While it is good to be careful before signing a model release, it is important to know that it is possible to be too careful. You should work with photographers who have a good reputation in the modeling industry – rather than overly concern yourself with being screwed by signing a model release.

A good photographer will usually have a model release that is written in his favor. But, can you blame him? Your photographer has likely been screwed over by a previous model who he dedicated hours photographing. This is why photographers are very diligent in getting you to sign a model release. The photographer needs to know he will be able to use the photographs from your photo shoot. So, he needs a firm agreement from you – so his time does not get wasted. Just understand what you are agreeing to.

Sign Before the Photo Shoot

Sign before the shoot. You should agree to all terms of the photo shoot and how the photos will be used before you arrive for your shoot. Giving a photographer trouble in signing a model release on the day of the photo shoot is a sure fire way to not be invited back when that photographer later has an awesome modeling job available… he will give the next modeling job to a guy who did not give him trouble after an exhausting photo shoot.

Releases May Need Minor Changes

Don’t be afraid to ask for changes or to clarify a part of the model release that is confusing. You should ask about parts of model releases you do not understand. Ask without sounding like you are accusing the photographer of being sneaky. Rather than bringing up issues that falsely accuse a professional photographer, you should be able to speak with other models the photographer has worked with. A good photographer will tend to have successful long-term business relationships with models he has photographed.

Clearly handwrite any very specific sentence that makes a point in the release clearer – provided the photographer agrees to your addition or change. Be very specific and detailed when adding a sentence to a model release. It is okay to write changes by hand. Clarifications and additions do not need to be typewritten. An agreement is an agreement whether typewritten or handwritten.

Many photographers say you should sign their release because it is “standard.” A model release is a contact. There are no standard contracts. You will never be able to go to court and say “Well, he said the release was standard.”

Where Might Your Photos be Published?

Model release forms should specify where the photos can be published.  If a model release includes a sentence that mentions the model waiving all rights, you will never be able to complain if your image appears in a place that you do not like.

How Long Can Your Photos Be Used?

The model release should specify how long your image can be published. Many model releases state your photos can be published forever. This means when you are 47 years old, the photos can still be used. However, sometimes you need to ask that a time limit be set.

You can Copyright the photos and video you create.

1. Place your work on diskette or CD. Make sure your name and date is on the information you created.
2. You can either place it in a sealed envelope and mail it to yourself or take it to a public notary.
3. Place it in a sealed envelope or box and mail it to yourself. Mark the box oe envelope with the words “COPYRIGHT, DO NOT OPEN” so that you or someone will not accidentally open it.

Remember…

1. Never open the envelope when you receive it.
2. The postmark of the envelope or the date of the stamp is the copyright date. Ask the counter person at the Post Office to stamp it several times to that the date is visible.
3. Protect the envelope or package from wear and keep it in a safe place.

Information on copyright forms are available at www.copyright.gov/forms/

This scam is very prevalent in the adult and fetish industry, but it can be used in other industries as well. The general scam consists of the photographer convincing the model that he will build her website in exchange for modeling – I like to call this Time for Web Services (TFWS).

The conversation goes something like this:

Photographer: Wow! You’re a natural at this. Do you have your own website?
Model: No. But my friend’s brother’s girlfriend designs websites and she said she’d build me one when she gets around to it.
Photographer: You could make some real money if you had a website. How about if we trade? You model for me and I’ll build you a website.
Model: Great!
Photographer: Sweet! Let’s get started now. Take off you clothes while I go get the donkey from the barn.

Okay, so that may have been a little exaggerated. But you get the idea.

Now this portion of the scam fluctuates a bit, but for the most part what happens is the model doesn’t sign a model release and the photographer uses the photos on his website where members pay to see her photos – therefore, the model doesn’t know the photos are on the site because they are in a password protected area.

Usually the photographer will stall the development of the model’s website, telling her that he needs more photos to help fill up the sites gallery – therefore, making the model work with him more.

As time progresses the photographer will pacify the model by showing her some of his finished work on her website; perhaps registering a website name for her (another scam to watch out for) and then showing her that her website – although not close to complete – is live and on the Internet.

The photographer will stall and stall until the bad blood between the photographer and model will become so bad that she decides to not work with him anymore and ultimately stops calling him. This is exactly what the photographer needs, so he continues to use photos of her on his website, which he shot for free, and the model has nothing for her hard work.

Now, I’m not at all saying that a mutually beneficial relationship between a photographer/website developer and a mode cannot happen. On the contrary, I’ve worked with several models, and went on to build and managed their website in exchange for them modeling for me. This is something that can work perfectly for everyone involved… but you have to be careful.

