Photo release form template
A photo release is signed permission to use a picture of someone: on your website, in a brochure, in a social post. This one is written for organizations that photograph customers, students, members or event guests, usually without paying them. Read it below, then send it to sign, or share it as a link at your next event.
Updated November 5, 2026 · 4 min read
The contract
Gray blanks are yours to fill in before you send. Each signer fills in the blanks in their color.
- You, before sending
- Person photographed (or parent)
Photo Release Form
This Photo Release is given to Organization name (the "Organization") by or for Person photographed (the "Person"). If the Person is under 18, the parent or legal guardian signing below gives this release on the Person's behalf.
1. The photos
This release covers photographs of the Person taken by or for the Organization at Event or session on Date of the photos, and other photographs the Organization takes of the Person at its programs and events while this release is in effect (the "Photos").
2. Where the Photos may be used
The Organization may use the Photos only in the places initialed below. Any use left blank is not allowed.
- The Organization's website: Initials: website
- The Organization's social media accounts: Initials: social media
- Newsletters, brochures, flyers, posters and other printed materials: Initials: print
- Paid advertising, online or in print: Initials: paid advertising
- Press releases and material given to news media: Initials: press
The Organization may identify the Person by first name in captions only if initialed here: Initials: first name. The Organization will never publish the Person's full name together with their home address, phone number, email or other contact details.
3. Editing
The Organization may crop, resize, color-correct and caption the Photos and combine them with text and graphics. It will not alter the Person's face or body, place them in a misleading or embarrassing context, or use the Photos to suggest that the Person endorses a product, a cause or a political view.
4. No payment
The Person receives no payment for this release or for any use of the Photos. The Organization owns the Photos it takes, and it is not required to use them.
5. How long this release lasts
This release starts when it is signed and lasts until it is withdrawn. To withdraw it, the signer writes to Email for withdrawals. After receiving the notice, the Organization will make no new uses of the Photos and will remove them from its website and social media accounts within Days to remove photos days. Printed materials, and materials given to others before the notice, may continue to be used until they run out.
6. Release of claims
The Person, and the parent or guardian if one signs, release the Organization, its staff and its photographers from claims for invasion of privacy, misuse of likeness or defamation arising from uses this release allows. This release does not cover uses outside it.
7. Photos of children
If the Person is under 18, the Organization will not publish their last name, their school or any detail that shows where they can be found, and will not use a Photo in which the child is shown in a state of undress or distress. The parent or guardian may ask at any time for a particular Photo of the child to be taken down from the Organization's website and social media, and the Organization will do so within the period in section 5.
8. Questions
Questions about this release, or about where a Photo has been used, can be sent to the email address in section 5. The Organization will tell the signer, on request, which of its current materials include the Person.
9. General
This release is governed by the laws of the state of State. It is the whole agreement about the Photos. Electronic signatures on it count as original signatures.
Signer email: Signer email Phone: Signer phone
I have read this release and I am 18 or older. If the Person is under 18, I am their parent or legal guardian.
Person photographed, or parent or guardian
Opens it in SignMaster as a template you can edit and send.
A starting point, not legal advice. Have a lawyer review it for your state and situation.
On this page
When you need a signed photo release
Whenever a recognizable person appears in something that promotes you. A news photo of a crowd is one thing; a customer's face in your ad is another. Many states give people the right to control commercial use of their name and likeness. New York's Civil Rights Law, for example, requires written consent before a living person's picture is used for advertising or trade, and California lets people sue over a photograph used in advertising without their consent.
A signed release settles the question before you publish. It's also a courtesy: people like knowing where their picture will appear, and that they can say no to the parts they don't want.
What the template covers
- Who and when: the person photographed, the event or session, and the date.
- A choice for each use: the person initials each place they're happy to appear, from your website to paid ads, so a yes to the newsletter isn't a yes to a billboard.
- Names: whether you may use their first name in captions, chosen separately, and a promise never to publish contact details.
- Editing: cropping, color correction and captions are fine; changes to the person's appearance, or a misleading context, are not.
- No payment and no approval: the person isn't paid and doesn't review each final use, which keeps the release practical.
- How long and how to withdraw: it lasts until withdrawn in writing, and withdrawal stops new uses and online posts within a set number of days.
- Minors: a parent or guardian signs for anyone under 18, on the same form.
Mistakes to avoid
- Asking after the fact. Get the release before the shoot or on the day; chasing it once the photo is printed in your brochure hands the other person all the leverage.
- One vague line, like "we may use your image for any purpose". Broad wording suits a paid model; customers and parents sign more readily when the uses are listed.
- Ignoring the no's. Keep a list of the people who declined or withdrew, and brief whoever posts to your social accounts.
- Stretching a release to a new purpose. Permission for the school newsletter doesn't cover a fundraising ad; ask again.
- Losing track of withdrawals. When someone withdraws, take their photos down from everything you can still edit, and note the date you did it.
Professional shoot? Use a model release
If you're paying someone to pose, or the images may be sold as stock or used in paid campaigns, the model release form covers payment, retouching and broader rights. For video and voice, use the video release form.
How to send it with SignMaster
- 1
Open the template
Choose Use this template above. It opens with one signer: the person photographed, or a parent signing for a child.
- 2
Name the shoot
Fill the gray blanks: your organization, the event or session and its date, the email for withdrawals, and how many days you take to remove photos.
- 3
Share it before the event
Send it with your invitation, or post a public link and print its QR code at the door. Each guest signs their own copy on their phone.
- 4
Or sign at the session
For a portrait session or a client's before-and-after photos, hand over your phone with Sign in person before you take the first picture.
- 5
Know who said yes to what
On a paid plan, the Responses tab shows each person's initials for each use in one table, so whoever posts to social media can check before they post.
Releases for a whole school or team
Schools, clubs and youth leagues often collect photo permission once a year from every family. Bulk send the template to your enrollment list, one row per family with the child's name in a column, and each parent gets their own copy to sign. The signing page and emails can appear in any of 6 languages, which helps families who read another language at home.
Questions? Answers.
Do I need a photo release for photos taken in public?
Not usually for news, art or documentary use. You generally need one when a recognizable person appears in advertising or promotes a business, which is how most organizations use their photos.
Can someone withdraw a photo release?
Under this template, yes, for the future. You stop new uses and take photos down from your website and social media within the days you set; printed materials already out can run until they're used up.
Who signs a photo release for a child?
A parent or legal guardian. The form has a line for the child's name, and the parent signs and confirms they are the parent or guardian.
Does the photographer need to sign?
Not for this release, which is permission the person gives you. A model release has both sides sign because it includes payment and promises in both directions.
Sources
- N.Y. Civil Rights Law § 50, right of privacy · nysenate.gov
- California Civil Code § 3344, use of another's name or likeness · leginfo.legislature.ca.gov