Just wondering . . .

[Schim]

I’ve been wondering lately how the “property” and “people” in photographs determine their sales and value.  For instance in a street scene there is going to be property, the reality is that there always is property, unless you shoot clouds.  Is government property, land owned by the government, in need of a property release?  Are government buildings, which are considered public property, in need of a property release?  Who would sign the release?

 

Model releases seem a bit more straightforward with a few questionable concepts.  I have some images of aboriginal African tribespeople who are living the way they did thousands or tens of thousands of years ago.  They have no written language and therefore do not communicate in written form.  They have no comprehension of the concept of model releases.  And if I presented them with a model release form to sign they couldn’t sign it because they don’t write.  Is a model release required?

 

 In regard to the questions that we answer when the upload images, “Number of people in the image.” What difference is there between one person or 5 or more?  And, “Is there any property in the image?” How do the answers to these questions affect image value, how it can be sold or used and what kind of a difference it may make in sales price?

[MizBrown]

What are the chances anyone would buy photographs of those people to advertise a product?   What are the chances that they'd be used editorially?    And if they were, who would inform the tribal people about it and help them realize they could sue over this? 

 

Property is more likely to be things like intellectual property than generic houses and buildings.

[John Mitchell]

If there are people -- even body parts -- or "property" (buildings, cars, pet chihuahuas, etc.) in an image, I just check the Alamy boxes and forget about it. I doubt whether having or not having releases makes much difference to sales in most cases. I've never asked anyone to sign a model release, and I certainly wouldn't sign one myself, especially these days.

[Brian Yarvin]

Gary, these are questions that every stock photography beginner asks. What you'll soon learn is that you're not describing the sorts of images that will sell in circumstances that call for a release. And John, even though I have more than a thousand releases on file (mostly from the nineties), I have never asked for one either. Mine all come from shoots that involved either professional models or skilled experts - the sorts of shoots that once earned solid revenues but have now fallen by the wayside.

 

 

[John Mitchell]

47 minutes ago, Brian Yarvin said:

Gary, these are questions that every stock photography beginner asks. What you'll soon learn is that you're not describing the sorts of images that will sell in circumstances that call for a release. And John, even though I have more than a thousand releases on file (mostly from the nineties), I have never asked for one either. Mine all come from shoots that involved either professional models or skilled experts - the sorts of shoots that once earned solid revenues but have now fallen by the wayside.

 

 

 

Right. Professional models are another story. Signing releases would be part of their job. All my "models" have been decidedly unprofessional. 😁