A Photo Release grants you or your business permission to use the likeness of another and helps protect you in case they change their mind down the road. Whether you need a photo for your website, a promotion for your small business, or for your multi-million dollar advertising campaign - having a signed release gives you the means to make it happen. When you have a Photo Release signed, it's yours to use.

You should probably have a Photo Release available whenever you're snapping someone's picture. It's your legal permission slip to use the photo for your own purposes. Maybe you're planning on creating stock photos, or maybe you're designing a new brochure. No matter what your reason, it's important to do things legally. Don't depend on someone's verbal consent, people can change their minds and if you need proof of the agreement you may be out your perfect shot. You need to make sure that whatever you capture is yours and you don't need to be a professional photographer to benefit from a paper trail. Having a Photo Release signed by everyone you photograph is smart and easy.

Other names for this document: Photography Release Form, Photo Consent Form