Photographing Children

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18 Jul 2005
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135
Hi guys

I'm hoping you can help.

I have been asked to take some photos for a local martial arts club, the photos from this session will be used for the club calendar.

One of the group photos will include the childrens class.

What I'm not sure about is whether I should be having consent forms done, or should I leave that to the club themselves.

Any advice is greatly appreciated

Gareth
 
You don't need consent form to photograph children, so it is up to the club whether they want to bother.
 
Depends also if you want to do it on a regular basis (photography with children) as you can be certfied (CRB Check). Might be an idea to make sure any parents/guardians are informed. Better safe than sued!
 
Might need to check with the their parents if they mind having pictures taken. I was at a resort to take photos of various facility including a swimming pool and we had to ask everyone if they were happy to have their photos taken
 
I thought that if the photos were to be used for commercial purposes, in this case the calendar and probably their website, then consent would be needed.
 
I thought that if the photos were to be used for commercial purposes, in this case the calendar and probably their website, then consent would be needed.

ok, I didn't read that part.

You may need to, probably best anyway so you don't have some nagging parent.
 
If it's a private club, then it's up to the club to make all the necessary arrangements/seek the necessary permissions and release forms, if required.

It's also down to the club, presumably, as to what commercial opportunities or otherwise they will pursue with the resulting pictures.

Your contract is with the club (whether for money, or not, and whether it's a written or verbal contract), not with each of the childs parents.

Are you signing over the copyright of the photos once taken? If you are, then you don't need anything.

There may even be something in the clubs membership requirements/terms and conditions that cover this sort of thing, so check with them.
 
Depends also if you want to do it on a regular basis (photography with children) as you can be certfied (CRB Check). Might be an idea to make sure any parents/guardians are informed. Better safe than sued!

CRB checks have to be requested by employers and are only valid for the job they are requested for so pointless for this sort of situation. They are also only wanted if you will be spending time alone with a child, which is unlikely to be the case.
 
Thanks for the responses guys. As advised I will be discussing the issue with the club owner to see what he has in place.

Just in case I will have a series of consent forms on me.

As this can be a touchy subject and having read about some horror stories, you can understand the need for more informed advice.

Thanks again
 
You must have a written contract. I really can't stress this enough. It's unbelievable how many people do jobs without a contract in place. You may do hundreds of jobs without a problem, but it only takes one to go sour for things to get ugly.
 
With the club, what they want from the shoot, what you're providing, who's responsible for Model Release forms etc.
 
I'll agree with most people it's the clubs responsibility however you should show due diligence by making sure they've done it.

I work in education, and we ask every parent if they're happy for pictures of their children to be published. Most are fine with this, but there are a few who are not. In most situations it's because they're Mail/Express readers, however you can't assume this. We have a few students who have to keep a low profile because their are people they need to be protected from, it's usually the natural parents of children who are in care.
 
eh?

Because they are to be used in a calendar and sold? Why wouldn't you need a model release form?

Because he's not selling them/distributing them and so it isn't really his problem.

The OP hasn't even stated whether he's being paid for this.

If you go take pics on behalf of some club, give all the pics over to the club and the club then sells them in a calendar etc... or distributes them in some way then its the club's problem not the photographer's.
 
Because he's not selling them/distributing them and so it isn't really his problem.

The OP hasn't even stated whether he's being paid for this.

If you go take pics on behalf of some club, give all the pics over to the club and the club then sells them in a calendar etc... or distributes them in some way then its the club's problem not the photographer's.

This is certainly true.

Photographing children in itself is perfectly legal and requires no release model forms.
Even if you sell photos of children this doesn't need a model release, e.g. you could photograph a child and sell it to a newspaper under an Editorial license.

Model release forms are needed more for things like Royalty-free where other companies will commercially exploit the photograph and need to know they wont get sued by the arents fo some kid who appears on billboards across country.
 
I personally will not be distributing the photos and am not being paid for taking the photos.

The club will be using the photos for the calendar and possibly for their website. I am not aware if they plan to use these photos for additional advertising.

I am contacting the clubs owner today to ensure they have started capturing parental consent in preperation.
 
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