Drone photography and videography are becoming big business, from real estate to special effects such as simulating views from aircraft or a bird’s eye. Aerial photography can be simply stunning and even abstract which makes for great photos. With money out there and more and more people getting into using drones for photography, legal questions arise over what you can Continue Reading
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Posts Tagged ‘Property’
Is it Legal to Fly a Drone over Private Property? Laws Explained
02
Oct
When Do You Need to Obtain a Model or Property Release?
07
Apr
The post When Do You Need to Obtain a Model or Property Release? appeared first on Digital Photography School. It was authored by Kevin Landwer-Johan.
Model and property releases are necessary when you want to use your photographs commercially. This also applies if you plan to upload your photos to a stock agency who will license them for commercial use. These rules apply only to photos that contain recognizable people or material which is copyrighted.
I have a model release for this photo so I can sell it commercially or on stock photography websites under a commercial license. © Kevin Landwer-Johan
If someone can recognize themselves in a photo, it needs a model release. Even if your photo of a person is a silhouette, it needs a model release for commercial use. Anything showing a company logo, branding, photograph or artwork needs to be accompanied by an appropriate property release if using it commercially.
Release requirements vary from country to country, even from state to state. You need to do due diligence to be sure. This article covers the broader issues of model and property releases and should not be considered in any way as legal advice.
What are model and property releases?
These documents are written, signed agreements between the photographer and the people or property in a photograph.
If you have a photograph of any group of recognizable people you want to upload to a stock photo website to sell commercially, every person in the photo must individually sign a model release.
This photo could be used commercially without a license because no one in the photo is recognizable. © Kevin Landwer-Johan
Photographs of things like cars, storefronts, and even some buttons require the signature of the copyright owner or a property release to use them commercially. There are also many other situations where property releases are required.
France’s famous Eiffel Tower does not require a property release during the day. However, if you photograph this iconic landmark at night, a release to use it commercially is necessary. The lighting design that illuminates the tower at night is subject to copyright. Many other public structures are subject to copyright laws, as are any privately owned buildings. So do your homework before you embark on a commercial photography job.
A property release would be required to use this image commercially. ©Kevin Landwer-Johan
How can you know if you need a Property Release?
Research is easy these days. Jump online and do a quick, specific search and you will find your answer. It’s best to do this early on in your planning because if a release is required, this will have a significant impact.
Many times you will not be granted a property release. I can’t imagine any company would even pay attention to requests for general releases of their intellectual property.
In some situations, you’ll need permission even to photograph. When you are on public property, in most countries, there are no restrictions on what you can photograph. Restrictions only come into play if you want to publish your photos.
Photographing on private property, and in some public spaces such as museums and galleries, you need to seek consent.
Err on the side of caution. Commercial use of photos containing physical or intellectual property without an appropriate release can be very expensive if you get sued.
This photo can be sold commercially because there is no visible branding on the jet-ski. © Kevin Landwer-Johan
Is it difficult to obtain a Model Release?
Sometimes yes, sometimes no.
When photographing friends, family or hired models, it can be quite easy to get them to sign a model release. Careful communication is essential, and it pays to obtain model releases before you start photographing.
I have model releases for the two recognizable people in this photo, so it can be sold commercially. © Kevin Landwer-Johan
Explain to the people you are going to photograph what you plan to do with the photos and ask if they have any objections. If not, have them sign a release form there and then.
Many people are happy to comply. You can offer them something in return for their services. Many times digital copies of their photos are sufficient. If I am working with models, I always require them to sign a model release prior to commencing the photography session.
Minors cannot sign a release form themselves. If you’re photographing anyone under the age of 18, you must have a parent or legal guardian sign the release for them.
It would be impossible to use this photo commercially because there are so many people and so much company branding in it. © Kevin Landwer-Johan
At times when photographing groups of people, I have had one or two who do not wish to sign a release. This is problematic as it limits the whole photo session. I have ended up excluding these people from most of the photos because potential use of them is very limited.
If you frequently photograph the same models, it’s best practice to have them sign a new release form each time you work with them. Having a signed model release that’s months or even a few days old can cause problems. Most stock photo agencies require releases for photos made on different days.
A witness also needs to sign the model release at the time the person you are photographing adds their signature. Improperly filled out release forms will be rejected.
© Kevin Landwer-Johan
Once I even had a model release rejected by a stock agency because the form was in the wrong language. I had photographed this young woman in Thailand and had her fill out my standard model release form. She is a French citizen living in France. Because the address she gave showed that she lives in Paris, the release form had to be in the French language. Thankfully I was able to email her a copy in French which she signed, had someone witness and sent it back.
Conclusion
Obtaining model and property releases may seem like a big hassle if you are not used to the process. It is a necessary part of being a professional photographer, or even a keen amateur who wants to license photos for commercial usage.
You must be well organized. You need to communicate clearly your intentions and that you require a model release before you begin photographing. Don’t be lax and wait until later – later may be too late.
Property releases are generally much more difficult to come by unless you own the property.
