A digital photographer's guide to model releases making the best business decisions with your photos of people, places and things. - Description based on print version record. - Includes index

Do you need a release for a photo of someone you took in public? How about photos of buildings? Does it make a difference if the subject was paid to be in the picture? You can't answer these questions without more information. As the photographer, you need to understand your buyer's concerns in order to make savvy decisions about how you market your photos and to whom. Here's how to make money from all your photos, whether or not they have releases, by understanding the business aspects of the law. Scenario: You're at your kid's soccer match at school and you're taking pictures. Being the photo buff that you are, you get everything--kids scoring goals, parents screaming from the sidelines, the popcorn vendor, and fans in the stands. Later, you show the pictures to some of the people, and find that some want to buy a print for themselves. This becomes a popular event, and over time, your reputation grows. The local newspaper gets wind of your talent and wants to license a few photos so it can put some in the paper for an article on the school's sports curriculum. Perhaps some shots are so A guide to the business aspects of digital photography and the importance of gaining model releases before the publication or commercial use of photographs