Model release forms, a new one on me...

jamesoliverstone

jamesoliverstone

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Well, this certainly is a new one on me.

As some of you are probably aware, I spent a while living with remote tribes in Tanzania last year and travelled quite a distance in the bush meeting nomadic people. Well, I have been contacted by a few charities and NGO's asking me to either use my work, or commission me for more (which is obviously great.)

However one NGO (which I wont mention the name here) has had long talks with me about my work, and we were about to strike a deal when it all fell down on the fact that I didn't have model release forms for the tribes people.

Now ok, we know we have to use model release forms in all of our work, but I genuinely did not think I would need to get nomadic tribesman to sign them. After all:

a) they don't speak a word of english (or even swahili)
b) they wouldn't understand what they were being asked to do
c) they cant write
d) they are nomadic, they have no address and move all the time
e) there would be no way of proving that this person even signed it
f) whats the bloody point?

Now, I said to the person I was talking with that surely, you would have no idea if I was to just write out a bunch of forms with scribbles on them, after all how could you possibly check?

It just seems a little pointless to me, but apparently this is happening more and more (especially for African portraits). I don't know why myself...

This has also cropped up from a couple of the galleries that were interested in housing the upcoming exhibition :(

Any who, the moral of this story is that when I go back to Africa this year, I must now carry model release forms with me too and attempt to get people to sign them, even if they cant write, have no context to understand what they are for, and have no way of being able to identify that it was even them that signed them anyway...

Is it just me, or does this seem largely pointless?
 
Last edited:
jamesoliverstone said:
Well, this certainly is a new one on me.

As some of you are probably aware, I spent a while living with remote tribes in Tanzania last year and travelled quite a distance in the bush meeting nomadic people. Well, I have been contacted by a few charities and NGO's asking me to either use my work, or commission me for more (which is obviously great.)

However one NGO (which I wont mention the name here) has had long talks with me about my work, and we were about to strike a deal when it all fell down on the fact that I didn't have model release forms for the tribes people.

Now ok, we know we have to use model release forms in all of our work, but I genuinely did not think I would need to get nomadic tribesman to sign them. After all:

a) they don't speak a word of english (or even swahili)
b) they wouldn't understand what they were being asked to do
c) they cant write
d) they are nomadic, they have no address and move all the time
e) there would be no way of proving that this person even signed it
f) whats the bloody point?

Now, I said to the person I was talking with that surely, you would have no idea if I was to just write out a bunch of forms with scribbles on them, after all how could you possibly check?

It just seems a little pointless to me, but apparently this is happening more and more (especially for African portraits). I don't know why myself...

This has also cropped up from a couple of the galleries that were interested in housing the upcoming exhibition :(

Any who, the moral of this story is that when I go back to Africa this year, I must now carry model release forms with me too and attempt to get people to sign them, even if they cant write, have no context to understand what they are for, and have no way of being able to identify that it was even them that signed them anyway...

Is it just me, or does this seem largely pointless?
Click to expand...


I heard of a case where a woman was photographed in some remote tribal area and the image ended up in an ad for pantyhose I think it was, used in the packaging too. Couple of years later she is married and brought to America by some guy and she sees her picture and tells him. Lawyers come next and she gets a big settlement.

Not sure if the story is completely true, but could happen I suppose.
 
Do model releases still apply if you have taken the image from public property?
 
lensflair said:
I heard of a case where a woman was photographed in some remote tribal area and the image ended up in an ad for pantyhose I think it was, used in the packaging too. Couple of years later she is married and brought to America by some guy and she sees her picture and tells him. Lawyers come next and she gets a big settlement.

Not sure if the story is completely true, but could happen I suppose.
Click to expand...

It may be the story of Fayell Tall (Kenyan) sueing photographer Peter Beard
 
srichards said:
Do model releases still apply if you have taken the image from public property?
Click to expand...


You usually only need.a.release for commercial use. You can usually sell prints and sell to a magazine etc for editorial, but no advertising/promotion etc. Best to check for the type of work you do.
 
Just a thought seeing as these people will not take your work unless you have one of these signed.
There is going to be a big language barrier trying to get someone to sign these so my thoughts are do these tribes people all speak the same language, then do a little research and get something written down that they can read and know what they are signing etc.

Ah another thought though if they cannot write then they will more tha likely not be able to read either, unless one of the head tribes person can read and he can explain it to the models/tribes women.

Or is that a complete load of tosh I have just spouted??:shrug::lol:

spike
 
TBH I don't see it as any different from getting a model release from someone over here, if you want to sell images of them for commercial use you should do it with their permission. Where/how you live doesn't not change your rights.
 
Craikeybaby said:
TBH I don't see it as any different from getting a model release from someone over here, if you want to sell images of them for commercial use you should do it with their permission. Where/how you live doesn't not change your rights.
Click to expand...

I agree, and I have their permission given from them themselves and the tribal chief. the point is that their language is largely not written, its spoken. I guess I could have it translated twice (english > swahili > tribal dialect) but my argument is whats the point. they have given me permission in a way that they understand. If I give them a form to fill out it wont really be possible, like i said most cant even spell their own name, or have never even attempted to write it, so what kind of legal document would that be?

Cant see it ever standing up in court, which brings me back to what is the point?

Unless I am missing something glaringly obvious, I just don't get it.
 
I have just recieved an email from the person at the NGO, this makes far more practical sense. For those of you wanting to do this kind of photography, take heed. (luckily I have most of these kind of details).

"We recommend getting information such as names, age, tribal affiliation and status within the tribe, location and other pertinent information, such as
payment/donations to the individual(s) or tribal leader. And, if at all possible, a release form ( requested recently by the UN in order to facilitate an exhibition)."
 
A model release has no legal status, but does give publishers a degree of reassurance and commercial protection. But unless you unfairly exploit someone's image or misrepresent them, then a) you shouldn't need one, and b) they can be overturned even if you do.

However, the bottom line is that in these days of global multimedia the chances of someone seeing their picture and claiming money, however spuriously, is much higher than it used to be and people know there's money to be made. And from a publisher's point of view, it costs a fair amount of money just to get legal advice and to send a solicitor's letter telling them to b****r off, so everyone is super-cautious. It does sound a bit daft in this situation.

How about getting a blanket release from the tribal chief? Is that possible? Explain everything once, get it signed or authorised in some identifiable way, perhaps with individuals making their own marks?

You can do this retrospectively, include thumbnails of all the images you want to use. From a legal perspective, a 'consideration' is regarded as quite a strong safeguard, even if not ultimately binding - ie, give them some money or goods in exchange. That just makes it a bit more of a 'deal' and both parties have got something substantive out of it.

The Fayel Tall/Peter Beard case is a good example, but it only takes two seconds on google to see why that one went wrong. Quite simply, she was unfairly exploited and Beard got found out :nono:
 
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