Photographic Media Consent Form: Fill & Download for Free

I sometimes do street photography for my fashion blog. My rule of thumb is to ask permission first. When I worked in magazines and TV, I even had to bring Media Consent Forms to be signed.If they're far away (a few stories above or below, or across the street) or there are many people bunched together, I ask with my face, smiling while pointing to my camera. I want to know they are comfortable being photographed rather than do guerrilla shooting. Good thing Filipinos love posing for the camera and gladly oblige most of the time.Even if it's within your rights to take the shot, you will have to respect people's wishes or risk getting into an altercation.

What country were you in when it happened and where were you when the photo was taken?In the US :No consent is required to take someones photo in an area where they have no expectation of privacy. If you are in a park or walking down the street or even at a party with other people(unless you are the owner/controlling party of the property and/or the owner/controlling party set rules in place barring photography prior to the event), you have no such expectation of privacy. Even if someone photographs you through an un-obscured window of your home, by the act of leaving your blinds/curtains open you may relinquished your “expectation of privacy”(though this varies somewhat by jurisdiction due to “peeping tom” laws).With regard to publishing the photo, generally speaking, no consent is required unless it is being published for commercial use. If a friend or even random stranger takes your photo in a public area and posts it to their social media simply showing you were at a particular place at a particular time, you really have no recourse. If someone takes a photo of you drinking a Coke, Coca-cola buys the image and subsequently posts the image to THEIR social media page(implied endorsement of a commercial nature) or uses it in an ad campaign without your permission that would be illegal(violation of likeness rights).Images published as art or for an editorial purpose are not considered “commercial”, even if the photographer is selling prints of the image. If the photographer sells the image to a commercial entity to be used for promotional material, they must have a signed model release for the people in the image if they are identifiable.

Because there are legal issues. In some cases posting someone’s photo without consent is illegal.You can post a photo of your buddy from your last road trip. He may get mad and ask you to take it down, but he probably won’t take you to court for monetary damages.If you’re a business, you have to be a little more careful - even if you own a business but post something on a personal page, this is worth a quick scan:ForbesSnapping PhotosWhile there are laws allowing the photographing and posting of photos of people in public, the rules change when the person taking the photos represents a business. It’s one thing for John Smith to snap a picture of a crowd and post it online. It’s quite another when a local business takes that picture and posts it online.This issue is especially tricky when the people in the photos are identifiable. If your picture features one person or a small group of people, the people in the photo could take exception to being used as part of your marketing campaign. Even if your photo is intended to be displayed once before moving down your feed, it could live on forever in an album on a sidebar or the photo collage featured at the top of an Instagram user’s profile page.For Commercial PurposesThe danger in using photos of individuals for your online marketing purposes is that your efforts could be seen as commercial. The rules when it comes to using photos for commercial purposes differ from when you’re merely sharing vacation photos with your buddies. Even if you aren’t directly making money off of the usage, a photo in a social media campaign can easily be seen as similar to using a photo in a print brochure or billboard ad. There are specific laws that apply to use of individual photos online, including:Fair Use—In some cases, fair use laws allow photos to be used when the situation warrants it. Fair use cases include news, product reviews, classroom use, and several other situations. The bottom line with fair use is that the court will be the final judge, and the final judge will look at the impact the use had on the original copyright-holder or the person depicted in the image. If your subject believes his likeness was used to sell a product without his permission, you may find yourself on the losing side of an argument in front of a judge.Reasonable Expectation of Privacy—If the person in your photograph felt he was having a private moment when you snap your picture, he may have an argument against your use of it. While this law generally states that if a person is in “public,” he wouldn’t have the same privacy as in his home or personal office, this doesn’t mean your business is “public.” Reasonable expectation of privacy serves to safeguard attendees at large events when they snap pictures of people in the crowds around them.Consent—Because the lines are so blurred, you should ask permission from each person whose photos you plan to upload. This includes photos that are snapped in a public place, including inside your business. If a person would be able to identify his or her face on your post, you should ask for consent as soon as the photo is snapped. For the best protection, ask the person to sign a consent form and tag the person when you post the photo. Chances are the person will want to share the photo online, as well, giving your business even greater exposure.