Release Form for Children

Yv

I've been asked to shoot a couple of children's events in a few weeks, & I was wondering what kind of release form to use. I don't know if all the parents will be present at the time, so I was wondering if the adult(s) in charge at the events would be able to sign as the legal guardian(s) of the children, or would I have to send a form out to the parents of each child?

I found the following form, which is hopefully the right kind of one to use:

Photo Release Form

I hereby give my consent for [your business] to use my photograph and likeness in its publications, including its website. I release them from any expectation of confidentiality for the undersigned minor children and myself and attest that I am the parent or legal guardian of the children listed below.


Signature: _________________________________ Date: ___________



Names and Ages of Minor Children:

Name: ______________________________________ Age: _____

Name: ______________________________________ Age: _____

Name: ______________________________________ Age: _____

Any advice is hugely appreciated - thanks!

MeerKat17

What kind of event is it? Is it a photo shoot or a film shoot?
Shooting kids is a pretty dodgey area these days, you will need to send the forms home to be signed by the parent/guardian or else they can not be included.

oshead

To cover yourself you should get clearance from the Garda to work with children. This is especially important if the parents are not present. If you are shooting for a school, then the school itself should (would be better able to) organize and get the permission from the parents.

Yv

I've been asked by a magician to take some photos of his upcoming kid's shows for his website. Hopefully we'll be able to get the forms signed by the parent when the kids are dropped off at the venues (at least one of which is a family home), though I reckon a few of the parents will want to stay for the show too. If not, I guess the magician will have to get addresses for each child so I can send them a form after the fact, once I know which child is which!

MeerKat17

If I were you I'd get the Magician to first check with the parent/ contact in charge that its ok to have you there taking pictures of the Children, and get them to mention it to the parents of the children attending. Then as the kids are being dropped off ask the parents/guardian to sign the release form while you have them. Tell them its just for legal reasons if they are concerned. Then try to just take pictures including those children you have permission for, unless you can only see the back of them and can't make out their faces, then you should be safe.
Your release form should be fine, here is another example;


I hereby grant _____________________ the right to photograph my dependent and use the photo and or other digital reproduction of him/her or other reproduction of his/her physical likeness for publication processes, whether electronic, print, digital or electronic publishing via the Internet.

Model's Signature: _________________________________________________________

Model's Printed Name: _______________________________________________________

Address: _____________________________________________________________


I certify that I am a custodial parent and have the aforementioned rights to assign.

Signature of
Parent or Guardian: _________________________________________________________

Address: _____________________________________________________________

Date: __________________________

James Jones

Yv wrote: »

I was wondering if the adult(s) in charge at the events would be able to sign as the legal guardian(s) of the children, or would I have to send a form out to the parents of each child?

I found the following form, which is hopefully the right kind of one to use:

Photo Release Form

I (WE)hereby give my (OUR) consent for [your business] to use my photograph and likeness in its publications, including its website. I (WE)release them from any expectation of confidentiality for the undersigned minor children and myself (ourselves) and attest that I(WE) am (are) the parent (s) or legal guardian (s) of the children listed below.


Signature: _________________________________ Date: ___________

Signature: _________________________________ Date: ___________



Names and Ages of Minor Children:

Name: ______________________________________ Age: _____

Name: ______________________________________ Age: _____

Name: ______________________________________ Age: _____

Any advice is hugely appreciated - thanks!

The form is incorrect as it should have space for both parents as guardians act JOINTLY. Check out Section 6.—(1) of the Guardianship of Infants Act, 1964 which states that

The father and mother of an infant shall be guardians of the infant jointly.

Also check out the HSE GUIDELINES.

Paulw

oshead wrote: »

To cover yourself you should get clearance from the Garda to work with children.

That can take months (3-6), and requires that the company/organisers you will be working for (who is responsible for the children) sponsor you. While it's easy enough to get, it just takes a hell of a long time.

MeerKat17

Paulw wrote: »

That can take months (3-6), and requires that the company/organisers you will be working for (who is responsible for the children) sponsor you. While it's easy enough to get, it just takes a hell of a long time.

Ya I wouldn't bother with Garda clearance for what your doing.

James Jones

MeerKat17 wrote: »

I certify that I am a custodial parent and have the aforementioned rights to assign.

Signature of
Parent or Guardian: _________________________________________________________

This is a common mistake.
Custody relates to the living arrangements of a child whereas Guardianship relates to the decision making process.
To grant parental consent, a parent must be a Guardian and custody is irrelevant. If there are two guardians then both must give their consent.

CabanSail

That Release form seems a bit light. It does not mention the fees for a start. When we had a legal talk about this a while ago one of the things which needed to be covered is what you give the other party to make it a contract. You also have to be specific as to where & when the photo's will be taken and which rights are being released.

Yv

Thanks for all the help, folks. So, I need to get the permission of BOTH parents? Didn't realise that at all. Would one guardian's permission not count as permission from both guardians?

I guess if all else fails I'll avoid taking photos of their faces, or have them blurred out (by a shallow DOF, not Crimewatch style!).

As for the writing of the release: Is it really essential to specify where the photos were taken? They will be one-offs - I won't be taking photos of these children again. What is the reason for specifying the location? Re: the fee - The parents will be paying the magician for his performance, & as a part of that there will be someone there (ie, myself) taking photos that will be used online for his publicity. (So it's not a case of me giving money to the subject of the photograph, & the subject agreeing to let me use the photo.) I suppose I need to write a release that covers that.

I would have thought it was pretty common to have a model / subject sign a release form even for work that involved no paid fee?

This is proving a little more of a minefield than I'd expected!

MeerKat17

I wouldn't stress yourself out too much about it OP for the type of thing you are doing, it seems minimal risk to me. In my job(film & tv), I'm in charge of the release forms and I have never had to get both parents signatures when dealing with a minor. Thats just being over cautious and completely unnecessary for a smallchildrens photo-shoot.

As for the fees situation. A contract is only legal when money or something has been exchanged. Often people include a €1 clause, but honestly for what your doing I think the one you have is fine.
You could add in something along the lines of; "In consideration of the Fee (€1) I agree to give permission to....etc. etc."