When do you need a model release for a photo

The use decides, not the photo

A model release is written permission from the person in a photograph to use their likeness. Getty Images' contributor guide to releases describes commercial use as a use intended to sell a product, raise money, or promote or endorse something, and says any image offered for commercial use needs a release for every recognizable person in it. So the same frame can need a release for one job and not for another. A portrait printed beside a news story about a local election is editorial. The same portrait on a billboard for a dental clinic is commercial.

The stock agencies draw the line in the same place. Shutterstock requires permission from every recognizable person, in the form of a signed and valid model release, for commercial content, while documentary editorial content does not need one. It also states that editorial content cannot be used to sell, promote or monetize a business, product or service. Adobe Stock describes the release as the agreement that lets the photographer and Adobe Stock customers publish the image or use it for commercial purposes.

Underneath the agency rules sits state law. The Digital Media Law Project explains that two claims can follow from using someone's name or likeness without permission: misappropriation, and violation of the right of publicity, which it defines as the right of a person to control and make money from the commercial use of their identity. Both are state-law claims, so the details change from state to state. The same guide notes that consent is a complete defense to either claim, and a signed release is how that consent is written down and kept.

What makes a person recognizable

Adobe Stock boils it down to one question: would the people in the photo recognize themselves? Its guidance points out that recognition can rest on tattoos, birthmarks, unique clothing, equipment or a location, not only a face, and says it is safer to get a release even for a close-up of a body part. iStock's guidance goes as far as identifiable faces, hands, feet or any human parts.

People in the background count. Getty Images says a release is needed for recognizable people whether they are the main subject of the shoot or in the background. Adobe gives the example of video with people passing by behind the subject, and adds that a voice in a video needs a release from the speaker. Self-portraits are included as well: you sign once as the photographer and once as the model.

Every person gets their own release. Shutterstock requires a separate release for each recognizable person, so a photo with five people needs five releases, and it will not accept several releases combined into one file. Adobe's example is a sports team, where the coach cannot sign for the whole group.

Gray areas: portfolios, covers, social posts and art

The American Society of Media Photographers (ASMP) advises getting a release for any commercial use, including self-promotion. That covers a case many photographers forget, where a client portrait ends up in an advertisement for the photographer's own business.

ASMP also notes that art and editorial uses generally do not require releases, with exceptions. A magazine cover might be considered a commercial use, and editorial images reused to promote the magazine itself should be released. In ASMP's view, a fine art image used to promote a gallery show or a coffee-table book is also likely to count as commercial use.

A post on a company's social media account is easy to mistake for something casual. The test does not change for it. The Digital Media Law Project describes liability as arising when a person's name or likeness is used in advertising or promoting goods or services, and a post that sells or promotes is doing the job of an ad.

Newsworthiness sits on the other side of the line. The same legal guide says the common law of most states creates an exception for news reporting and commentary on matters of public interest, and many state statutes exempt news reporting explicitly. That protection depends on a reasonable relationship between the use of the person's identity and a matter of legitimate public interest. ASMP adds a caution: even news uses are risky if they cast the subject in a false light.

Minors: who signs and what agencies ask for

Someone under the age of majority signs through a parent or legal guardian. According to Cornell Law School's Legal Information Institute, most US states set the age of majority at 18, but Alabama and Nebraska set it at 19 and Mississippi at 21. Getty's release form ties the question to the model's jurisdiction of residence, so a model who is an adult in one place may still need a guardian's signature in another.

Shutterstock has required a parent or legal guardian's name on every minor model release submitted after April 1, 2023, and stopped accepting its older minor forms because they had no field for it. Adobe Stock asks for a parent or legal guardian's signature when the model was, and still is, under 18, and suggests that both parents sign, one as guardian and one as witness, to reduce the risk that one parent later tries to revoke the consent the other gave. Getty notes that its Brazilian Portuguese release carries wording about the authorization needed before minors under 16 take part in shoots in Brazil.

This article is general information, not legal advice. Privacy and publicity law differs by state and country. For a specific use, talk to a lawyer licensed where the image will be published.

Common mistakes

Relying on a verbal yes. Every agency named here asks for a signed document. A spoken agreement is still consent, but you would have to prove it later, often years after the shoot and long after anyone remembers the conversation.

Assuming a crowd is exempt. Getty's rule covers recognizable people in the background as well as the main subject. A busy street scene meant for a commercial stock collection needs a release from everyone who can be recognized, or it belongs in an editorial collection.

Reusing one release. Adobe Stock says one release may not be used for multiple shoots and a new one is needed each time. Shutterstock requires the dates on a release to match the photo dates when one release covers several photos from a shoot.

Leaving it until after the shoot. Signatures are easiest to collect while the person is still standing in front of you. ReleasePad is built for that moment: the model types their details and signs with a finger on your phone, guardian details and a guardian signature step are added when the model is under 18, and the release is assembled into a PDF that stays on the phone until you share it.

Frequently asked questions