39) Model release forms - 25/4/18

This blog post is dedicated to documenting the model release forms I collected from some of the individuals depicted in my work, and my thoughts about model release forms in general. The forms I did get can be seen scanned in below for evidence:

I decided to do model release forms within this project because it's displaying more intimate scenes such as the inside of their homes and portraits of themselves, which they could potentially not want others to see. I was inspired to do this after Shawn's ethics lecture for Photography in Context which you can read here, where I was reflecting on the nature of my own ethics within my project. Below is an extract from the blog post which further illustrates my point:

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I took a lot of points away from this lecture and put them into practice in my own project for its ethics, for instance building a relationship with the individuals living there (having coffees and chatting with them, planning to make more of my final output so they can all have copies etc). I was also constantly thinking about representation through the lens and in cultural capital, by taking photographs that portray them in a good light. As well as this, I was thinking about time sensitivity, by asking for permissions to take their photo and be able to use it on my website, in my work and enter it into any competitions through getting them to complete the model release forms. I'm also further protecting them within the project by not including any names in the publication.

After obtaining the model release forms and seeing the information the residents did fill out, I don't know if they were essential because they didn't take it very seriously. For instance filling them out with answers such as 'here' for the address, or 'don't know'. I didn't see this in a negative way, but it was giving me the thought that ethically they're quite relaxed about what I do with the images, and they were happy to help in any way. This made me think back to when we heard Niall McDiarmid speak at the Martin Parr Foundation, where he stated that he didn't think model release forms were necessary. You can view this blog post here.

Below is an extract from that blog post illustrating my thoughts on model release forms then, and what Niall McDiarmid had to say about it:

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However since doing the project I think my thoughts on this have changed, and you should assess the feelings of your subject about your project, then decide whether a model release form is necessary or not. In the case of my project, maybe they weren't particularly necessary, but all in all I think it's good to obtain them just incase you run into any trouble in the future.

#creativeinteractions #ethics