Model Release for Pets? - DPChallenge Forums

Nikon AF Nikkor 85mm f/1.4D IF

05/05/2005 01:29:47 PM · #1

Hi,

Does anyone here know if you need a model release to use pet photos as stock or sell prints with their photo to the public?

I am confused because I'm almost sure you can sell photos of horses in a pasture and not have to get their owners to sign... is it different for cats & dogs?

Thanks!

pawdrix

Nikon D700

05/05/2005 01:31:39 PM · #2

I'll have my cat call your dog...we'll do lunch.

Matthew

Canon EOS-5D Mark II

Peleng 8mm f/3.5 Fisheye MC In M42 Mount

05/05/2005 01:31:57 PM · #3

not required, AFIK.

Olympus 40-150mm f/2.8 PRO M.Zuiko

05/05/2005 01:32:41 PM · #4

Haha! I think I need to rephrase my questions a little... do you need the owner's signature to use the pet's photo =)

lonewolf

Canon EOS-50D

05/05/2005 01:34:23 PM · #5

I think a paw print is legal in most states....lol.

Brad

Olympus OM-D E-M1

05/05/2005 01:35:10 PM · #6

I'm pretty sure you can just scribble around on the paper - their hand/hoof/paw/whatever writing is terrible!
It can be downright chicken scratch!

Sorry - have no idea - door was wide open - couldn't help myself.

(off to go hide now)

Canon EF 17-40mm f/4.0L USM

05/05/2005 01:38:58 PM · #7

I have several standard breed shots that I would like to sell... either in front of a black or red background. The pets have no identifying marks... just purebreed dogs. So part of me is saying, what is the chance of the owner ever finding out. But just in case... I would like to know if I could get into some kind of trouble. Some of the people came to events that I have done and I do not have the names to match the picture. I just post all the pictures to the even online and let them order through my website. They all filled out forms... but I don't know who is who.

gwphoto

Canon EOS-1D Mark II

05/05/2005 01:43:22 PM · #8

It would be safer to get a release if you can. As long as a judge or jury cant ID the dog from a photo you might be OK. Why not offer a free print for the release? Love your work..

LoudDog

Canon EOS-350D Rebel XT

05/05/2005 01:45:01 PM · #9

I know people that have submited dog shots to istock without a model release, and istock accepted it. So I'd say you're probably safe.

pawdrix

Nikon D700

Nikon AF Nikkor 85mm f/1.4D IF

05/05/2005 01:45:59 PM · #10

Originally posted by lonewolf:

I think a paw print is legal in most states....lol.

I was once accused of leaving a "paw print" on my friends refrigerator door hence the nickname, The Paw. Since I am or used to be a big Jimi Hendrix fan, The Paw morphed into Pawdrix. Sometimes, Paw-Diddy.

Maybe I'll have my cat call your horse....they'll do lunch?

In the movie Seabisquit the title character did give out hoof-print autographs and I'd bet they're worth big bucks today so that might hold some legal water.

Message edited by author 2005-05-05 13:47:12.

lonewolf

Canon EOS-50D

05/05/2005 01:49:29 PM · #11

Maybe you could check with the people that held the event and see if they have a list of names of the people that were there. It might at least help you narrow the list down a little.

I think it would be a good idea to have a release from the owner/s. You know how people are with their pets.

I second that, I love you work.

C-Fox

Canon EOS-20D

Canon EF 70-200mm f/2.8L IS USM

05/05/2005 02:35:52 PM · #12

Great stuff, if I didn't have a job I love I would be trying to do what you do. Pet photography etc...

Pet's don't need model releases however there is where you are taking the picture ie, public or private property etc...

I know that in the San Diego zoo they restrict what can be done with pictures taken inside their facilites (they make money selling images of their animals so don't allow competition).

Pet shows and trade shows can put such restrictions on as well.

Peleng 8mm f/3.5 Fisheye MC In M42 Mount

05/05/2005 05:00:35 PM · #13

I absolutely love pet photography... and I have excellent customers too! I was going to contact some of my really good ones and offer them a free print for signing the model release, however, the ones from the events will be too hard to get ahold of. I do have the lists of names and contact information... however, my events consisted of aorund 50-150 dogs/cats. So it's hard to figure out who was who. I wanted them to sign-in in the order they sat... but somehow it's not in order.

Thanks for the compliments!!! And for the info! If anyone knows for sure about the law regarding model releases for domestic pet portraits taken at a store location or their home, then please let me know. I'm hoping that if I use the purebreed pictures, where the pet does not have any noticeable identifying mark, then I will not have a problem.

Matthew

Canon EOS-5D Mark II

05/06/2005 01:18:41 PM · #14

I don't think that a pet requires a model release, per se, as a model release is the agreement by a person to the use of their image. A pet has no such interest. Taking a photo of a dog in a pubic place should not give rise to any issues.

Where you have taken a portrait of a pet for an owner, how you may use the image will be determined by the agreeement between you and the owner. If the agreement is unwritten, or written but does not make any reference to your use of the image, there may still be an implied (or oral) term that determines what you can and cannot use the image for. Deciding what those terms are may not be without doubt. The safest course would be to ask the owner's permission. The less safe (but probably not risky) course is to use the images and rely on your ownership of the image where the matter is completely silent. Where there has been some discussion of the matter, the safe course is to abide by the terms of your discussion.

Of course, the risk would normally be limited: if you are making a commercial profit, the amount that someone could recover from you is the amount that you have made. There is a risk that there will be additional damages (eg is you use the image in a pet cruelty advertising campaign and the owner suffers as a consequence, somehow), but I think that the risk would be relatively small.

It would be sensible to have a set of standard terms available that specifically preserve your right to reuse images without restriction. Include them in every contract you agree by providing them with any quote (on the bottom, or back of the quote) when you agree prices etc. That should remove any element of doubt. Have a set available on your website and refer to them in the small print of your advertisments. They need not be very long.

If you are doing this for serious money, I would recommend consulting a US lawyer (I am not a US lawyer) and getting your standard terms drawn up for you.

Good luck!

Message edited by author 2005-05-06 13:21:48.

gwphoto

Canon EOS-1D Mark II

05/06/2005 01:34:14 PM · #15

I use to have, on my client order form, a model release that allowed me to use any and all photos for my studio promotion. I don't see why you couldn't use that idea (if your not already) and also include for stock also.

Matthew

Canon EOS-5D Mark II

Peleng 8mm f/3.5 Fisheye MC In M42 Mount

05/06/2005 03:46:09 PM · #16

As has been mentioned before, the terms on which you are allowed into, say, a dog show, may include a provision that prohibits commercial photography without a licence - you would need to get the appropriate permission in order to take commercial pics without being in breach of the terms of your entrance ticket.

If you go the route gwhoto has suggested, which is to use a model release form for pets regardless, that would be a form of permission that you would have obtained and should work.

However, in a commercial enterprise, you might want some standard terms anyway (eg dealing with payment, ownership, copies, delivery times, quality levels, refunds, limit on your liability, etc) in which you could include a general release. You would not have to always enforce them, but at least you would have a leg to stand on if Fluffy gets excited by the flash going off and falls from a stand and breaks a leg (or worse...!). Unlike Fluffy.

Node