Thread: Photos at a show

I've just been informed by my show photographer that she is now pro and will be selling the photos she takes - I had no problem with that until I realized she was selling them to anyone with dollars. Can she do that?

do you have a written contract with her? if not, now might be the time to create one for future events

There was a recent thread on a similar issue here, but that question was posed by an American dancer and applicable laws in New Zealand may differ from those in the U.S.

How much control do you have over the venue(s) where you perform? Your most effective line of defense may be to restrict photography at your shows to designated photographers who provide a written agreement that their photos will be sold exclusively to the dancers pictured.

I tend to have a relaxed perspective on the issue of performance photography. A pro photographer could sell a photo of one of my public performances to anyone, in theory, but in practice who other than me (and my mom) is likely to be interested in buying one?

U.S. law protects my rights to the commercial use of my likeness, so an image that's clearly of me couldn't legally be used to advertise a product, and protects me against libel, so I have recourse if my performance is misrepresented via those photographs in a public forum. I'm less worried about private display. Anyone with a point-and-click camera who attends one of my performances could theoretically display a photo of me in their home.

Google it. I don't know about NZ laws.........

In the US, if you sell stock photos through services like iStock and Getty you usually have to have a model's release.