Hi! This is Zdenka Darula. I shoot stock since 2007. Today I have a very
important question. Very complex question to answer. When do you need
model release? When do you need property release to upload your photos and
videos to stock agencies.
There are two types of licenses to choose from when
you are uploading your photos and videos to agencies such as Shutterstock, Getty,
Adobe. Editorial use and commercial use. Editorial means, that your photos and
videos are used for news story and other non-commercial usage such as magazines,
features and books. Here you don't need a model release and you don't need a
property release. Commercial means when hands exchange money. That is wholesale,
retail and advertising to sell products or services. Some photos and videos will
require model release or properly release. What is model release? In the
simple words, if you take a picture of a person where is recognizable face or
features, you need to have a piece of paper sign which gives you permission to
publish those photos. In fact, if you take any photo of person and if you want to
put it on your own website, you should definitely have model release signed. I know
what I'm talking about, I've been around for a while and I know from my own
experience. If you are an exclusive Shutterstock contributor, then you can
use their model release but you don't have to. You can use your own as well as
long as it is acceptable to Shutterstock. So you should check your model release
with theirs to make sure you are not lacking any information. To make it
easier for you I actually posted a link to sample model release in the video
description below. If you take photos of recognizable places, buildings, paths and
automobiles, you will need a property release. And here it get very tricky
as when you need it and when not. So let's look at it a little bit
further. And since the list is very long, you might want to grab some coffee. I
actually grabbed that little help because there's no way I can memorize
all that. Here we go. If you take photos of just general
streets, cityscapes, you don't need a property release. But if you take photo
of a building which is the main subject of your photo in that city, then most
likely you will need a property release. If you take photos of just regular
houses and interiors, exteriors, you're good, no property release needed here. But
you will need a release signed if you take photos of distinctive homes or
parts of homes that are easily recognizable either by their design or
by the owner or private property that is recognizable as a landmark or business
and is the main focus of your photos or videos. You will need property release
for amusement parks, concert venues, famous landmarks and historic locations,
modern architecture, museum interiors, stadiums, zoo or private wildlife parks,
blueprints, graffiti, modern statues, recognizable animals such as race horses,
unique pets, certain zoo animals, but you don't need a release for unidentifiable
chimpanzee. You also need property release for scans or photographs of
artwork. Modern artwork including murals and sculptures located in public spaces.
If the art is not recognizable or blurred in a photo, you don't need a release.
Public transit system but if you take a photo of generic subway station or
generic stores and remove all signs, you don't need a release. Sheet music, studio
shots or exotic or uniquely identifiable animals. Tattoos. You need a property
release if tattoo is close up and the primary focus, or it shows celebrity or
is trademarked or copyrighted. For example logo or character and that's true. I
took a photo of a model which had tattoos on his arms. All the photos has
been rejected because I needed properly release of that tattoo. Unique or
custom-designed luxury boats with visible call letters, unique paint jobs or other
markings, unique custom-designed vehicles or airplanes, products like toys,
bottles and luxury furniture that is identifiable and it has identifiable
packaging which is the main focus of your image. And some products cannot be
in the photos at all, even if you remove the logos. Here is the list. Rubik's cube,
red cross, Cristina Lu Putin, red bottom shoots, Hershey's Kisses, Apple devices,
Lego and DUPLO building sets and figures, Crayola products, Luis Buton, Academy
Award or ask your statuettes, UPS uniforms because even without the logo
it's still recognizable by its brown color and currency. You can show only
less than 75% of currency in the photos and videos. Long list right? It's hard to
remember them all. I hope you get clarity when it comes to when you need model release
and property release. If this video was helpful please give it thumbs up and subscribe
to all future stock videos. Don't forget to hit that Bell notification button to
know what the video is up. If you have any questions or comments or simply want
to say hello or suggest the next topic which I should make a video about please
do so in the video comments section below.
You know I've read it all and I always respond. Thank you very much and I'll see
you in the next one... Cau... Ahoj...