Under-18 models: information for parents
If your son or daughter wants to model and you are trying to work out whether it is safe, this page is written for you rather than for them.
You are right to be checking
Most photographers are professional and straightforward to deal with. A small number are not, and they are not always easy to spot from a website. Checking is the sensible thing to do, and no reasonable photographer will be offended by it. One who is has told you something useful.
This page sets out what I require when photographing anyone under 18, what I would suggest you check about any photographer, and one legal point that is widely ignored in this industry.
What I require, without exception
- A parent or legal guardian must attend and remain at the studio for the whole session. I do not photograph anyone under 18 without an appropriate adult present.
- The parent or guardian must be involved in agreeing the shoot terms, the image use and any consent forms.
- The model release is signed by the parent or legal guardian, not by the young person.
- Every shoot I run through this site is safe for work. Nothing else is offered, discussed or worked towards.
- I do not touch models. Direction is given by talking, or demonstrated from a respectful distance. If a strap or a stray hair needs adjusting, I point it out and let the model or the accompanying adult sort it.
- The shoot can be paused or stopped at any point, by the young person or by you, for any reason and without explanation.
What to check about any photographer
The same checks apply to me as to anybody else, and I would rather you carried them out than took my word for it.
- How long they have been working, and whether there is a trail behind them. A website, a portfolio, references from other models, an account that has been running for years rather than weeks.
- Whether other models will vouch for them. Message a couple and ask what the shoot was actually like. Most people answer honestly.
- Whether they make any fuss at all about you attending. The correct answer is none.
- Whether the brief is specific and in writing. What will be worn, what will be photographed, and where the images will be used.
- Whether the studio is proper commercial premises rather than somebody’s house.
Licensing, and when it actually applies
The rules on children performing and modelling get misunderstood in both directions, so it is worth being clear about what triggers them.
The trigger is payment to the child. If a child is paid for modelling work, or somebody is paid in respect of their taking part, a child performance licence is generally required, up to the end of the school year in which they turn 16. The application is made by whoever is running the shoot, to the council where the child lives, usually with around 21 days notice.
Where nobody is paying the child, the position is different. Unpaid work, with no time off school and only a small number of days, generally falls outside the licensing requirement. A portfolio shoot you are buying for your own child sits in that category, because the money goes from you to the photographer rather than to your child.
That is how my own sessions work. The model is not paid, whether the session is one you are paying for or a TFP shoot, so licensing does not normally arise. The point at which to start asking about it is when a photographer offers to pay your child for modelling work.
Councils do interpret the rules slightly differently, so if you are unsure, your local authority child employment team will tell you where you stand. The general position is set out on GOV.UK.
I am a photographer, not a solicitor or a licensing officer. Please treat this as a prompt to check rather than as legal advice.
Questions worth asking before you agree
- What exactly will be photographed, and what will my child be wearing?
- Where will the images be used, and for how long?
- Can I see the release before the day rather than on it?
- Will anyone else be present, and who?
- If this is paid, have you dealt with a performance licence before?
- Can I stay in the room for the whole session?
The last one is the important one. Any answer other than yes is the end of the conversation.
If something feels wrong
You do not need a reason and you do not need to be polite about it. Stop the session and leave. A professional will accept that without argument, and anyone who does not has confirmed you were right to go.
If you believe a child has been harmed or is at risk, that is a matter for the police rather than for a review on a modelling website. Report it.
Worth reading together
The rest of the advice on this site is written for the model rather than the parent, and two pages are worth going through with them. Staying safe as a model covers checking a photographer and holding a boundary. What happens at a shoot walks through a session start to finish, which takes most of the mystery out of it.
Questions before you decide?
Ask me anything you want to know, including things about other photographers. I would far rather answer questions than have anyone book something they are not comfortable with.