Street Photography model release

since there is apperently some mistakings about my comment... i said this is an ignorant statement:

you opened this thread on the basis of inquiring whether or not you needed a model release for the use of selling as stock photos. not as to whether or not you can or cannot shoot the people, hang them on walls, pay them, etc.

from istockphoto.com's website:

i dont know what stock agency you use, but contact them, im sure they will have a similar responce. if they say, we don't care... run and run fast... its a lawsuit waiting to happen.

i believe it is... but i dont know how credible that is...

Love your story as well. I heard people sometimes bring pencils or other simple tools or toys and in small villages, they appreciate those items more than money can bring them.

Yes. For that trip, I took along a bagful of rubber bands for the kids. There would be three or four kids playing in the dirt beside a trail, and I would "shoot" a rubber band toward them. Wow! What a photo op!

For the women of the village, I brought needles and thread. For the men of the village (who were all farmers), I brought photos of farm animals from my home country.

---Bob Gross---

I am not trying to hone in on Andys post but I have a similar quandry and I am not a pro.

I sometimes go to the seedier parts of town and take candid shots of street walking prostitutes and the like. Their faces hold a wealth of character and usually despair. Am I to risk the physical and verbal repercussions of asking them to sign a model release ? I am already knowingly endangering my well being just by being in the area.

I would rather have a less then probable legal fight in the future then a certain street fight in the present.

Hi,

Some great replies here people, love the idea of taking some rubber bands for the kids. Not so sure about giving money to them as incourgaging begging for money for photos would totally spoil the next photographers view point of the place. However I think I have some idea of an idea. Bascially I am going on an Adventure with my camera, I have not contracts no commitments so if I shoot someone or something I like it will more than likely end up as fine art. (frankly I dont think I am that good yet).

The two trips I mentioned are my first with photography in mind, so maybe I will see how it goes and learn for the future, and maybe when I get back post some hints or comments.

Cheers all
Andyh
www.studiohallett.co.u​k

I guess if you got a really good photo, you can try selling to a magazine for editoral publishing. This should hopefully blanket the trouble. Unfortunately becoming a journalist is really hard so going that route is unrealistic. I personally want to but not much luck because many newspapers require you to have this paper certification and that... and by the time I get it, I can retire.

Take the photo and RUN... You never know what can happen to you if they find out or get upset. Just be careful what you capture. Some images can really cost you or get into trouble when trying to cross the boarder.

Back in the period of 1952-1965, some of the early British explorers and mountaineers started going into the isolated country of Nepal. The little kids would run out and stand along the trail to look at those Brits. Then the Brits offered some pieces of chocolate. Of course, the kids like that. The Brits taught them the word "chocolate." Then, for the next generation or so after that, whenever a foreign traveler came along the same trail, the kids would come out and beg for chocolate. Due to the lack of dental hygiene, that became a problem of several degrees.

So, when I went to Nepal in 1983, I sure as hell did not want to make any problem worse. I wanted to take something to engage the kids with, perhaps so that I could get better cooperation for a photo. But, I didn't want to use anything that was unhealthy, expensive, bulky, or otherwise a problem.

For your next photo trek in a distant country, try rubber bands, or paper airplanes, or anything simple like that. I found that less than 50% of the kids were able to actually "shoot" a rubber band. That was a technically tough problem for many.

Besides, if it rains, you can use the rubber bands to apply plastic sheets to your camera lenses for protection. Been there. Done that.

---Bob Gross---

You are tempting me in making a rubberband ball for my desk..
Many receptionist have one already...