Question on releases/permission

[WT21]

I was at a party for a friend of my kids -- a Karate party with kids under the age of 8.

I took a bunch of pics of my child, and also the kids of friends of mine.

The owner of the Karate place asked me afterwards if he could use the pictures on his web site and maybe other uses (blown up on the wall, etc.).

I've got a couple of nice ones that could work for him, but my question is on the fact that there are other kids (other than mine) in the pictures.

Given that he's the Karate studio owner, and that I was invited to the party, is there a responsibility here for obtaining a release from the parents of the kids? (this is in the US)If so, whose responsibility is it? Mine or the studio owners?

Thanks for any helps.

[amfoto1]

Yes, if they want to put the images up on a commercially oriented website, signed model releases are needed.

Yes, if they are displaying the photos in the publicly accessible areas of a commercial space, it would be strongly advised to have signed releases for recognizable people in the images.

No, if the images were simply being shown in an online gallery without any sort of commercial implications, a release probably isn't needed. You are free to put up images online, too, in the course of marketing prints and such to the parents and kids themselves. At worst, if someone objects to their kid's photo being posted online and complains, take it down and no harm is done. There is nothing for them to sue you about, since you saw no commercial gain from the display of the image. (At this point in time, pure portfolio display is considered editorial, too. There are some question about this type of display online, because the images can potentially reach so much wider an audience, and there might some day be a court case that decides it. Until then, online portfolios are a gray area.)

Either party can acquire the proper release... But it is strongly in the interest of the photographer to do so... and to keep the releases on file, providing a copy to the business owner. Having proper, signed releases for them opens up all kinds of avenues for additional commercial usage licensing - i.e., future sales - of the images.

You might want to know, the user of the image - i.e. the Karate studio in this case - is actually who is most at risk using unreleased images in a commercial manner. They are more likely to get sued than the photographer. Releases are actually nothing more than a means of reducing risk. The better worded and more solid the release is, the lower the risk of using the image. You can never completely remove the risk, but a properly signed release can reduce risk to very negligible.

Since kids are involved, you need the releases signed by a parent or legal guardian.

There may be some minor exceptions... for example "faces in the crowd" or barely recognizable in the background - not really the subject of the photo - might not need model releases. It's much better if they are all fully and properly released, of course, increasing the value of the photo for commercial usage. However, this is one kind of minor exception that comes to mind as a possibility in a situation such as this.


I ain't an attorney, so this isn't legal advice.

[joedlh]

As a matter of courtesy and to forestall any later unpleasantness, I would recommend contacting the parents and asking for permission in fair use settings (journalism, education, and art). Parents are frequently guarded about the use of their children's images.

If the shots are to be used commercially or for any other money-making ventures, you need a model release.

[WT21]

I was thinking of just sending him a couple of the shots gratis, as some actual business could come from that (he'd like to offer posed pics of his students to their parents for charge) and the pics weren't shot with all that much attention anyway, as they were meant to be more for memories.

Still, I was about to send them, and this question popped to mind.

I might tell him I can send them to him, but only after he (not me!) calls the parents to get their OK (at the least). Would that work do you think?

[FlyingPhotog]

I was thinking of just sending him a couple of the shots gratis, as some actual business could come from that (he'd like to offer posed pics of his students to their parents for charge) and the pics weren't shot with all that much attention anyway, as they were meant to be more for memories.

Still, I was about to send them, and this question popped to mind.

I might tell him I can send them to him, but only after he (not me!) calls the parents to get their OK (at the least). Would that work do you think?

Get any consent(s) in writing...

99 out of 100 parents might be flattered that their kid looks good as wall art but it's that 100th parent who can make your life hell.

[WT21]

Thanks for the suggestions.