Since most of you shoot video for the purpose of creating video streams, it is a major misconception that you should only be shooting about 30 seconds of video per scene. That’s enough for a stream, right? No. When shooting video, shoot with the thought that you’re doing it to SELL it. Get as much quality footage as possible. If you’re hiring a model for 4-hours and photographing her in 6 different positions, then you should be shooting video of her in those 6 positions and getting at least 7-10 minutes of video per position. This way you have enough footage for streams AND (hopefully) scenes for a video to sell.

Here’s a few tips for creating better quality video.

CAMCORDER – Buy a good quality digital camcorder so that you don’t have to buy another for a few years. Also consider a wide angle lens, an extra general capacity battery, one extended battery, and a boom microphone for around. Blank miniDV tapes will run you around $4 – $5.

Just FYI… I’m a big fan of Canon camcorders. Excellent quality and very user friendly. If you’re not a Canon fan, the only other brand I would recommend is Sony.

EDUCATE – Learn Your Camcorder Like the Back of Your Hand – The best videographers know every function of their camcorder and could operate it with their eyes shut. Having good knowledge of your camcorder’s features and functions is a necessary element of making better videos. The most obvious need for this knowledge is to allow you to always have your eye in the viewfinder or on the LCD screen, not looking away at the controls to zoom, focus, or make other corrections. More than just knowing where each control is, you should learn all the how image settings like white balance, exposure, and backlight affect the image.

STABILITY – Get a good Tripod, and Use It. This is most drastic improvement you can make. Your camcorder may have built-in image stabilization, but it can only compensate for so much motion. One of the best ways to improve the appearance of your videos is to get a quality tripod. While some camcorders come with tripods, very cheap or giveaway tripods tend not to provide a very good shooting base. $100-200 is the starting range for tripods that will be sturdy and offer smooth movements. Be sure to get a tripod with a head specifically designed for video – called a fluid head. If you are shooting a situation from a single position for longer than 2 minutes at a time, you should be using a tripod. Unless you are trying to achieve a certain effect, shots taken from a tripod are MUCH better than handheld shots.

Cheap tripods are just that… cheap! Personally, I’ve gone through more tripods than I can remember. Before buy my most recent tripod, I used to buy the $30 deals from Wal-Mart. Decent, but cheesy. Then I found a $100 tripod at Ritz Camera. That one lasted a bit over a year before the head literally fell apart. My current tripod is a Manfrotto (Bogen) with a Manfrotti 3130 video head. It has auto leveling and a bunch of other bells and whistles. The cost was a bit over $300. You can find a similar setup on eBay for less. Although the price was pretty high compared to cheap tripods, I will more than likely be buried with this setup!

ZOOM – Zooming in and out while shooting the same subject is also a MAJOR sin in videotaping. Not only does it place the video on the low end of the quality scale, but it gives everyone viewing the tape a headache. One of the few times when zooming in and out on the same shot is acceptable is when taping a wedding, speech or a play where continuous audio is necessary. If you must zoom both in and out in that instance, do it *very* infrequently.

CREATING MOTION – Another common shooting mistake is “creating”motion. Since we are using a video camera, it is easy to shoot with the thought that you have to move the camcorder in order to capture “everything”. On the contrary, the general rule in videotaping is to “record motion”, don’t “create it.”

Creating motion can be described as camera movement that is not germane to the subject. This includes excessive panning and zooming. An example of this would be walking while videotaping. This technique should be reserved for the pros as it is next to impossible for an amateur to make it smooth and keep the subject in proper composition. Pros usually use thousands of dollars of additional equipment to make this possible.

PANNING – Panning from one person to another without any reason other than to “include everyone in the video” is also a very bad idea. Before you pan have a starting and an ending point in mind. While you are panning, think of panning slow, then actually pan slower than what you thought would be correct. It is perfectly acceptable pan the camcorder to follow action such as a runner in a soccer or football game. This is an example of “recording motion” and not “creating” it.

Take a shot of something and leave it there for 20-30 seconds, stop the recording and take another shot. Don’t quickly pan the camera from one subject to another. When panning and zooming, use slow, smooth, and deliberate motions. This will make your videos much more watchable

ANGLES – Change angles frequently to give the viewer different viewpoints. Limit telephoto shots. In other words, make sure you’ve shot in wide angle before or after you telephoto shots to give the viewer an idea of what they are looking at. A wide shot of your entire kitchen or living room does nothing to display the content that your view is really trying to see… your model! Try and concentrate on what is happening in the scene.

LIGHTING – A lot of image quality problems can be solved by employing some simple lighting techniques. You may not want to invest in or have the desire to carry an entire lighting kit with you where ever you go, but you can make the best of the natural or available lighting situations that you face. Whenever possible, shoot in a well-lit area. Make sure there is not bright light like the sun behind a subject. If your subject is standing in a bad lighting situation, have them move into better light if possible and the video will look much better.

Using some of these techniques and ideas, you’ll not only create more useable video footage, but you’ll have a lot more fun doing it!