Model Release - A Security
September 5, 2007
User archive
Seen on this blog are pictures of my relatives which comprise a lot of percentage in my portfolio. Recently I had to disable a picture of a beautiful cousin of mine after a controversy that sparked off wild reactions in India involving usage of pictures for certain applications. In this blog I will explain based on that example, how pictures here which seem normal to us be misused by someone and why model releases are so important in case of minors and adults alike. The picture of my cousin was her getting up from a haystack with a very tiresome expression on her face. The same kind of picture was manipulated and misused in a condom add here which prompted me to remove it immediately as she is my cousin and not a professional model. A model who would deliberately advertise for condoms won’t mind it, but most will.
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Recently, a model from India did a shoot for a interior decorator. Her contract had the terms only about the payment and the general rights of the AD agency to publish her photo. The payment was made to her via cheque as a proof that she had been paid for her modeling. The shoot involved curtains, beds and other furniture. The model was not even known which interior decorator advertisement she was doing the shoot for as she had the contract with the AD agency and not the photographer or the client. Some days later she found her photo in a provocative pose in the advertisement of a condom. She wasn’t shown nude or with a man. Her photo was processed in such a way that she looked provocative. Obviously, there was a huge outrage in her family and society. They were shocked to see her in an advertisement like this. Legal action didn’t help much than the court ordering the advertisers not to use her pictures in the campaign after the case closed. The reason was the contractual terms in between her and the agency weren’t clear enough. She had signed a document which only talked about her payment and the general terms of the advertiser. Nothing about the client or for what the pictures were to be used.
This was shocking for me as well. I released that many times I myself have cursed this model release concept but how important it is. I immediately got into action by deleting many pictures and in fact many portfolios on other stock agencies which I found not strong enough do deal legally with such misuse. Advertisers in India pay a model 10 times a normal shoot for advertisement of sanitary napkins also, because not all women are comfortable doing an advertisement for that as we live in a conservative world. I wish everyone understands the importance of the model release now and how you shoot pictures. See that you don’t click pictures in which a model who is conservative can be shown in a provocative way in the final product by the buyer.
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© Thefinalmira... ( Help) |
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I would like to know what others have to say about this and if they’ve had such experiences.
Pssssssst.... By the way on the left is me and my wife.. aint we a cute couple :P
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TheFinalMiracle
Photo credits: Nikhil Gangavane.
3 Comments
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PublishThefinalmiracle
Thank you Tony!
Tonygers
GREAT POST! Nikhil. And yes you and your wife look a really cute couple. ;-)
Thefinalmiracle
Yes I truly feel so. Dunno how much the agencies will like it, but will surely help the models and photographers feel safe and comfortable with the microstock industry.