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03-09-2008, 12:45 AM
| | Junior Member | | Join Date: Mar 2008
Posts: 2
| | | Model Release
What is the name of your state? Texas
a photographer took some nude photos of me and has presented me with a model release that includes these words: "I hereby release, discharge and agree to save harmless the photographer...from any liability as a result of any blurring, alteration... of the finished product, its publication or distribution of the same,even should the same subject me to ridicule, scandal, reproach, scorn or indignity"
That last phrase really frightens me, although we are supposed to be 'friends'. What should I do?What is the name of your state? |
03-09-2008, 12:48 AM
| | Member | | Join Date: Jan 2008
Posts: 728
| | | Do you mind if he alters the photos, then sells them?
__________________
I'm not a lawyer
let the octopi fly
aka: perky
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03-09-2008, 12:50 AM
| | Senior Member | | Join Date: Jul 2007
Posts: 1,963
| | | What is the intended use of the photos? You don't have to sign the release as it is; you could negotiate its terms. |
03-09-2008, 12:57 AM
| | Junior Member | | Join Date: Mar 2008
Posts: 2
| | | Model Release
He only says they're for his "portfolio"...When he took the photos, I thought they were pretty much for him and me and that there "might" be some kind of publication in the future. Some of the photos are pretty explicit and he says he won't let me have any unless I sign the release! |
03-09-2008, 11:38 AM
| | Senior Member | | Join Date: Jul 2007
Posts: 1,963
| | | Sigh. It's obviously too late to advise you not to pose naked unless you are okay with the pictures ending up all over the internet or who knows where.
It sounds like your best (as in most stringent) option is to apply with the court of proper jurisdiction for a temporary restraining order and permanent injunction preventing your photog friend from publishing the photos, and hopefully ordering him to give you all prints he has made and give to you or destroy the source material (digital, I'm guessing) and all copies that exist.
You could begin by sending him a letter via certified mail, return receipt requested, specifically denying your permission to reproduce or publish the photographs and demanding that he turn them over to you.
I am not familiar with the intricacies of copyright law; it is my understanding that photographs are the property of the photographer, but you can probably overcome that by: 1) your testimony that you thought the photos were only for private use; and 2) showing that it would be an invasion of your privacy if he publishes them.  |
03-09-2008, 12:25 PM
| | Senior Member | | Join Date: Jan 2007 Location: Michigan
Posts: 3,804
| | | moongoddess -
Your photographer friend owns the copyright to the photos, however YOU own the right to your image - so without a model release, your photographer friend cannot profit off the photos. Without the release, only you can decide if, when, why, or how these photos are used.
If your friend uses the photos without your release and permission, he is violating privacy laws and opens himself up to a lawsuit.
The model release he is asking you to sign sounds like a standard release - this release protects HIM, but it does not protect YOU from inappropriate uses of the photos. Las365 suggested you negotiate the terms of the release, and that is a wise suggestion. Releases can be tailored to fit your situation.
If, for instance, you only want the photos to be sold as "art" photos in a gallery, that can be spelled out in the release. If you DON'T want the photos used in a pornography magazine, or altered so that your face and/or body appears in a pornography video, that can be spelled out, as well. If you don't want your image appearing on a condom wrapper, that can be spelled out.
In addition, you can work it out so that you can share in any profits your friend makes off your image. This would require a release and a contract.
In other words, your friend can only make use of your image in the ways that you are okay with. If he violates any terms of the release, you can take him to court.
Nude photos can come back to haunt you in the future, so make sure you are wise about what you agree to. It would benefit you to have an attorney look over anything you sign BEFORE you sign it. |
04-03-2008, 08:17 PM
| | Junior Member | | Join Date: Apr 2008 Location: Brooklyn,NY
Posts: 6
| | | I'm a photographer and I could tell you
that we try to ask everyone for a model release.
It does not mean that we will use the photo for anything
but it's just a liability.
If he says he will use it for his portfolio then
I'm sure that is what he will do. Most model releases
are the same so don't be afraid to ask for something changed. | |
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