Do you always ask your client for permission to put the images on your website?

[jonasthomas]

Hello,

 

I was wondering if you always ask your client for permission to put the images you crafted for them on your portfolio website?

 

Sometimes if a project hasn't been announced to the public they may ask you to not post it publicaly yet, but in most cases I think it is pretty obvious that they wouldn't have problems with it since they posted it already on their own websites for example.

 

I would like to hear some experiences with this.

 

Thanks in advance!

[peterhoste]

it's always best to ask for permission of the client, even if you own the copyrights on the images, (that's something you should agree on before starting the job), it's their design you are showing, so the copyrights are never fully yours (at least in Belgium you have shared copyrights over the images, you made the image and the client/architect made the the design, the client also has to ask you for permission if they publish the images).

Most clients don't have a problem you show the renderings on your own site, but it depends on the kind of work: if the renderings are made for a competition and they win it's never a problem, if they don't win, the architect might not wanna make their design public because they wanna be able to reuse the design or parts of it for an other project. Sometimes when it's government job they only want the winner to be made public because they don't want a public debate about the result of the competition.

We have clients who don't want the images to go online but only in our paper portfolio, other clients only want the images on our site but not on other sites like this one or flickr or Facebook….

[notamondayfan]

In my contract it states than any content created can be used for marketing, which includes websites, however I always ask first.

[Morne Erasmus]

Yes as mentioned, you should have it in your contract. If they have a problem with releasing it before the project is "public domain" then you can have a separate agreement for when you can upload it. In general it should be fine for you to post it (if it was in your contract) if the client already posted it on their own site. It's just courteous to ask 1st

[Devin Johnston]

Same here, my contract states I own the rights and can use it anytime and for anything I choose, there's no need to ask permission in my opinion because they've already given it.

[Scott Schroeder]

Ditto for having it in the contract and having this dialog at the very start of the project.

 

The only time I could see them not allowing you to use it is for a competition as Peter pointed out. But even then, I discuss possible re-use if I just change the name, remove any specific branding, and do not specifically say it was by Dewey Cheetum and Howe Architects for the "Bob Smith's Big Ole Dumb Building" competition.

 

The only other time you can't show the image regardless, is if you have signed an NDA and it is still in effect.

[jonasthomas]

Thanks for sharing your insight!

[Reitveld]

Same here. My contract says I may use the images for self promotion and marketing. If a client wants an NDA signed or a waiting period before I can use the image, then I will respect that. If the project waiting period is too great, then I would adjust my fee to account for marketing time lost.

[Jason Matthews]

I do not include anything in my contract per se. I just simply ask them up front. If they give me a time frame then I respect it. When the time frame expires I ask them again. I have never had issues unless it is a competition or the like.

[Alex York]

A lot of the projects I work on are fairly sensitive, such as planning applications for controversial proposals, competitions and that sort of thing. Typically those projects take years before they filter through into the public domain. I always ask permission as soon as a job is signed off but never show anything unless I've either had permission or it's already out in the PD, then it's a go of course. I've had to sit on really great images for literally years because of this, but my clients always appreciate that we take confidentiality very seriously. It can be hugely damaging for you and your client if you "leak" an image of a sensitive project before the client has chosen to release it themselves. I don't insist upon being able to publish work in contracts because of this - I'd say maybe 30% or so of our work will either not be seen for years or will never be seen by anyone outside my office.