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Issue of Consent & the Correct Use of Pictures

  
As the publisher, it is your responsibility to ensure that you are using pictures correctly. Failure to do so could result in legal action against you or to the withdrawal of published literature. It is therefore essential that when you use stock photography, you are sourcing it correctly.

Stock photography showing people tends to be of 2 types, 'model released' & 'editorial'.

Model released stock tends to be shot using professional models who have been paid, but the defining factor is that the people shown have signed a model release form allowing their picture to be used in any context and in relation to any subject. Often this is sold on a royalty free basis.

Editorial photography is essentially photojournalism. It shows pictures of real people in specific contexts. The pictures have been taken with the knowledge & consent of the people shown but are not model released for use relating to any topic. When using the pictures you should be sensitive to the welfare of any people pictured by ensuring that your use of a picture is consistent with the context in which it was taken.

The majority of pictures in the Third Avenue library are 'editorial'. They are not sold on a royalty free basis but on a Licence to Use, which is subject to our Terms & Conditions. This applies to all our customers including those with a subscription to the library. If you use our pictures inappropriately, you will be breaking the Terms & Conditions and your Licence of Use will be invalid.

Here are some guidelines for the use of editorial stock photography.

  1. Do not make statements relating to a picture, which you do not know to be true.
  2. Do not attribute values to a picture, which are not suggested by the context and captioning.
  3. Be careful of using pictures to illustrate negative stories or issues of a sensitive nature. Issues of consent relating to young people or vulnerable groups are obviously more difficult and some topics just may not be suited to the use of stock photography.
  4. Be sensitive to the messages contained within the design of your publication. Large, single images may often increase the direct association of the picture to the text and are more likely to be regarded as specific rather than generic.


The following examples may help you understand these points more clearly.

This picture shows an elderly woman listening to a point being made at a meeting for housing association tenants.




Here we have used the picture in an inappropriate way by suggesting a situation that we cannot justify from the context given in the caption. This use is inappropriate to the subject of the picture.




Here we have gone one step further and printed statements which obviously relate to the woman and which we know are fictitious. A waiver suggesting that the example is fictional and that the picture has been posed by a model is not enough to justify the use of this image.




Here the picture has been used with a proper relevance to the context but in a negative manner that may well go against the beliefs of the woman pictured.
Also, the design accentuates the association of the woman pictured with a strong negative statement. You will need to make a decision on whether this use is appropriate or whether you would be better off to illustrate negative or controversial material differently.




All of the pictures in the library have been taken with the consent of those involved and in the knowledge that they will be published. It is your responsibility to treat the images with the respect that the people pictured in them deserve. You can call us at Third Avenue to ask for further advice but it may be that if you have serious concerns about using an image then you need to find alternative pictures or commission a shoot that you know will be usable for your project.





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