Accepted Model Release Mobile Apps for Stock Photography

JP Danko

JP Danko is a commercial photographer based in Toronto, Canada. JP can change a lens mid-rappel, swap a memory card while treading water, or use a camel as a light stand.

If you are a stock photography shooter, or if you are currently building your collection with the intention of getting into stock photography – model releases and property releases are a critical part of your workflow.

Model release mobile apps make it much easier to obtain and manage your releases – but to make sure that your images are accepted into a stock photography collection, it is important to use model release and property release apps that are approved by stock agencies.

accepted model release mobile apps for stock photography jp danko toronto commercial photographer

In this article, I will share all of the model release mobile apps for stock photography that are currently approved by Getty Images – one of the worlds largest stock photography agencies.

When Is A Release Required?

If you are selling stock photography – pretty much always.

The standard test is if the person in the photo could recognize themselves or if the property owner could recognize their property, then a model release and/or a property release are required.

For example, the lead photo with the fat bike rider and the photo below would both require a model release from most stock agencies, even though it is arguable that the models are not recognizable.

accepted model release mobile apps for stock photography jp danko toronto commercial photographer

In practice if there is a person or private property (especially from inside) in your photo and you want to sell it as stock – you should get a model release and/or property release.

Accepted Model Release Mobile Apps for Android

If you are an Android user, you only have one choice:

Easy Release Android (Version 1.8.130516 or higher)

easy release approved model release mobile apps

I personally use Easy Release with a Galaxy Note 3 mobile phone – which I love because the Galaxy Note 3 (and the new Galaxy Note 4) have an actual stylus – so your models / property owners can sign your releases with a pen, which just seems so much more professional than asking someone to try to sign with their finger.

Easy Release is straight forward and easy enough to use that you can just hand your phone to your model / property owner and they can fill out the form on their own while you go do something else.

Accepted Model Release Mobile Apps for iPhone & iPad

If you’re on iOS, you have a few more choices.

easy release approved model release mobile apps  LeaseMe (Version 2.2 or higher)

LeaseMe model release mobile app

If I were to pick from these three apps, I would go with either the American Society of Media Photographers (ASMP) Release App or Easy Release.

Getty also accepts iD Release (Version 1.1.0), Top Model Release (Version 1.0.5) and VMRelease (Version 1.2) – but I could not confirm that these apps are currently available on iTunes.

There are also a ton of other model release apps and general business contract apps that you could use – but the ones featured here are specifically accepted by Getty, and by extension – everywhere else.

PDF Model Release and Property Release Forms

If you don’t want to use a model release mobile app and would prefer to have your models / property owners sign a paper form, you can download PDF copies of approved model release and approved property release forms directly from Getty here: Getty Images Model and Property Releases.

What Model Release Mobile Apps Do You Prefer?

Leave a comment below and let us know what model release mobile app you use.


Filed Under:

Tagged With:

Find this interesting? Share it with your friends!

JP Danko

JP Danko

JP Danko is a commercial photographer based in Toronto, Canada. JP can change a lens mid-rappel, swap a memory card while treading water, or use a camel as a light stand.

Join the Discussion

DIYP Comment Policy
Be nice, be on-topic, no personal information or flames.

Leave a Reply

Your email address will not be published. Required fields are marked *

2 responses to “Accepted Model Release Mobile Apps for Stock Photography”

  1. BingBingBoom Avatar
    BingBingBoom

    For Android devices, have you checked out Model Releaser?
    https://play.google.com/store/apps/details?id=com.pa.modelreleaseapp
    I don’t have an iphone so I couldn’t try the ASMP app, but the Model Releaser app for Android seems pretty good. I haven’t found a better one yet.

  2. Easy Release Avatar
    Easy Release

    The thing is, if you ever expect to submit your images to a stock photo agency there’s only one choice that is widely, if not universally, accepted by the industry. Easy Release on both iOS and Android devices was specifically designed to meet the stringent demands and legal requirements of these agencies and has been thoroughly vetted by countless of their industry legal experts. Just objective truth, no hyperbole and opinion.