Street scene model releases

[Bystander]

If you do street photography, how do you handle model releases? Very often it is difficult to get a release from someone in a street shot. If you don't have a release, can the photo be used for anything except "editorial" purposes? So much great photography has been taken in the street -- I wonder if Henri Cartier-Bresson had releases for his street photos (of course many of them did not feature recognizable people..)

[Nir]

laws are obviously different in different places but where i shoot, anyone in public is fair game unless the shot can cause them embarrassment.

[Chase]

And are there any good basic and generic forms online as model releases....i wouldnt mind keeping a few of those in my camera bag.

[Andy]

even in public, you cannot use my likeness for commercial gain - say, to advertise a product.. *but* if you catch me in the street, and you put me in a book of fine art shots on street photography, and the book has an "educational" twist to it, well you can use the image without a release.

as always, ymmv and you should consult an attorney on such matters. there are lots of great resources on the 'net on this, google is your friend here, too...

legalities of street photography (http://www.photo.net/bboard/q-and-a-fetch-msg?msg_id=002kze)

more here (http://www.photogs.com/bwworld/bwfaqst.html)

dan heller's site is good (http://www.danheller.com/model-release.html)

some interesting things are copyrighted.... (http://www.stockindustry.org/resources/specialreleases.html)

[Andy]

And are there any good basic and generic forms online as model releases....i wouldnt mind keeping a few of those in my camera bag.


here's one (http://members.aol.com/garyc38047/modelrelease.html)

[Bystander]

Thanks for your helpful replys. Andy thanks for suggesting that I post my question here. I belong to a stock photo site that is very conservative re: street photos -- what I've read here so far is liberating -- Thanks again.

[wxwax]

Hey Andy, the second link doesn't work anymore. Is the article still alive somewhere? I want to Hall this thread, wouldn't mind capturing whatever that link had.