Model releases a word of warning (Patreon)

There has been a lot of debate recently on some of the photography forums I'm frequenting. One item is whether or not to use model releases.

I always do use releases, and I still get in trouble now and then regardless.

One crucial question is what happens if a model claims  specific images you publish were not shot consensually?

A high-profile model (whom I previously considered a good friend) burned me publicly some month ago by claiming that specific images we had shot were non-consensual. However, she had liked them on Instagram and had agreed (in a WhatsApp message) to publish some of them where I was unsure of thether they were ok or not. And have used the images herself on her own pay sites.

Legally I have no problem I would win that case in any court any day, but still I got crucified online "on moral grounds" by other models who feel that a model should always be able to withdraw consent.

In many cases, I would tend to be the good guy and remove images if the model had a good argument (such as a new job).

In this case, the only rationale I could find was she wanted a monopoly on erotic/explicit images at her OnlyFans, which I don't see as a very valid reason.

But I digress.

The method I currently have in place to make sure everyone is on the same page, and nobody can claim the consensual cop-out - is the following:

• The model will see a copy of my release before our shoot. Please take special note of points 6 & 11 (the numbering is one thing I have fixed in the release btw).
• She will see images as we go along, either on the back of the camera or on a computer if I shoot tethered, and we will discuss the results as we go along, again making sure we agree on the levels we shoot. I don't see any point in shooting something I can't publish anyway.
• For a full day's shoot, I will sort the image set down to about 100 good photos and send it to her in a Lightroom gallery.
• She can then remove 10% of the images if they are over her limits or whatever reason - no questions asked, by sending the image numbers via email (Emails are trackable, so the model can prove she sent it, and when. And you can also confirm it when you received it.

I added the 10% limit after shooting a particular model in the image above. Before our shoot, she asked whether I would publish images without her approval - I said no, of course not. Then after the shoot, she disqualified every single image except this one - and there were at least 15-18 good images I would have liked to edit after half a day's shoot. 

The reason for not wanting other images, you ask?
She only liked this one.

I don't know if there is a moral to this story other than if you don't cover your back, you will be abused now and then and possibly end up in a terrible situation. With a model release in writing, you at least have a fighting chance.

You can see a copy of my release here (it's an earlier iteration, but it makes little difference).