P#9 Q2B: Do I Need Written Permission to Publish My Travel Photographs?

Travel Photographs: To Release or Not To Release

Brenda Tharp: If I'm doing candids, I generally don't worry about getting releases.

I say "generally" because there are always exceptions to that rule. Most of my candid moments are really more of a documentary style.

It's like National Geographic capturing the moment when the guy is putting the sheep in the truck. It's that kind of action. That type of photograph is not going to generally be used for advertising or for corporate brochures, or anything else that a release is required for.

You are able to publish that image in magazines, in newspapers. You are able to publish it on your own website. You can even have pictures in exhibits and sell them and put them in books.

All of that really can happen without releases. Some magazines that are corporate sponsored may want releases to protect themselves. Generally though, the public consumer magazines do not require releases for storytelling and informational pictures.

We have to remember that sometimes it's too complicated to try to get a release. You might have six people in your photograph in that candid moment. By the time you've made the picture, two of them have walked off before you can even get to group to approach them about a release. I don't worry about those kinds of pictures.

On the other hand, if I have photographed someone in a portrait and I have actually asked that subject to pose for me, I ask them for their permission. They're directly looking at the camera and I've spent a little time with them. It's important to have a release in these situations.

Oftentimes, a travel brochure that advertises going to Jamaica, for example, will use headshots, happy faces of the local people. That is advertising use. I want to make sure that I've got pictures that are usable for advertising if they're portraits, and for that to happen I need a release.

You have to know ahead of time whether the picture has any advertising or commercial potential. If you think it does, then you should try to get a release.

I just recently had a really neat shot that I did that was a candid moment. One of the stock agencies that represents my work said, "We love this, but without a release, we have to market "not released." It probably won't do as well for you."

I'm saddened by the fact that I don't have a release for it but it wasn't a situation where I could get one easily. I just have to accept that that's the case.

In conclusion

So should you get releases for your travel pics?

The answer depends on what you plan on doing with your travel photographs. Unless you're going to be using your travel photographs for commercial purposes, releases probably aren't going to be an issue. If, however, you plan on selling your travel photographs for advertising or to corporations and companies like travel agencies, it's better to be safe than sorry and a model release is definitely in order.