Release and Promotional Questions, Help!

[Ralph III]

Hello,


Earlier this year I was asked by event organizers to provide photography for a major adult tennis tournament. The tournament is sanctioned by the USTA and Ms. Tennis Association in which they, along with local organizers, used the photographs for promotional purposes. The players were supposedly informed their pics could be used for this purpose. That is probably irrelevant to my questions and just FYI. I then placed the photos on my website so players could view and purchase.


Anyhow, I anticipate being asked to do the tournament again this upcoming year and have a few questions as I continue to come across conflicting advice from professional photogs.


1) It has been my understanding, I did not need a release of any sort if simply offering participants photos online. Which is all I desire to do. I understood a release was only needed if I intended to resale pictures for commercial purposes, such as selling a players picture to NIKE in promoting a tennis shoe, etc. Your clarification would be appreciated!


2) I then created a poster and presented it solely to the hosting club as a thank you. The clubhouse was in the background with a random collage of players in the foreground. I would like to do another poster this upcoming year BUT make it available to players as well. In this specific case, will I need a release from those depicted on the poster or since this is a public event, it is really no different than offering the photos individually, as above?


3) In an attempt to drum up additional business the next time, I would like to offer a raffle of money or prizes for those who make a purchase. The poster would be available to those who may have not gotten their pictures taken, as impossible to get everyone. Can I do this and limit it only to those who make a purchase?


God Bless

[Sean Setters]

Most athletic people have to sign a waiver to participate in any tournament. You might want to convince the tournament organizers to add a paragraph to their existing liability waiver that basically states that, as a participant, the participants can be photographed and those photographs may be used for commercial purposes. I imagine that would at least clear up the legal aspects of your problem.