Consent is not one signature
6 min read · Published March 2026
A service agreement, a session boundary, and permission to publish are three different decisions. Treating them as one is where studios get into trouble.
Three decisions, not one
A client agreeing to be photographed is agreeing to the session. They are not agreeing to appear on a studio's website, in a paid advertisement, or in a printed sample album.
When a studio records only one signature, every later question about usage becomes a memory exercise. A structured record removes the guesswork.
What a specific permission contains
A usable publication permission names the participant, the asset, the acceptable crop, the channel, the campaign, the expiry date, and the visibility level.
If any of those are missing, the safest default is that publishing is not permitted.
Making the default safe
Systems should block publishing when the required permission is absent instead of relying on a person to remember an exception.
This article is educational and does not replace advice from a qualified attorney.
This article is educational and does not provide legal advice.
Back to all articles