How do I figure out what an accurate shoot description is? i shoot a mix of clothed and nude shots, and my release states this... do I need to make the release match the description for each uploaded file?

I'm interested in an answer to this as well. I've had shoots that consist of 4 models in studio and outdoors with mixes of 1, 2, 3 or all 4 models in the shot.

I'm thinking of;

Shoot Description: female model(s), variety of glamour, pin-up, and fashion poses including nude and clothed.

But I'm afraid the process of trial and error will be time consuming.

There's been a fair bit of discussion about this on the IS forums and I think it's a fair summary to say that you need to have enough detail in the description that it's clear the uploaded photos are covered by the release.

Your example was one of situations they were most concerned about - does the release cover nude pictures as well as clothed ones. So "Studio shots-nightgown, nude, business meeting, relaxing at home" or something like that. You don't need a complete shot list. "Portraits of blond girl" wouldn't do as it doesn't give any clue as to what sorts of shots are covered.

Note that the date must be filled in and although it can be a range of a few days, it can't be "various" or "2010"

Quote from: modellocate on February 23, 2010, 03:53
I'm thinking of;

Shoot Description: female model(s), variety of glamour, pin-up, and fashion poses including nude and clothed.

But I'm afraid the process of trial and error will be time consuming.

I think that would work.

Quote from: jsnover on February 23, 2010, 06:15Note that the date must be filled in and although it can be a range of a few days, it can't be "various" or "2010"

Last December I did a 4-day shoot with 2 models that came far out of town, especially for the shoot. We planned 2 days but it turned out they liked it so it lasted longer. I made the release on the end of that short period, and IS accepted it.

I used the slightly modified Getty model and attached photos of the models signing the release. The shoot description was "various business, medical and lifestyle shots indoors, fashion and lifestyle outdoors". All agencies always have asked for a shoot description, so nothing new here.

For nudity or adult shoots there are additional rules, I have read, amongst those an official ID. Those certified releases must be kept by the agent that publicizes the images. In that case, I would make a separate release for the nudity shots. In short the IS requirements are very clear and straightforward. You just have to read the pages on site that concern releases. No disambiguity there.

speaking about the date, the new rule now that it should say explicitly "shoot date" rather than just "date". I've got several rejections last/this week for the reason my release was missing "shoot date", despite the date entered 3 times

Quote from: MikLav on February 23, 2010, 09:41speaking about the date, the new rule now that it should say explicitly "shoot date" rather than just "date". I've got several rejections last/this week for the reason my release was missing "shoot date", despite the date entered 3 times

Yes the Getty/iStock release makes a distinction between the
Date signed (dd/mm/year) ________________________________________
Shoot Date (dd/mm/year) _________________________________________

For the shoot date I filled in December 1-4, for the date signed December 4. It's a bit logical since you can do the paperwork later (not recommended) and since the shoot date can be a (short) period, and the date signed cannot. Unless you are a very slow writer, the signing is one specific date. 

I have the slightly modified (fonts, country of jurisdiction) Getty release in MS-Word format here. All sites I upload to have accepted it, included IS of course.

Quote from: MikLav on February 23, 2010, 09:41
speaking about the date, the new rule now that it should say explicitly "shoot date" rather than just "date". I've got several rejections last/this week for the reason my release was missing "shoot date", despite the date entered 3 times

The (current) iStock release does explicitly say shoot date. It says, "date signed" and the field underneath that one says "shoot date" It's pretty clear.

http://www.istockphoto.com/docs/languages/english/modelrelease.pdf

Yes it is indeed pretty clear. What I said is that it's a new requirement.

I have my own generic model release which simply says "Date" for each model, photographer and witness and it was accepted everywhere until last week. (I always get it signed during the shoot).

So this is a remark for non-exclusives who use generic release - make sure you have field "shoot date" on your release, not just "date".

And of course "shoot description" field that was the initial subject of this thread

Quote from: MikLav on February 23, 2010, 15:37


So this is a remark for non-exclusives who use generic release - make sure you have field "shoot date" on your release, not just "date".

And of course "shoot description" field that was the initial subject of this thread

Yes, generic releases should cover all the requirements of each site, but iStock did give lots of notice for this new requirement and also published an article that detailed all the fields now required. If people use their own releases then it's a good idea to check that you have all the fields that iStock require as stated in the article to save frustration when your upload is returned for a new release.
Article : http://www.istockphoto.com/article_view.php?ID=648&Page=2

The main problem with shoot description is that it makes generic release unusable - e.g. DT effectively requires 'catchall' release, so one with description cannot be used there

When I emailed istock, they suggested I have a specific decription for each shot, for example "female buttocks, low key."

Submit 10 images, model must sign 10 releases. Really?

No, ignore that.  Follow jsnover's advice:

"Your example was one of situations they were most concerned about - does the release cover nude pictures as well as clothed ones. So "Studio shots-nightgown, nude, business meeting, relaxing at home" or something like that. You don't need a complete shot list. "Portraits of blond girl" wouldn't do as it doesn't give any clue as to what sorts of shots are covered."

OK. Thanks. My original release says "I knowingly appear nude and/or seminude in these images" -- I guess they either didn't see that or wanted it broken out with a heading down near the model data.... This is like dealing with the government.

Quote from: UncleGene on February 23, 2010, 16:19
The main problem with shoot description is that it makes generic release unusable - e.g. DT effectively requires 'catchall' release, so one with description cannot be used there

that becomes a non-problem if you submit a new release for every new session

Quote from: MikLav on February 23, 2010, 22:01

Quote from: UncleGene on February 23, 2010, 16:19
The main problem with shoot description is that it makes generic release unusable - e.g. DT effectively requires 'catchall' release, so one with description cannot be used there

that becomes a non-problem if you submit a new release for every new session

I think it's a problem if your images are being rejected. I wish they'd just tell me my photos suck and to stop uploading, that would be easy. The irony is that my releases are very specific, but they're looking for a specific page format.

Quote from: MikLav on February 23, 2010, 22:01

Quote from: UncleGene on February 23, 2010, 16:19
The main problem with shoot description is that it makes generic release unusable - e.g. DT effectively requires 'catchall' release, so one with description cannot be used there

that becomes a non-problem if you submit a new release for every new session

Sorry, looks like some misunderstanding. How can I do it with DT? "Important: Ensure that you don't use different MR documents for the same model."