Is a Model Release Necessary when Shooting Photos at a Sporting Event?
Saturday, May 10, 2008 @ 00:46
Let us say you are attending that championship basketball game in your home town and you decide to bring your camera along. Assuming cameras are allowed at the event, and you shoot some really great photos, do you need the permission of all the athletes involved to display those photos on your website? What if you decide to sell them to the local newspaper - do the athletes need to approve?
Well, the short answer is that you need no special permissions to use these photos as long as that use does not involve the endorsement of a product or service. If the photos are being used strictly as news / editorial material and they were taken at a public sporting event then the athletes do not have to approve them being displayed on your website or being sold to the newspaper for use as editorial copy material.
But, if you are planning to use the photos in any type of advertising medium, such as a personal endorsement of a product or service, then the photos move out of the realm of editorial copy and into the arena of sales and marketing material. In such a case, the athlete whose image is being used has a right to be compensated. He also has the right to refuse to be associated with whatever product or service the photo would appear to be endorsing.
Additionally, even if the photos are shot at a public event to be used in a news / editorial manner, make sure that the photos are not taken in an area where the athlete would have a normal expectation of privacy. For example, while taking a photo of a hockey player on the ice against the competing team is perfectly fine; do not try to take his picture while he is standing in a quiet corner of the men's room talking on his cell phone. While in that men's restroom, he has a right to expect his privacy. On the ice he does not.
Just remember that just because the law is on your side does not mean you will not get sued. Whether you win or lose in such a law suit, the bottom line is you will have to pay to defend yourself in the event of one. So take some proactive measures to prevent law suits and no measure is more likely to be successful than treating everyone you deal with, in your role as a photographer, with respect and courtesy. That single strategy alone will give you more success and recognition as a true professional than any other single thing you can do. It is one of the cheapest strategies you can use as well; at least, far cheaper than hiring a lawyer to defend you out after you have already been served proceedings.
