Use case · Photography

Photographers and models:
verified before the first frame.

A photo shoot asks two strangers to trust each other. The model trusts that the photographer is who he says he is. The photographer trusts that the model is who she says she is, is old enough, and agreed to what the images will be used for. Most of that trust rests on a profile picture and a sheet of paper.

This is what one portfolio shoot looks like when both sides are verified, from the first message to the day someone asks for the release.

The shoot

A portfolio shoot, time for prints

No money changes hands. The photographer gets images for his portfolio, the model gets images for hers, and both want to use them freely. It is the most common kind of shoot and the one with the least paperwork.

M
Marco, photographer

Shoots editorial and portraits. Books new faces through casting posts, and wants a release he can actually produce when a client asks.

L
Lena, model

Building her book. Wants to know who she is meeting, what she is agreeing to, and that she will actually receive the images.

Marco and Lena are illustrative. The workflow is real.

Step by step

One shoot,
seen from both sides

Before

First contact

Marco

Marco is booking a portfolio shoot with a model he found through a casting post. He sends his verified ProntoID profile with the booking message, so the first thing she learns about him can be checked.

Lena

Lena has never met Marco. Before she agrees to a location and a time, she can confirm he is a real, verified person and not a borrowed name on a new account.

Uses Know Your Pal
Before

Joining the roster

Marco

Marco invites Lena to his roster and labels her role as model. If she already has a verified ProntoID, accepting takes seconds. If not, she verifies directly with ProntoID, and her passport never passes through Marco.

Lena

Lena accepts on her own terms. She can see what the roster holds about her (a display name, a role, a verification status) and she can leave it whenever she likes.

Uses ProntoRoster for Collaborators Early access
On the day

The release, signed on set

Marco

Before the first frame, Marco picks Lena and his assistant from the roster and shows a QR code. The scope is set in plain terms: portfolio and own website, worldwide, three years, withdrawal permitted for future use.

Lena

Lena scans the code with her own phone, reads the terms in plain sentences, and signs with her verified identity. A copy lands in her own account at the moment she signs, not in an email Marco promises to send later.

Uses ProntoRelease
After

Getting the images to the model

Marco

On a time-for-prints shoot, the images are Lena's payment. Marco sends the selects through ProntoDeliver rather than a public link that could be forwarded anywhere.

Lena

Lena unlocks the files with her face. Only she can open them, and Marco has a record that the images she was owed were delivered, and when.

Uses ProntoDeliver
After

Publishing with both names on it

Marco

When Marco publishes, he tags Lena in the set. The tag points to a verified person, not a typed handle that anyone could claim.

Lena

Lena approves the tag from her own account, so her name is attached to the work only with her say-so. The credit is hers to show in her own portfolio.

Uses ProntoTag
Months later

When someone asks

Marco

An agency licensing one of the images asks for the release. Marco opens it in his account: who signed, when, on what terms, with the wording Lena actually saw. The scope and signature are hashed, so anyone can check the record has not changed.

Lena

If Lena later decides she no longer wants the images used, she can withdraw. Because the release granted withdrawal, new use stops from that date, and the request and its outcome are recorded for both of them.

What changes

From paper and trust
to evidence both sides hold

The usual wayWith ProntoID
Who the model isA name and date of birth written by the modelIdentity and age verified against a document and a liveness check
Who the photographer isA profile name and some sample imagesA verified identity the model can check before meeting
What was agreedWhichever version of the form was printed that dayScope in plain terms, with the exact wording pinned to the signature
Where the release isA drawer, a scan, or an email threadIn both parties' accounts, from the moment of signing
How images reach the modelA shared folder link anyone can forwardFace-gated delivery, with a record of when it happened
What happens if she changes her mindUsually nothing that anyone can proveA recorded withdrawal, effective for future use where the terms allow it
For photographers

A release you can produce, not just a release you took

The release is signed before anyone leaves, by the person in the images, with their identity and age checked independently rather than written down by them. When a client, an agency or a platform asks for it, you open it and send it.

You never hold anyone’s passport, so you have nothing to secure and nothing to leak. And the model’s own copy is often what turns a hesitant signature into a quick one.

For models and performers

Know who you are meeting, and keep what you signed

You can check a photographer is a real, verified person before you agree to a location. You read the terms on your own phone, in plain sentences, and the signed copy is yours, in your account, for good.

The images you were promised arrive in a way only you can open. Your name goes on published work only when you approve the tag. And if you change your mind, there is a way to say so that is recorded, not ignored.

The limits

What this does not do

Verification makes a shoot easier to trust and easier to prove. It is not a guarantee about anybody’s behaviour, and we would rather say so here than have you find out later.

Published images stay published
Withdrawal stops new use. It cannot pull back what is already out, and nothing can.
Verification is not a character reference
A verified identity tells you who someone is. It does not tell you whether a shoot is a good idea. Meet somewhere public, bring someone, trust your instincts.
A roster is not consent
Being on a photographer's roster means only that you accepted an invitation. Every release is still signed, or not, by you.
Old paper forms stay what they are
A scanned paper release can be filed and hashed so it cannot be swapped, but the handwritten signature on it still cannot be verified.
Frequently asked questions

Questions from
both sides of the camera

Does the model need to pay for anything?

No. Verifying with ProntoID, joining a photographer's roster, signing a release and receiving delivered images are free for the model. The photographer pays for the services they use.

Can a model check a photographer before agreeing to a shoot?

Yes. A photographer with a verified ProntoID can share proof that they are who they say they are, and, once ProntoRoster for Collaborators launches, a history of sealed releases with other verified people. Neither side has to hand over documents to the other to get there.

What if the model wants to stop the images being used later?

It depends on the terms both sides agreed in the release. If withdrawal was granted, new use stops from the date of withdrawal. If it was not, the request is still recorded and sent to the photographer. Either way, images already published stay published: no digital release can reach backwards, and we do not claim otherwise.

Does this work for shoots with explicit content?

Yes, with stricter rules. Where a release covers sexually explicit content, each signer's age is checked against a verified record before they can sign, the term cannot be indefinite, and the platforms must be named. What records the producer must keep beyond that depends on jurisdiction and is a question for their own counsel.

Is this legal advice?

No. ProntoID and Brooks & Keitt Sàrl are not law firms. ProntoID records what was agreed, by whom, and when, and makes it easy to produce later. Whether the terms are right for your work and your jurisdiction is a question for your own counsel.

Your next shoot
can start verified

Start with a release today. Add your roster when early access opens.

Create a release Join the roster early access

More use cases
ProntoID and Brooks & Keitt Sàrl are not law firms and do not provide legal advice. The scenario on this page is illustrative. Release terms should be reviewed by your own counsel.