Be bold. If you don’t ask, you won’t get it. Be methodical. Build release acquisition into your workflow. Keep good records, even photograph the person holding their signed release form. Once you have gathered a few signed releases the whole process will seem less daunting.
The post When Do You Need to Obtain a Model or Property Release? appeared first on Digital Photography School. It was authored by Kevin Landwer-Johan.
How to Photograph a Real Estate Interior or Property
16
Mar
Are you or someone you know thinking of selling or renting out a property? Whether it’s a house, an apartment, a restaurant, or a hotel; the key to successfully marketing it is with captivatingly well exposed, and well-composed photographs. Here are a few tips on how to successfully photograph a clear, bright interior with visible exterior showing through the windows. Learn how to stack your bracketed photos so that your finished photographs show the outside and the inside of your rooms clearly and perfectly balanced.
The problem with interiors
Here is what it looks like when you expose for the inside or interior of a room.
This is what it looks like when you expose for the outside.
This is a big problem, right? You can very rarely get a well-balanced shot of the interior of a room without blowing out the windows. The trick is to take several bracketed exposures of each room and stack them, in order to get a clear, evenly exposed photograph.
Here is what you want your final photo to look like.
Equipment needed
This is what you will need to shoot interiors:
- DSLR with auto bracketing feature.
- Tripod – I like to use a tripod with a bubble level on the head to ensure straight horizontals.
- Wide-angle lens – Depending on your camera’s sensor, use the widest angle lens that you have available.
- Shutter release – Not essential, but quite useful to reduce camera movement (resulting in a blurry image) when pressing the shutter.
Quick and easy steps to achieve the perfectly exposed shot
Firstly, it’s recommended to do a little home staging of the rooms that you want to photograph. Having it clear of clutter and clean definitely makes for better photographs. You can arrange some flowers and some fruit bowls to warm up the interior space, and make it look inviting. Clearing the floors of clutter will also make the rooms look more spacious.
You don’t need to redecorate or go through a whole moving process, but definitely, a little planning beforehand will make your photographs look more professional. Sometimes just moving a few pieces of furniture around or putting things away in another room will suffice. Turn on all lights that you feel will give depth to the room and open all curtains and blinds. I always like to show the outside, but of course, if the view is not a very nice one, you may want to shut the blinds partly.
A wide-angle lens is best for this type of photography because you will want to get most of the room into your shot. I often find that shooting from corners of the room and getting three walls into my shot will help the viewer get a better feeling for the size of the room. Sometimes shooting from the doorway also works well if the room is very small.
You often have to squeeze and make yourself small to get behind your tripod. I sometimes find myself in some pretty strange positions in order to get the perfect shot. You may even develop some contortionist skills doing this type of photography. Move around the room to find the perfect angle that showcases the best features of the room. Also, try not to shoot directly at windows. Instead, if possible, try to shoot at an angle.
Setting up and shooting
You will want to set up your camera on a tripod and shoot at waist level, not eye level. The verticals need to be straight and by lowering your camera and shooting straight you will achieve a better-composed photo with a better angle. Look at the view from your camera and try to assure straight vertical lines when looking at cabinets or tall furniture.
Set your camera’s auto bracketing feature (AEB) to shoot several shots. Depending on the amount of light in each room, you will need to shoot between three to nine bracketed exposures at 1 to 1.5 stops between each. I prefer to use natural light as much as possible, so timing the photo shoots with the time of day is essential. Usually, the more light you have in a room, the more brackets you will need.
A shutter release will assure that the camera will not move during the bracketed shooting. You will want to shoot quickly and have the camera as steady as possible if you’re not using a shutter release.
Blending exposures
There are several different techniques to stack your photos in order to blend your bracketed exposures together. I personally use a stacking software called Photomatix Pro 5. I am satisfied with the results I can achieve with minimal adjustments and I enjoy the time-saving quality that it provides.
You can search for other HDR software and choose the one that best suits your needs and budget. You usually get a trial period or a trial version that includes watermarks. This will allow you to test with your own photos in order to see if you like it before you purchase it. Recent versions of the most popular photography software like Photoshop and Lightroom now have a HDR merge feature to perform HDR processing and tone-mapping.
Your photos are ready when you feel like the room is evenly exposed and you can see the outside view clearly through the windows.
Conclusion
Have fun experimenting with your photography and showing your friends and family what great, professional looking interior photographs you took of your property! They may even ask you to photograph their properties if ever the time comes when they are contemplating selling or renting.
Don’t hesitate to show me your photos in the comments section.
The post How to Photograph a Real Estate Interior or Property by Sandra Roussy appeared first on Digital Photography School.
UK Intellectual Property Office responds on ‘abolishion of copyright’ law
09
May
The UK Intellectual Property Office has issued a ‘myth-busting’ document about the effect on photographers of a newly-introduced law. The law includes new rules regulating the use of ‘orphan works’ – intellectual property whose copyright holder cannot be identified. This has led to concern that the changes will allow UK companies to use copyright material from anywhere in the world without the approval of the copyright holder.
News: Digital Photography Review (dpreview.com)
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