The default is that nothing is published
Unless you say otherwise in writing, your photographs go to you and nowhere else. They do not appear on this website, on social media, in competitions, or in a printed portfolio. Silence is not permission, and nothing is assumed from the fact that you booked.
Permission is granted clause by clause
The model release lists specific uses separately: this website and portfolio, social media, print and exhibition, submission to publications. You tick only the ones you accept. Declining all of them is a normal choice, and it does not change your session, your images, or the price.
The release also lists nineteen terms covering copyright, editing, duration and more. Any of them can be struck out. If you exclude a clause it is marked as excluded in your signed copy, so the document reflects what you actually agreed rather than a standard form.
Anonymity means what it says
If you choose anonymity, images are never captioned with your name, never tagged, and never attributed to you anywhere they appear. You can also ask that only images where you are unrecognisable may be used, which is a separate choice from being unnamed.
You get your own copy of what you signed
The signed release is generated as a PDF at the time of signing and downloads to your device. You are not relying on being sent it later, and you do not have to ask for it.
Withdrawing permission
Write and say so. Future use of any specific image stops, and that is written into the release rather than being a favour. You do not need to explain why.
Here is the part that is not reassuring, and you should know it before you agree to anything: images already printed, published or distributed cannot be recalled. A magazine already on shelves stays on shelves. Something shared online may have been copied by someone else. This is true of every photographer, and it is exactly why the permissions are worth deciding carefully at the start rather than treating the release as paperwork.
How the files are handled
- Original files stay on local storage, not on public cloud services.
- Your gallery is private and shared only with you.
- Images published anywhere carry a discreet watermark and are reduced in size, so a copied file is not usable for print.
- Nothing is supplied to stock libraries or sold to third parties.
What you can ask for at any time
- A copy of your signed release.
- A list of anywhere a specific image has appeared.
- Removal of an image from future use.
- A change to your attribution or anonymity preference.
None of these are favours, and none require a reason.
Questions this doesn't answer? Ask before you book. Nothing is too small to ask.