Monday, July 25, 2016

Why hire a professional model for your next advertising campaign....

....The answer may surprise you.
I have an obvious interest in the topic of hiring a professional model for advertising vs using stock photography (or even clients or employees) but there are a lot of reasons to do this that you may not have entertained.
First- This is the most obvious, but if you thought it was a great photo, a lot of other people probably thought the very same thing. I would hate to be a fly on the wall when a client saw their “Perfect Health Care Family” in an ad for the perfect muffler…or worse: a competitor.
Second- HIPAA. What the heck has HIPAA got to do with it? When a doctor wants to use a real patient instead of hiring a model they risk that patient at some point invoking HIPAA and the ad being pulled. If the “Patient/Model” invokes their HIPAA rights- which they can do at any time even if they signed a release. HIPAA trumps a release and their image must be pulled. The reasons can run from they no longer see that doctor, they had a falling out with that doctor OR they just no longer want the world to know they SEE that doctor. The heart of HIPAA is to protect patient's privacy. I can't think of anything less private than my face on a billboard for my doctor.
Third- If your client decides to save a few bucks and use an employee, what happens when that employee leaves and goes to work for the competition? That is not at all farfetched- and people do tend to stay in their industry. Watching a TV ad while binge watching the Big Bang Theory that features an ex-employee who took a promotion for the competition seems a little stress inducing.

Lastly consider these restrictions from Stockphotoguides.com:
Restrictions on the use of royalty free images vary in the details, but overall the following uses are standard restrictions:
  • Large distributions or print runs (numbers differ from stock photo company to stock photo company). An extended license is usually required for large use.
  • Cannot be resold or redistributed as is, or as used in a design theme, wallpaper, etc. intended for resale
  • Cannot be shared with other users or placed on a network, intranet, or drive with shared access
  • Cannot be used on print-on-demand products (t-shirts, mugs, calendars, mouse pads, etc.)
  • Cannot be sold as prints, posters, or used on greeting cards
  • Photos with people/models cannot be used in a way that depicts them as endorsing a product or business, or in a way that may be considered offensive
  • Cannot be used as part of a trademark, design-mark, or logo
  • Cannot be used for illegal, pornographic, malicious, or defamatory uses
  • When used for Editorial purposes, the stock photo supplier and artist/photographer must be credited
  • Cannot be used in unsolicited email marketing campaigns (ie, Spam)
  • Cannot post the image to be downloaded or accessed separately from its intended application
  • Other limits are defined by individual stock photo companies
There are often many usage restrictions for royalty free images, but they are in place to protect the rights of the image copyright holder. Be sure to read the Terms of Use for any royalty free image you wish to purchase. It is also important to know that copyright is NOT transferred with a royalty free license. The copyright remains with the artist or photographer who initially created the image.

The bottom line is that like anything, else hiring a professional model is like hiring any other professional and you get what you pay for. The Talent agent is your guide to how the model's image can be used etc. Always ask them questions. A knowledgeable agent will help you not only choose the right model but make sure that your client is covered for everything they need.

Ann Marie Stonecypher is a former Model and the owner of AMS Models and Talent and AMS Models South. She has over 35 years of industry experience in the model and talent industry. Www.AMSmodels.com info@amsmodels.com (Photo of AMS Model Joyce G courtesy of Dan Doyle Photography)

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