Know-How Exchange : Social Media

Some relevant articles:
https://en.wikipedia.org/wiki/Personality_rights
https://commons.wikimedia.org/wiki/Commons:Photographs_of_identifiable_peop...
https://photography.lovetoknow.com/Photography_Release_Forms
https://photo.stackexchange.com/questions/1736/can-i-publish-photos-taken-i...

When you say "posting pictures of people," what exactly do you mean?

If they are specific people who are immediately recognized, there are certainly some limitations on how you can use them. For example, you can't take a picture of Barack Obama and use it to imply that he endorses your brand of dog food.

If the person is not recognizable (by name) but obviously posed for a picture, then the photographer probably owns the copyright and you cannot use the picture for commercial purposes without permission. (This applies to almost all pictures submitted to stock photo sites, for example, whether there are people in them or not.)

So then there are just "ordinary pictures" that you might come across while browsing the web. In those cases, the copyright is still owned by the photographer, but it's highly unlikely that your use will ever be noticed UNLESS you use the picture for commercial purposes -- in which case you most likely need the photographer's permission. (Examples: You might put the picture in an ad, or you might re-sell it to an unsuspecting client as part of your own deliverable, etc.)

And all of this varies from state to state and from country to country -- so it's always a good idea to (a) just pay a few dollars and get the picture from one of the stock photo services, or (b) ask a real attorney -- not a bunch of marketing folks.

I am not an attorney and this is not legal advice.

I am not a lawyer and this is not legal advice.

It seems to me that in your example the mayor is in a public place where he/she might reasonably expect to be photographed. The mayor is also a public figure and is probably used to being photographed. So as long as you don't imply that the mayor explicitly endorses the restaurant, or say anything derogatory about the mayor (e.g., "Here's our mayor pigging out on some free food ..." etc.), it would seem OK to use the image in in a FB post.

Just as a courtesy, you might ask the person if he/she has a problem with your posting the picture on a non-commercial site. Most will not object, and then you're at least partially covered. (If there's any question, you might simply make a note for yourself that you asked and received the OK.)

I am not an attorney and this is not legal advice.

I am not a lawyer either, and this is not legal advice.

When in a specific instance, shoot first, THEN ask. OR, ask, then shoot. But the former will get you the shot without the subject being camera aware.

If no one objects, get a sign off if possible. If the subject objects, as I would, although you are under no obligation to delete the image, it's wise to do so.

CYA and all that.

Here's the bottom line from an ethics point of view: if
you take someone's picture without their consent and profit from it, again, without their consent (or their buy in), you risk being sued for wrongful or unlawful representation.

Ask yourself this: how would you feel if your photograph (or a photograph of one of your underage children) appeared in a national ad campaign without your consent? Personally, I'd be pretty angry, as, I suspect, would you.

AGAIN: I am not a lawyer either, and this is not legal advice.

Not a lawyer, ditto, ditto, BUT ...

My nonprofit takes this approach: If we take photos at an event like our annual celebration, a training that we sponsor or something like that, we'll upload them to our org's Facebook photo page without releases.

But we require a signed release for any photo we use for more-straightforward promotional purposes: Web site, brochures, annual report, online or paper ads, etc. Usually those have been done by a pro photographer, and we send him out to shoots with a stack of release forms.

If we really like one of the event photos in the first category and want to broaden its use, we'd first get permission from the people in the image.

Hope this helps.