Wondering if head shots taken on a public street with the permission of the subject,but did not obtain a model realease can be legaly displayed in a gallery with a price on the photo? There is nothing of an embarring nature in these photos.Any info would be appreciated Dave S.

-- david small (dsmall9917@aol.com), August 13, 1998

Answers

With the usual qualifications (I'm not a lawyer, different countries have different laws, etc), sure, what would be the problem? I can't think of any law you might be breaking. Of course, the gallery might not accept the photos without a release, but that is a different question.

-- Alan Gibson (gibson.al@mail.dec.com), August 14, 1998.

It's my understanding that if you use a photo for commercial purposes, such as advertising that you need a release. I'm not sure if selling the picture as are counts as commercial. Anyway look here --> http://www.neosoft.com/~jjsims/model/model_releases.htm <-- for more infomation then you ever wanted to see on model releases.

-- rob dalrymple (robd13@erols.com), August 19, 1998.

street legal

As I understand it you would need a model release in order to make any profits from the shot or risk being taken to court. In a recent court battle in Montreal a newspaper was succesfully sued for running an unauthorized photograph of a young woman involved in the story who was then harrassed by her schoolmates because of the shot. I have also heard that a company sued a photographer because their establishment was recognizable in one of his published cityscapes. I'm not sure of the details but I think it may have shown that part of town in an unflattering way. So things are changing rapidly and you should check your local laws and be wary of retroactive prosecution.

-- Andy Laycock (agl@intergate.bc.ca), August 19, 1998.

I have been advised that merely putting a photograph up for sale, or selling it to another individual, would not generally be considered "commercial usage" and for this reason (at least in the United States)lack of a model release would not pose a problem.

-- Bill Osterman (boster33@aol.com), September 04, 1998.