Form templates / Photography & Video
Photo Session Consent Form
A photo session consent form is a model release with the usage spelled out. Where the images may appear, for how long, and what the subject can decline.
For photographers, videographers and studios.
Usage, not a blanket release
A single "I consent to my images being used" box covers everything from a portfolio page to a billboard, and most people ticking it are imagining the first. When the second happens, the consent may be technically valid and the relationship is over.
So this template lists usages separately - portfolio, website, social media, print advertising, competition entries, stock licensing - and lets someone agree to some and not others. It's more honest, it's easier to defend, and in practice people say yes to more when asked properly.
Say what they're agreeing to, in plain words
A consent form that nobody reads protects nobody. The statements in this template are short, specific and separate - so ticking one is a real decision rather than a formality.
Edit the wording to match what you actually do. It should sound like your practice, not like a legal template.
Date, location, deliverables - the three that set the price
Every shoot enquiry needs the date, where it is, and what they actually need at the end. Without those you can't say whether you're free, let alone what it costs.
Asking on a form also surfaces the things that quietly double a job: travel, a second shooter, usage rights, a same-week turnaround.
Digital, dated, and searchable
Every response is stored with the date and time it was submitted, and the whole set exports as a spreadsheet. Finding one person's answers takes seconds rather than a filing cabinet.
Edit it like a document, publish like a link
Add questions, remove questions, change the order and the wording, set your accent colour. When you save, the form is live at its own address - share it by link, QR code or a button on your site, and read the answers in your dashboard.
What this template asks
- Your name
- Email address
- Date of the session
- What was the session?
- In my portfolio, shown to prospective clients
- On my website
- On my social media accounts
- In printed marketing - brochures, cards, exhibition prints
- Entered into photographic competitions and awards
- Supplied to press or magazines for editorial use
- Licensed as stock imagery to third parties
- For how long?
- Any specific images or situations you'd like excluded?
- Would you like to be credited?
- Is the subject under 18?
- Child's name
- Parent or guardian name
- Your relationship to the child
- I understand how to withdraw consent and what it can and can't undo
- I am over 18, or I am the parent or guardian of the subject
- I consent to the uses I have ticked above
More Photography & Video forms
Questions
Is this a legally binding model release?
It collects the elements of one, but releases vary by jurisdiction and by intended use - especially for commercial licensing. Have a lawyer check the wording if you'll be licensing images.
What about photographing children?
A parent or guardian must consent, and the form should say so. Many photographers use a separate section for minors, as this template does.
Is this legal advice?
No. The wording is a practical starting point, not a legal document - have your own adviser check anything you rely on, especially where health, minors or money are involved.
Is a tick box a valid signature?
In many places a clear, dated, affirmative action is accepted, but it depends on your jurisdiction and what you're doing. If you need a drawn signature, print the response and sign it, or take the form as the pre-appointment record.
Can I keep a copy for the person who filled it in?
Yes - they see a confirmation on screen, and you can turn on an email so a copy of each submission lands in your inbox for your records.
Can clients see my work from the form?
The page is yours to write, so link to your portfolio in the introduction or in a question. Many photographers put the form behind an "Enquire" button so the gallery does the selling first.
Publish your photo session consent form today
Start from this template and change anything you like. Free to begin.