PHOTOGRAPHS USED FOR ADVERTISING AND PROMOTION:

Members of the US armed forces have all the rights of privacy as civilians and they do not forego those rights while in uniform. That means that, without a valid and signed consent form (often called a "model-release"), an advertiser using a recognizable individual's image for promotion risks legal action for invasion of privacy.

MILITARY STOCK PHOTOGRAPHY's coverage includes thousands of images of people in uniform, some covered by model-releases, others without.

A "model release" is a formal, legal, document that provides permission from a recognizable person in a photograph to publish that image. Such releases are generally considered manditory for any use which might be considered "promotional" or advertising. Most photographers and publishers don't require them for strictly "editorial" or "educational" applications -- stories in newspapers, magazines, book illustrations — but others request them anyway just to prevent what people in the military call "heartburn" later on.

If you wish to use any photograph from MILITARY STOCK PHOTOGRAPHY, it is your responsibility to insure that uses that need a release have one. The catalogs generally show images for which releases have been obtained, but it is the client's responsibility to verify the existance of an appropriate release -- and our Terms and Conditions clearly state that, unless so specified on a delivery memo or usage license, clients should assume no release exists.

Getting a model release typically requires a cash payment to the subject and considerable extra effort, as well as legal exposure. For these reasons, Military Stock Photography along with others in the stock photo industry, charges extra for released images.

Graphics professionals are invited to call anytime: (408) 293-8131.