Do I need permission to post pictures of people I have photographed on my website?

[markbaiz]

I did a photo-shoot for some friends for free in a public place and was wondering if I could possibly post them on my website. It would only be used for my portfolio and not for advertisement.

 

[Buckster]

I did a photo-shoot for some friends for free in a public place and was wondering if I could possibly post them on my website. It would only be used for my portfolio and not for advertisement.

Unless you and your friends have a contract that says you cannot, then yes, you can post them.

When you shoot a photo, you instantly get the copyright for that photo, unless you have a contract with someone saying otherwise. You can post, print and show your photos wherever and however you like.

To use them commercially, you would need your friends to sign a model release, which you should always get when you're setting up a shoot anyway, even with friends.

 

[jwk123]

a little different topic, i own a business and some of our clients took a photo of themselves wearing a shirt of ours. I would like to post it on a social media site, but do i need permission prior to posting it even though they sent it to us?

 

[Patriot]

Hahahaha its a zombie thread...5 years and still going strong lol

 

[catzcandu]

Someone else wrote to Yahoo Answers the following:
The person who takes a photograph owns the copyright to it (with a few rare exceptions such as "work for hire") and can post it as he chooses. Unless the photograph was illegally taken - which means taken without the subjects consent in a place where the subject enjoyed a "reasonable expectation of privacy" then the subject has no say in how the photographer uses it.

Examples...
1) You are on the street when the picture is taken. You have no "reasonable expectation of privacy", and you have no control at all over the use of the photo.
2) You are at a private party, drunk, as is the photographer. He takes a picture of you doing something embarrassing in front of a bunch of your friends. You have no "reasonable expectation of privacy", and you have no control at all over the use of the photo.
3) You are having sex with a boyfriend, and he grabs his cellphone to take a picture of you 'in action'. You smile and give the camera a 'thumbs up' for the picture. You had a "reasonable expectation of privacy", but you consented to the photo, and you have no control at all over the use of the photo.
4) You are having sex with a boyfriend, and he grabs his cellphone to take a picture of you 'in action' while you are blindfolded, and don't know. You had a "reasonable expectation of privacy", and you did not consent to the photo, so he may not publish it without your consent.

Note that as a separate issue, if the photographer "commercially exploits your image" then you are entitled to be paid for it - but you cannot prevent the use. {and I say, this is why a professional signs a release, as they are releasing the rights to the venue to make money from the image of you and you are signing off any monetary claim to any extension of financial benefit beyond your "model fee"}

 

[robbins.photo]

Actually I would be very, very careful with this one and get some professional legal advice. In general you can use images without a modelling release if the person in the photo cannot be recognized by anyone, the photograph is not used for advertisement or is not being used for a commercial business purpose.

However there are some issues here, first it's pretty easy for most anyone to bring in someone who knows them and prove that they are recognizable, unless your talking about a silhouette of some sort. Advertisement can be very broadly defined and commercial business purpose does not necessarily mean your selling the photograph, it also includes using it on a commercial website if it's being used to "enhance" the commercial business, in this case selling your professional photographic services.

So in this case, I'd advise you to lawyer up first and get a pro to look this over.

 

[The_Traveler]

ZOMBIE THREAD

 

[KmH]

Yep, there's a lot of ways beyond seeing a person's face that can make a person can be 'recognizable'.

A scar, a unique hair cut or hair style, custom made clothes, a tattoo, a mole, and other things can make someone 'recognizable'.