Model/property release for government buildings?

[MTNPhotos]

Do you know if you need a property release for photos of government buildings such as State capitals? (I am in the USA)

[MilesbeforeIsleep]

Outside the building, preferably not on the premises, I've never had a problem.  I've taken a couple of pics of Federal courthouses, where Secret Service agents were present, and got no objections.   I didn't push my luck by taking their pics, however. 

 

In any case where security is present, just be sure not to fail the attitude test. 

 

Michael

North Carolina

Edited May 19, 2019 by MilesbeforeIsleep

[MTNPhotos]

1 hour ago, MilesbeforeIsleep said:

Outside the building, preferably not on the premises, I've never had a problem.  I've taken a couple of pics of Federal courthouses, where Secret Service agents were present, and got no objections.   I didn't push my luck by taking their pics, however. 

 

In any case where security is present, just be sure not to fail the attitude test. 

 

Michael

North Carolina

Thanks. I have some really nice photos of the Utah and Texas state capitals that I want to submit. Adobe stock rejected them because I didnt have a release. Maybe alamy will be different.

[Avpics]

You don't need releases for editorial, unless there's something US-specific that's different to the UK.

[Joseph Clemson]

33 minutes ago, MTNPhotos said:

Thanks. I have some really nice photos of the Utah and Texas state capitals that I want to submit. Adobe stock rejected them because I didnt have a release. Maybe alamy will be different.

 

Alamy will not accept or reject an image on the basis of whether or not you have a release, they only inspect the technical quality of the photo. It is down to the individual  photographer to determine what releases are required for the kind of usage for which they are selling the image. As AVpics says, if you have no releases then you must mark your images as RM or RF-Editorial Only and they will only be available for editorial use.

 

Your question, and subsequent comment, does not make it entirely clear whether you are intending such images to be available for commercial use. If you have submitted them to the A**** place (which we are not allowed to refer to here 😉) it suggests you intend commercial use as that is all that A**** will take. The lack of an answer to your question here over the past five days suggests nobody is prepared to venture an opinion.

 

I have no experience of the USA and I am not a lawyer, but it seems to me unlikely that the representatives of  any government building would be able to sign a release which gave carte blanche for such a building to be used in any commercial or promotional material over which they had no say. If a general freedom exists  in the USA for such buildings to be used in this without specific permission, then I've not heard of it, and so far no one here has come forward to say it exists.

 

I suspect the bottom line is that you can use your images for editorial use, but not commercial. HOWEVER I know that in the UK some specific buildings and sites (especially courts and Ministry of Defence locations) have strict rules about what you can and can't do with a camera in their vicinity., even for editorial use. I expect the USA has a similar restrictions. If you can't get a definitive answer here, you may need to make enquiries with officials at the buildings concerned.

[Paulie]

On 19/05/2019 at 22:16, Joseph Clemson said:

 

Alamy will not accept or reject an image on the basis of whether or not you have a release, they only inspect the technical quality of the photo. It is down to the individual  photographer to determine what releases are required for the kind of usage for which they are selling the image. As AVpics says, if you have no releases then you must mark your images as RM or RF-Editorial Only and they will only be available for editorial use.

 

Your question, and subsequent comment, does not make it entirely clear whether you are intending such images to be available for commercial use. If you have submitted them to the A**** place (which we are not allowed to refer to here 😉) it suggests you intend commercial use as that is all that A**** will take. The lack of an answer to your question here over the past five days suggests nobody is prepared to venture an opinion.

 

I have no experience of the USA and I am not a lawyer, but it seems to me unlikely that the representatives of  any government building would be able to sign a release which gave carte blanche for such a building to be used in any commercial or promotional material over which they had no say. If a general freedom exists  in the USA for such buildings to be used in this without specific permission, then I've not heard of it, and so far no one here has come forward to say it exists.

 

I suspect the bottom line is that you can use your images for editorial use, but not commercial. HOWEVER I know that in the UK some specific buildings and sites (especially courts and Ministry of Defence locations) have strict rules about what you can and can't do with a camera in their vicinity., even for editorial use. I expect the USA has a similar restrictions. If you can't get a definitive answer here, you may need to make enquiries with officials at the buildings concerned.

 

Joseph, 

 

I'm new to this forum and to stock. I noticed some your images are of houses, pubs, buildings etc. Does this mean you have to sell them as editorial only? 

 

Thanks

Paulie

[Joseph Clemson]

11 minutes ago, Paulie said:

 

Joseph, 

 

I'm new to this forum and to stock. I noticed some your images are of houses, pubs, buildings etc. Does this mean you have to sell them as editorial only? 

 

Thanks

Paulie

 

Absolutely editorial only, as far as I am concerned.

 

It is conceivable that I could get a release for commercial use in a few  cases, but unlikely in most. Most uses of the kind of stuff I shoot are likely to be editorial anyway.

 

It is also possible that the end-user, the buyer who makes use of these images, may decide to use them in a commercial context, in which case it is up to them to either obtain the necessary releases or to make a judgement call that they don't need them.  Having made it clear that the images contain unreleased property or people, the responsibility then rests with the purchaser.

[Paulie]

Thanks. That seems reasonable. I shoot a lot of buildings myself so its res helpful to know. Does t effect sales greatly if you limit to editorial?