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. A Digital Photographers Guide To Model Releases: Making the Best Business Decisions with your Photos of People, Places, and Things......Page 4 About the Author......Page 6 Contents......Page 8 Introduction: How We Got Here......Page 12 Part 1: Everyone’s Doing It. So What’s Wrong?......Page 20 PREEMPTING MISINFORMATION......Page 23 HOW TO THINK ABOUT MODEL RELEASES......Page 35 HEY, YOU’RE NOT A LAWYER......Page 39 Part 2: What’s a Model Release?......Page 52 GETTING ON THE SAME PAGE......Page 55 WHO IS RESPONSIBLE?......Page 62 LITIGATION IN A NUTSHELL......Page 67 MINIMIZING YOUR INVOLVEMENT......Page 74 THE LICENSEE’S RESPONSIBILITY......Page 80 THE PRACTICAL APPROACH......Page 88 THE ROLE OF ETHICS......Page 93 WAR STORIES FROM THE MUDDY MIDDLE......Page 94 THE BOTTOM LINE IN BUSINESS......Page 99 Part 3: Understanding “Use”......Page 104 DEFINING “PUBLISHING”......Page 108 UNDERSTANDING COMMERCIAL USE......Page 114 UNDERSTANDING EDITORIAL USE......Page 117 THE PERILS OF PUBLICIZING......Page 125 SELF-PUBLISHING AND SELF-PROMOTION......Page 137 RISK ANALYSIS: THE THREE KEY QUESTIONS......Page 142 MODEL RELEASES AND COMPENSATION......Page 156 Part 5: Dissecting a Model Release......Page 162 CONTRACT AUTHORSHIP AND THE SPECTRUM OF RISK......Page 165 YOUR OWN MODEL RELEASE......Page 169 REVISING A RELEASE......Page 177 CONSIDERATIONS FOR EDITORIAL USES......Page 182 Part 6: Dealing with Photos of Property......Page 184 UNDERSTANDING COPYRIGHTS......Page 191 UNDERSTANDING TRADEMARKS......Page 203 ASSESSING VALUE......Page 209 IMPLICATIONS FOR MODEL RELEASES......Page 213 TESTING THE TRADEMARK SYSTEM......Page 222 NAVIGATING THE TRADEMARK AND COPYRIGHT OFFCE WEB SITES......Page 227 CONSIDERATIONS FOR COPYRIGHTS......Page 229 EDITORIAL USE......Page 235 SPECIAL CONSIDERATIONS FOR PHOTOS OF BUILDINGS......Page 242 Part 7: The Business of Licensing......Page 254 WHO OWNS WHAT?......Page 258 LICENSING AGREEMENT BASICS......Page 266 THE UNSIGNED “IMPLICIT” AGREEMENT......Page 278 Index......Page 285 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