Usage rights for model bookings, explained

When you book a model, you pay for their time on the day and for the right to use the images or film afterwards. The second part, usage, often costs more than the first. Getting it right protects your budget and avoids awkward conversations later.

The four questions that define usage

Media

Where the work will appear. Common categories are your own website and e-commerce, organic social media, paid social and digital advertising, print, out of home such as billboards and posters, point of sale in stores, and broadcast. Each one adds value, and paid media is priced higher than organic.

Territory

Where in the world the work will run. UK only is the most common starting point. Europe or worldwide costs more because the images reach more people.

Duration

How long you can use the work. Six months, one year and two years are typical. Images used beyond the agreed period need a renewal, usually at a lower rate than the original.

Exclusivity

Whether the model can work for competing brands during the usage period. Exclusivity is valuable to you and costly to the model, because it closes off work. Ask for it only where it genuinely matters, such as a face of a brand campaign.

Buyouts

A buyout covers a defined bundle of usage for a single fee, for example all digital media in the UK for one year. Buyouts are simple to manage, but be wary of asking for everything, forever, worldwide. It is rarely needed and it inflates the fee for little practical benefit.

E-commerce is usually the simplest

Product photography for your own website is normally priced as a day rate with web usage included or a modest addition. Costs rise when the same images move into paid advertising or print, so tell us at the start if that might happen.

How to scope usage well

• Plan where the work will run in the first six to twelve months, not every possible future use
• Separate organic social from paid social; they are priced differently
• Agree renewal terms up front, so extending later is quick
• Keep a record of usage per shoot, with start and end dates

When plans change

If a campaign performs well and you want to extend it, talk to the agency before the usage ends. Extensions are routine. Using images after the agreed period without a renewal is not, and it is the most common cause of disputes between brands and agencies.

If you are not sure what to ask for, describe your plans in your brief and our bookers will suggest a sensible scope. Our guide to writing a model brief covers the other details, and you can send a brief here.