Model Releases In-depth exploration

You may think that model releases aren't necessary for photos used in editorial contexts, but the truth is actually much more complex.
Here are some examples that came up in discussions, all of which share a common theme:

- You're a wedding photographer and you're shooting the bride and groom during a ceremony at their home.
- You're an equestrian photographer on a "farm call" to photograph a horse at the owner's stable.
- You're an art photographer and you're at an artist's studio to shoot a few pictures of his latest sculpture that he will send to his agent, who will then send them to magazines for a press release.
- You're a portrait photographer and own a studio at the local mall. A client comes in to have pictures taken of him so he can distribute them to potential modeling agencies.
- You're a press photographer, and develop a special relationship with a congressional candidate, who invites you to the family estate to photograph the clan for a memoir they intend to publish about the personal tolls that political life can have on a family.

Though there are contracts associated with each of these assignments, none of them include model releases by the subject for the photographer. Here's the question: can you license any of these photos for EDITORIAL use to a newspaper that is doing a story on the individual who is the subject of any of these given photos?

Most people would say no, and would guess that it's because of the lack of model releases. True, but the more important (and harder) question to ask is: why?

Read Dan Heller's in-depth exploration and you'll know exactly what to do to sell your shots without worries.

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The Sunsets Collection

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