Forms, Agreements, & Releases

This page contains a selection of legal forms for photographers. You may use any of them for free and may also copy or modify them to suit your own needs. Use of these forms is at your own risk; they come with no guarantees or warranty of any kind.

Note: I am not a practicing lawyer, and I am definitely not your lawyer, so nothing on this page should be interpreted as legal advice. Contract and copyright law can vary substantially from jurisdiction to jurisdiction, so if you have any doubt about whether these forms will work for your particular needs or location, please hire a lawyer to review these forms before using them, or to draft new forms tailored for your specific needs.

Simple Model Releases

These simple model release forms are sufficient for most situations. However, because only the model signs them, they can’t be used if any restrictions or limitations on the photographer are desired, such as restricting the publication of accidental nude images taken during an implied nude shoot.

Modeling Agreements with Release

These documents are two-party contracts signed by both the model and photographer. These serve the same basic function as the simple releases above. Having both parties sign the document means they can include terms that are binding on both parties, not just the model.

Trade Agreements with Release

The following forms are non-commercial trade (aka TFP) shoot. This agreement allows both the model and photographer to use the images for promotional purposes, but don’t allow commercial use of the images.

Collaboration Agreement with Shared Usage Rights

The following form is for a commercial trade (aka “collaboration”) shoot. This agreement allows both the model and photographer to use the images from the shoot for commercial purposes, such as posting to an OnlyFans or Patreon page.

Accessory Documentation

These are supporting documents that you may need for certain types of shoots.

  1. The Non-Nude or Implied Nude variants restrict the use and publication of any resulting images if they show nipples, public hair, or genitals unless cropped or edited out. I have not included a non-nude or implied nude version of the simple release, because the photographer doesn’t sign a simple release, so it can’t create a obligation on them.
  2. The Nude variants of the agreements have the model acknowledge and consent to the fact that some or all of the images from the shoot will include nudity. This is not legally required, and the generic versions can be used for both nude and non-nude shoots. This clause is there for additional clarity and as an expression of intent to minimize the chance of a misunderstanding
  3. Many photographers who shoot nude or erotic images will just attach a copy of the model’s drivers license to their model release as proof of age. Do not do that if you shoot explicit erotic images! Simply attaching a proof of age to your release is not enough to meet the very specific documentation requirements of 18 USC §2257 that come into play when you create sexually explicit content. The 2257 requirements do not apply to all nude shoots, but verifying the age of your models is always a very good idea. There are no specific documentation requirements for non-explicit, non-sexual nude shoots that don’t meet 18 USC §2257’s definition of “actually sexually explicit”..