In today’s creative heavy social media world, businesses, creators, and brands rely on photos and videos to sell the narrative. Whether you’re a photographer shooting a campaign, a brand hosting a photo shoot, or a creator including friends in your content, consider using an image release.
Image releases - they are not just for paid talent or celebrities!
At its core, an image release is a simple agreement - it can be one page or less. But it plays a critical role in safeguarding your ability to use the photos, videos, or likenesses of others without unexpected legal challenges.
Whenever you take a photo or video of someone—or use their name, image, or likeness in your work—they retain legal rights over how that image or likeness is used in commercial purposes (e.g., to make money like in a marketing or advertising campaign). They own that "personal IP" and the rights surrounding it. Without their explicit consent if you are using their personal IP in commercial content (like an Instagram Reel that is meant for advertising versus your personal photos), they could later claim that your use violates their rights to their personal IP.
Note that some states like California have meaty laws around using images of celebrities for commercial purposes. If you're not mindful, you can incur significant penalties. This article will focus on customary image releases.
Who Needs an Image Release?
Anyone using images, video, or likenesses of others for commercial purposes (typically marketing and advertising) should have participants sign an image release. Common example uses for a straightforward image release include:
- Photographers: Commercial shoots, weddings, or other paid gigs.
- Consumer Brands: Marketing campaigns featuring models or customers.
- Creators: When other people appear in your content, especially sponsored content.
- Videographers: For video content, including testimonials or advertisements.
- Brand and Studio Agencies: Coordinating shoots for multiple clients.
- Web Designers: Using images of people in mockups or live sites.
Key Components of an Image Release
A well-drafted image release includes a few key elements:
- Rights to Use the Image
The release should clearly state how you intend to use the images or videos. For businesses, this usually means broad usage rights—so you can use the content for marketing, advertising, social media, and beyond. You can also limit usage to specific purposes, like a single project or event, but broader rights provide more flexibility in the future.
- Term
Most image releases grant rights in perpetuity. This means there’s no expiration date, allowing you to use the content whenever you need it—whether that’s next week or five years from now. However, some paid talent may negotiate that the usage is limited for a specific period of time, say the next 6 to 12 months. You should be careful about terms, because it may require you to take certain content off of your digital channels - hence why we prefer perptual terms.
- Scope
A proper release will also specify the geographic scope of the rights. For most businesses today, this means global rights to account for digital and social media usage that spans the world. However, more sophisticated talent may request limitations, such as regional or platform-specific usage (e.g., Instagram or your website only).
- Release of Claims
A critical component of any image release is a legal release. This ensures the person signing cannot sue the photographer, creator, or business for how the image is used (as long as it’s within the agreed terms). You may be editing, modifying or creating derivatives of the image. You want to maintain as much creative control over the final product as possible.
- Payment
If you hire models or talent, you may need to pay that individual for the image release rights. If you are paying for the rights, make sure that your release covers all of the points described above. We would suggest using one of Counsel Club's forms, specifically designed for paid talent.
A Note on AI-Generated Images
As technology evolves, image releases are becoming increasingly important in scenarios involving AI-generated content. While current law states that AI-generated images are not copyrightable (meaning no one owns the copyright in the image), this area is rapidly evolving. Businesses and creators should stay vigilant about changes in the law that may impact the rights or usage of AI images. Including language in your release to address potential AI use is a smart, forward-thinking move. One area of the law we are monitoring closely is whether there will be any limitations for feeding "personal IP" into an AI generator. Right now the law is unsettled, so we would suggest using a broad release that does not limit usage rights in this manner.
Check out the Counsel Club form image releases!
