Model releases can be a bit of a grey area. One truth you can live by is that if your photo or video is to be used for editorial purposes, then no model release is needed for people or property. Think of editorials as being a general photo you might see associated with a newspaper article.
If the photo/video is strictly commercial, then you need a release for every single identifiable person in it. You are setting out to make money off that person indirectly, so you need their permission. Even if the person isn't the main focus of your shot and just part of the background, you need a release if their face can be identified. An easy way around this with photos is to mask or clone them out completely, or use different combinations of blur and dodge/burn to make the face unrecognizable... without making them look like monsters lol.
When I'm out shooting I usually carry a business card around and a couple of model releases. That way if I get a shot I think I can use, I can ask them to sign a release. I give my card with a promise of a full sized copy of the photo free of charge, and their expressed cooperation not to violate my copyright by trying to sell it themselves. I'm new to video though so not sure how I'd go about it.
Lots of people also get their feathers ruffled by simply having their photo taken in pubic. It's good to know your rights as a photographer/videographer. Especially when the police get involved.... as very few know what legal rights the person holding the camera has. Thankfully, the law is on our side most of the time:
- If you are standing on pubic property.... everyone and everything is fair game. You do not need their permission to photo/video them. They can even ask you to stop, but you aren't legally bound to do so in pubic. But use discretion of course.
- If you are on pubic property, you can photograph private property and anyone within it. But you cannot sell the images/video without a release. Again use discretion, no one like a creep with a camera photographing their house from the street lol.
- If you are on private property, you can shoot anyone/anything you want if you have the owners permission to be there. However the owner can tell you to stop... and you must if that happens. This is the one time the public outranks you in terms of rights. Like I said you are free to shoot anyone you want to without their expressed permission in a private setting. But if they ask you to cease, you must comply. Standard model release rules apply.
However, all these rules can be trumped by posted signage banning photography. Whether in pubic or private, the sign is the law regardless of whether it's a civil bylaw, or a sign nailed to a tree by whoever.
Hope that helps!