When should you use a photo release?

If you are going to use a photo of a person in which the face is clearly recognizable, the University's Attorneys' Office advises that you get a photo release signed by the individual, or by the guardian if the person is under 18 years of age. If possible, try to indicate how the photo will be used, i.e., in a department newsletter, in a college publication, on a web site, or word the release to indicate various ways the photo could be used. It is especially important to get a written photo release if you plan to use photos of UA students, minors, or non-employees, but it is a good practice even for photos of University employees.

It is the responsibility of the department or county which takes the photo or uses the photo in print or on the web to keep the photo release documentation. It is not stored in a central College or campus location.

These are examples of photos where individual faces are not clear.
These are photos showing the face of at least one person. It is advisable to get release forms for such photos, particularly if they are photos of students, minors, or non-employees.

These are copies of the release forms, recommended by the UA Attorneys' Office:

As a Word document

As a WordPerfect document

As an HTML document

Why use photo releases?

Perhaps more as a matter of community courtesy than of law, we should extend to our coworkers, volunteers and community contacts the opportunity of knowing in advance where their image will likely appear. This is even more important now, due to the potential for repeated use of stock photos for other purposes, and because of the possibility of distribution of a particular photo on the web, with wider distribution than the individual subject would have imagined. Web photos, unlike photos in printed documents, can be downloaded and more easily reused by third parties. It is best practice, therefore, that any identifiable use of an individual photo through institutional publications or promotional efforts include use of a signed written release. These releases should be kept on file in a central office location. When in doubt, the best rule of thumb is to seek consent before using a photo of a readily identifiable individual.