Iron Flatline Posted August 15, 2007 Share #1 Posted August 15, 2007 Advertisement (gone after registration) Hi all. I was going to contribute a series of images to the LFI Gallery. I have no beef with their copyright wordings, I've read all that and believe I understand it. What has given me pause is that I don't have model releases. However, my work is "street photography" and as such falls within a journalistic purview... I think. So what to do? Kerstin from LFI, maybe you could give us some guidance on that. I hope you can figure something out, because otherwise it might mean nothing but landscapes, architecture and animal shots in the Gallery - and that would mean missing out on some brilliant work being published elsewhere all the time (blogs, Flickr, etc.) Link to post Share on other sites More sharing options...
Advertisement Posted August 15, 2007 Posted August 15, 2007 Hi Iron Flatline, Take a look here LFI Gallery - Model Releases??. I'm sure you'll find what you were looking for!
dhsimmonds Posted August 16, 2007 Share #2 Posted August 16, 2007 I agree, it is also holding me back too! The problem is that the laws are so different from country to country. Here in the UK if the photograph is taken from/in a public place and is in every way decent and not of a vulnerable person (child, disabled, infirm etc) then it is OK. However viewed in another country it may not and anyway, I am certainly unable to comply with LFI's "release form" requirements. Link to post Share on other sites More sharing options...
bobtodrick Posted August 16, 2007 Share #3 Posted August 16, 2007 Canada is much the same. As long as the image is for editorial (in otherwords no advertising, etc) use and the person is not cast in an unfavorable way, you are pretty safe using it. In numerous exhibitions here and in the U.S. I've never had a problem...but the last year or two there has definitely been an increase in gallery owners who are hesitant to show work without a release, no matter what the law. Link to post Share on other sites More sharing options...
Iron Flatline Posted August 20, 2007 Author Share #4 Posted August 20, 2007 BUMP. I PMd the person from LFI Gallery on Friday, but no answer thus far. Link to post Share on other sites More sharing options...
wattsy Posted August 22, 2007 Share #5 Posted August 22, 2007 Here in the UK if the photograph is taken from/in a public place and is in every way decent and not of a vulnerable person (child, disabled, infirm etc) then it is OK. The UK is much like the US in this matter (which is not surprising given the nature of the legal systems of both countries). In the UK there is no need to make any distinction between decent and indecent nor does the law treat the "vulnerable" any differently. As long as the image is used for editorial purposes and the image is not being used to suggest something untrue about a person (vulnerable or not), there is no requirement for a model release. Non-editorial usage is obviously different and any self-respecting photographer will ensure that recognisable subjects have model releases. I'm not entirely sure how the above rules of thumb apply to the LFI gallery but it would be difficult to view images in the gallery as anything other than editorial usage (at least by UK and US standards). The images are not being used to directly advertise a commercial service or product nor are prints being sold (though this latter usage is usually treated as editorial). However, LFI are entitled to have their own rules for their own gallery and, being globally viewable, LFI are no doubt proceeding with some caution. Link to post Share on other sites More sharing options...
Iron Flatline Posted August 29, 2007 Author Share #6 Posted August 29, 2007 Hi all. I had some correspondence with LFI, and I understand what they're trying to accomplish - which is simply shift the responsibility from them to the original photographer. This makes a lot of sense. Wattsy summarized it pretty nicely. Simply put they don't want to get sued, they just want to display the images. Kerstin said: About the model releases – in general, for publishing in LFI Gallery one has just the same legal restrictions as anywhere else. The rules of use only serve to safeguard us from any claims (i. e. from models) and shift the responsability to the photographer as we can’t know whether a person has been asked or not. It does not mean we would sue anyone - although if we would get some racist or whatever stuff we would not remain silent, of course. It is a good question that gave us the idea to create a „legal“ page where anyone who is interested can get informed about such questions. This makes plenty of sense to me, and I am perfectly happy with their response. I am going to upload some of my shots to the LFI Gallery. See you there. Link to post Share on other sites More sharing options...
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