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Model Release - Permission to Use Images of People

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This document answers some frequently asked questions on getting consent to use images or recordings of people and includes links to sample model release forms.

Model release form

Please note: JISC Digital Media is unable to offer legal advice and the answers we have given are based on the best of our knowledge and practical experience. A specialist legal adviser should be able to give you more accurate guidance.

We wish to use some of our archive images on our website, however these pictures feature members of the public who we are unable to contact. Do we need model release forms signed by the people featured in the images before we can use them?

If an image is an un-posed record of an actual event and your subjects are incidental and not seen to be endorsing a product or opinion you should be able to use the image without model release.

We have a video recoding, which has an accompanying model release consent. Can we re-use the image?

Possibly, though you should check the release first to see if there is a limit on usage. A model release form should identify a specific use such as a website or training video along with any potential future uses. Any uses not detailed on the original model release should be renegotiated and a new model release should be signed.

Do we need to get model release for all future images or recordings of people?

This depends on the end use of the media, if these are recordings of a 'news' events and are being used to illustrate that event then probably not. If the recording is taken out of context and used to illustrate an unrelated subject or endorse a product, service or opinion then you should obtain permission.

Are there any other consents I need before taking and using images?

Another common legal release covers property. Property release forms are most commonly associated with buildings and architecture; a public building photographed from a public space can normally be used without consent. A photograph taken within the building or its grounds will require permission from the owners.

We have been asking the people featuring in the media used on our website to sign model release forms. Some of the subjects are concerned at having to sign a legal document, how can we reassure them?

Read through the form with them and explain that it protects the subject as much as it does the creator.

What should we include in our model release form?

A model release should be as simple as possible and avoid any legal jargon. It might include:

The creator's name
The date created
What you want to use the media for
Where the images will be used
How long permission is given for
The model's name, full address a signature and date
It might also include any fee paid to the subject.

The Strategic Content Alliance have produced a guide on creating a model release form in their IPR toolkit . JISC Legal have a sample model release form on page 13 of their Recording Lectures document. The Association of Photographers have a sample model release form on page 191 of Beyond the Lens this form is more suited to situations where the subject has been paid to appear in the media.

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