There are two basic areas of law that affect the use of photographs depicting the US Armed Forces -- Department of Defense policies and regulations, and civil law.

Civil Law, Privacy, and Model Releases

The civil part of the issue mostly seems to concern recognizable people, especially the image of recognizable people used in advertising and promotion. All such persons retain a basic right of privacy -- and this, to the surprise of some -- includes all serving military personnel. Just because a person is wearing a uniform and is a member of the armed forces does not mean their image is up for grabs and can be used for any purpose. Just as with people in the civilian world, a "model release" or consent form giving permission for advertising or promotional use must be signed without risking legal action. Model releases are NOT needed for "editorial" or news-related factual publication such as illustrations in non-fiction books and magazine articles.

DoD Editorial Photo Use Policy

The Department of Defense is very happy to have photographs of its people, systems, and activities used for informational, non-fiction publications, but gets fussy about advertising. Basically, DoD tries to make sure nobody suggests that the US Government endorses any commercial product or activity. Toward this end, DoD has some pretty strict guidelines; here is a summary of those requirements:

Summary of DoD Restrictions Concerning Advertising and Promotion

No active duty person may appear in an ad or other promotion, with or without a model-release;

No military uniform, or distinctive part of a military uniform may appear in an ad, especially dress uniforms, branch insignia, decorations, or unit insignia. This is interpreted by DoD to include fake decorations and insignia that give the impression of a US DoD uniform. It includes pilot and aircrew wings and similar qualification badges commonly worn by DoD personnel;

No distinctive DoD markings or unit identification on aircraft or other systems (such as those found on USAF and USN planes and "bumper markings" on tanks and ground vehicles) may appear in promotional materials;

Advertisers can meet DoD requirements by insuring that DoD-specific markings on vehicles and aircraft are "Photoshopped" out, and personnel in photographs are (1) not members of the US armed forces, (2) wear only "sterile" or unmarked BDUs, and submit layouts for advertising and promotional material to the Office of the Secretary of Defense Office of Public Affairs, Attention Cynthia Minnick, email to Cynthia.Minnick@osd.mil) in PDF form (with high-resolution image files) prior to publication for approval.

Military Stock Photography's main site is the premier site for model-released images of men and women that meet these DoD requirements for advertising and promotion. If you need model-released images, please visit our primary site by clicking here.