Royalties and Model release

[nick francis]

I'm a little confused about these terms and how to go about obtaining them in preparation for the sale via an agency of images I have taken.
If I have an image depicting a building for example and there are people in the shot which are not neccessarily part of the subject would I need a model release from them?
If I have a shot of a racecar in an event would this also require some kind of permission to sell.

[Nick Grant]

There are a lot of variables involved in this, it depends what the photo is being used for. Most shots of a race car for example would be used as editorial to report on the event, you don't need permission from he driver or manufacturer to put these online or in a magazine or newspaper. You may need permission from the track owner to have shot them in the first place. If you were to use the same picture for an advert you would need permission from the driver and manufacturer as they would effectively be endorsing the product. Laws for other uses vary by region, the US want a model release for everything I regularly use models for UK car magazines and have never needed a release. Agencies will want to be able to sell your image on to the widest marketplace so if you have a release then it should cover most uses, not many people will sign an all encompassing release to include advertising without you handing over a big pile of cash though.

[tim-b]

Nick Grant said:

.....You may need permission from the track owner to have shot them in the first place......

OP, adding to what Nick said, If you read the small print on the back of a motorsport event ticket, it almost always tells you that the track (or sometimes series) own the rights of any images you take, as a condition of entry. You are still 'allowed' to take pictures, but for personal use only.

Whether or not this is always the case, or if it needs to be written on the ticket to be official, I don't know. Best bet if you want to be 100% sure is to contact the race track or event organisers for clarification, assuming it's an easily recognisable scene , at least you'll know if you can rule the motorsport ones out from that angle.

[MonkeyHanger]

tim-b said:

OP, adding to what Nick said, If you read the small print on the back of a motorsport event ticket, it almost always tells you that the track (or sometimes series) own the rights of any images you take, as a condition of entry. You are still 'allowed' to take pictures, but for personal use only.

Whether or not this is always the case, or if it needs to be written on the ticket to be official, I don't know. Best bet if you want to be 100% sure is to contact the race track or event organisers for clarification, assuming it's an easily recognisable scene , at least you'll know if you can rule the motorsport ones out from that angle.

That particular "rule" is remarkably flexible when it suits the Circuit Owners / Teams / Organisers etc

[RobDickinson]

Ignoring the racetrack owners/entrance conditions...

When I submit an image to getty with a lot of people in it (say liek this one http://www.gettyimages.co.nz/detail/photo/people-f... ) I'm asked to blur some faces out.

If the person is more identifiable (like this http://www.flickr.com/photos/zarphag/5993226236/ ) I'm asked for a model release.

As far as payment, tricky. If its a model shoot and TFP then your agreed either party can use as they wish. If you've actually paid a model for the shoot then you should be getting a release with no issues.