In photography, there is a fun part called taking photos, but there can be a bitter part called lawsuits. The second part can be avoided as long as you know the legal aspects involved in photography. Before your hobby or a job you love most lands you in jail, you need to know when to use the photos that you take for profit and when not to. Law has made it easy for you as a photographer to avoid a jail term by making use of a document called a Photo Release. A photo release can be a property release or a model release. Here are some details you need to know about a photo release and when you need or do not it.

Photo by krishna kant / Fotosocial

Understanding a Photo release

A photo release is a signed document that is legally binding to show that a photographer has a right to use photographs of a person or a property for commercial or profitable purposes. As stated above, there are two types of photo releases—a model release and a property release. A model release covers people while the property release covers property like houses, buildings, etc including animals and trees. By model release, we don’t necessarily mean models who do modeling for commercial purposes only. Model release covers any person even if money transactions are not involved. The subjects or their representative need to sign and give permission for the use of images in return to some form of gain or even free if that is the agreement.

When is a photo release needed?

Without bombarding you with all legal jargons, a photo release is needed whenever you intend to use a photo you have taken for any form of profit. By profit, it doesn’t mean just monetary gains. Even if you use the photo on your business cards or promotional brochure, that can be termed as a profitable purpose.

Ms. Pradnya Parihar, a Legal Officer with a large oil company in Mumbai says that there is nothing wrong in taking pictures of people or property unless it is invading their privacy. You may take photos of people smiling at you but once you use their images for a profit they may sue you for invading their privacy.

If you take a photograph of a building and intend to use the image for profit, then you need a release. But for buildings that are not very visible or which do not take prominence on the photograph, for those you do not need a release.

You also need a release if you photograph an artist’s work like a painting or a mural and need to use it for profit and at times even for education purposes or a news item.

A photo release is mandatory when you take photos solely for commercial purposes or present photos that will be used for advertising or other commercial purposes. Mr. Pradipto Basu, a film producer and owner of Mojo Films in Mumbai says that producers will never entertain any use of someone’s image or property’s image unless a release is present. “Using photographs for commercial purposes with a photo release is equivalent to professional suicide”, Mr. Basu insists.

When is a photo release not needed?

You do not need a release if you intend to use the photographs for educational purposes, for your own enjoyment and as news worthy item. There are times when you need to acquire permission to take photos especially when you are on a private property but if you are not, then you don’t even need to ask for such permission.

Photo release: Yes or no?

Reading about photo release issues, you may be wondering if it’s fun anymore to take photos randomly as you normally do. This information is not supposed to take the fun out of your hobby or work but to let you know your rights and obligations.

There are many photographers who take photos and use them for profit and get away with it. May be you are one of them, but my advice is where possible obtain a release before you can use it. The process of obtaining a release can be tedious and at times impossible. Take for example a photo of a slam kid that can be used for a national advertising campaign if sold to an advertising agency or an organization. With a release, you could make lakhs from that photo but without, you may make nothing or a few hundred if it’s used for a news article.

Think of pros and cons of obtaining a release before you invest your time and money to obtain a release for a photo that may not be needed anywhere. On the other hand, don’t fail to obtain a release and deny yourself a chance to become rich or earn you a ticket to a jail cell!

	Quick read: A photo release is a signed document that is legally binding to show that a photographer has a right to use photographs of a person or a property for commercial or profitable purposes There are two types of photo releases—a model release and a property release A photo release is needed whenever you intend to use a photo you have taken for any form of profit You do not need a release if you intend to use the photographs for educational purposes, for your own enjoyment and as news worthy item