Preparing for a Stock Shoot

INFORMATION ON STOCK PHOTOGRAPHY PHOTO SHOOTS, FOR MODELS & BUSINESSES

MODELS AND PROPERTIES

Please make sure you wear clothing that’s as plain and new as possible. Solid colours are best, or generic patterns are also fine, but please avoid any large branding / logos wherever possible. It’s also helpful to have clean, new looking fabrics – nothing too tatty or grubby please (unless that’s a particular style like ripped jeans!)
We’re not able to use any images with branding showing, so it makes for a painful amount of retouching if we have to remove multiple clothing logos! Be aware of clothing logos, Nike, Adidas etc, or T shirts with printed messages.

If you’re a business, your own company logo is fine, we will remove that for our shots afterwards.
Also bear in mind that we’re not allowed to show tattoos without the tattoo artist’s permission (yes really!) so if you have heavy tattooing, please attempt to cover this with clothing where possible. If not we’ll have to ask your tattoo artist to sign one of the releases too. Unless you’ve contacted them in advance to check that they’re willing to do this, it’s safer to cover up.

If we’re going to be shooting outside, we may ask you to use hairspray to hold your style and avoid flyaway hairs blowing around, so if you prefer to bring your own, please do! If you have long hair, please bring hairbands in case it’s necessary. Ladies, please wear whatever make up you’re comfortable with, bearing in mind that flash photography sometimes brings an extra shine to your skin, so you may want to use a matt face powder to reduce this.

If we are shooting in your property, we need to be equally aware of visible branding and the intellectual property of others. This means artwork on walls, books, wine bottles, visible logos (vending machines, water bottles etc) all need to be out of shot. We will bear this in mind when composing each shot, but any work you can do in advance to rectify this will speed things up and mean we get more images out of the shoot.

SHOTS FOR YOU OR YOUR BUSINESS

When we work on stock shoots, we’re creating images for our photo libraries that we feel will have the best commercial value. Usually this means we take a very similar approach to how we would shoot for your business if it were a standard lifestyle commission.
If, however, you have a number of images in mind that you’re keen to create, please let us know in advance so that we can work these into our shot lists. Usually we offer to shoot around 5 company specific images as part of the shoot. If your wish list goes over and above this, we may need to make a small charge for this. We’ll always advise you in advance if this is the case.
If you’re providing staff, friends or models for the shoot, they are also welcome to make their own requests for personal shots – whether head shots for use on social media or commercial shots for their portfolios.

MODEL AND PROPERTY RELEASES

For every recognisable person or property that appears in a shot, a release form will need to be signed. This form is a legal document that shows you have given us your express permission to photograph you (or your property) and use the images for our own commercial use. We sell our work through libraries including (but not limited to) Shutterstock, Fotolia, Getty Images & Dreamstime.
You can view our full portfolio of work here: http://www.shutterstock.com/g/photographyfirm?rid=3391457

The information you’ll be asked to read and sign goes something like this:

For Consideration herein acknowledged as received, and by signing this release I hereby give the Photographer / Filmmaker and Assigns my permission to license the Content and to use the Content in any Media for any purpose (except pornographic or defamatory) which may include, among others, advertising, promotion, marketing and packaging for any product or service. I agree that the Content may be combined with other images, text, graphics, film, audio, audio-visual works; and may be cropped, altered or modified.

I acknowledge and agree that I have consented to publication of my ethnicity(ies) as indicated below, but understand that other ethnicities may be associated with me by the Photographer / Filmmaker and / or Assigns for descriptive purposes. I agree that I have no rights to the Content, and all rights to the Content belong to the Photographer / Filmmaker and Assigns. I acknowledge and agree that I have no further right to additional consideration or accounting, and that I will make no further claim for any reason to Photographer / Filmmaker and / or Assigns. I acknowledge and agree that this release is binding upon my heirs and assigns. I agree that this release is irrevocable, worldwide and perpetual, and will be governed by the laws (excluding the law of conflicts) of the country/state from the following list that is nearest to the address of the Model (or Parent*) given opposite: New York, Alberta, England, Australia and New Zealand.

It is agreed that my personal information will not be made publicly available but may only be used directly in relation to the licensing of the Content where necessary (e.g. to defend claims, protect rights or notify trade unions) and may be retained as long as necessary to fulfill this purpose, including by being shared with sub-licensees / assignees of the Photographer / Filmmaker and transferred to countries with differing data protection and privacy laws where it may be stored, accessed and used. I represent and warrant that I am at least 18 years of age and have the full legal capacity to execute this release.

Definitions: “ASSIGNS” means a person or any company to whom Photographer/Filmmaker has assigned or licensed rights under this release as well as the licensees of any such person or company. “CONSIDERATION” means $1 or something else of value I have received in exchange for the rights granted by me in this release. “CONTENT” means all photographs, film, audio, or other recording, still or moving, taken of me as part of the Shoot. “MEDIA” means all media including digital, electronic, print, television, film, radio and other media now known or to be invented. “MODEL” means me and includes my appearance, likeness and voice. “PARENT” means the parent and/or legal guardian of the Model. Parent and Model are referred to together as “I” and “me” in this release, as the context dictates. “PHOTOGRAPHER / FILMMAKER” means photographer, illustrator, filmmaker or cinematographer, or any other person or entity photographing or recording me. “SHOOT” means the photographic, film or recording session described in this form.

You’ll be asked to provide your name and address, ethnicity, age and a signature. A witness will also need to be present and provide their name and address.

AFTER THE SHOOT

All images from the shoot will be colour corrected, processed and supplied to you in high resolution. Images that we choose to retouch for use on our photo libraries will also be supplied to you fully retouched when completed. If you require any further retouching of images over and above our own selections, please contact us and we will advise you if there will be a cost for this.