberate, so that no commercial usage rights are given. Instead the magazine simply pays a relatively low day rate for the editorial usage and is then able to use the images for their spread. Most model agencies are only interested in this work because it helps to get their models seen and provides them with published images for their portfolio. There really isn’t much to gain from a financial point of view.

When shooting commercial assignments for advertising purposes it’s normal practice for the client to stipulate a specific usage with the model agency and come to an agreement on price for that usage. There are no fixed rates here, so it’s all a case of horse trading by each party to get the best deal they can. Again though there is generally no model release as such and the rights usage is simply specified in the invoice supplied by the agency.

Clearly there are many clients who would love to obtain a full release to do whatever they like, but it’s really not in the interests of the model agencies to give up all rights and it sets a bad precedent, which is why most stock photographers would find little joy if they approached a serious model agency demanding that the model sign a full release for a low fee. The stock libraries however, seem blissfully unaware of this reality when photographers are faced with the full expense of producing images themselves.

It’s true that there are some mickey mouse agencies out there with all kinds of weird practices but I tend to just ignore them because they don’t even have the kind of models that I would want to photograph. One agency online I saw recently wanted to charge a fixed rate for a half day shoot, but said that the photographer could only use one image from a shoot and then only for a period of 12 months. Obviously they don’t have too many clients shooting catalogues or brochures.

The use of a release really comes into play when a photographer needs the flexibility to publish images for commercial purposes such as a shop window display for example without needing to go back and negotiate with the model or her agency after the shoot. I occasionally receive requests from companies who would like to use one of my editorial images for some form of advertising and this used to be very profitable in the past, but nowadays they rarely seem willing to pay a reasonable fee for the model rights if I have to go back to the agency and negotiate for usage. In large part this is owed to the vast quantity of fully released stock images that are available even if the quality is clearly not as good.

For any photographer shooting fashion it’s unlikely you will be too troubled by questions involving model releases because there is little demand for commercial use of fashion imagery in other areas. You don’t often see generic fashion images for example on a box of chocolates, advertising a bank or even on a calendar, but there is plenty of scope for glamour and nude photography if you look around and know your market.

As I said previously, for commercial assignments, you do your job and after receiving a payment for your services the deal generally ends there. You may choose to use the images in your portfolio, which is perfectly legitimate, but that is about it. A clever photographer though can also do well by finding suitable models for self assigned glamour or nude projects and creating images that can then be sold for various purposes to eventually reap a very good profit. The key point though in this case is to obtain a signed full model release and then you are free to use the images in practically any way that you choose.

Just to be clear I am not advocating the practice of placing your images with a stock library here, because I honestly feel they are not working in the best interests of photographers at this point and should be kept at a long distance. Some photographers seem obsessed with the idea of working with stock agencies, but it’s not a fair partnership when a photographer creates images at their own expense that are then given away for peanuts and the agency keeps the lion share of the sales amount.

The answer is to produce genuinely professional looking imagery of worthwhile models with a fully signed release and then promote yourself and your work in the right places. I have found this to be far more profitable in practice than submitting images to stock libraries because I am able to target my marketing in areas that the stock agencies completely ignore, since they never take the time these days to market individual images. Instead they simply market themselves and rely on their usual customers in their traditional areas.

The other huge advantage of not giving your images to a stock agency is that you maintain control over how your images are used and at what price. In other words you are the boss of your own business and that is exactly the way it should be. Remember to think outside the box and take control of your own business.