Generally speaking, a photographer owns the copyright of all photographs they take. The main exception is when the photograph has been taken for someone else, and the "contract" involved requires the customer to have the copyright. An example would be where someone is employed full-time to take photographs. There is now clear legislation in this area, the Copyright, Designs and Patents Act 1994. Note that a legal contract can be implied, and does not have to involve a signed document.

If the photograph itself includes a copyright image (eg an advertising hoarding or logo) then the full legal situation may not be as simple as stated above. Consult a reference such as "The Professional Photographer's Handbook" for more detailed information.

Copyright can also be assigned, sold or given away by the copyright holder. An example is wedding and other photographs, where the photographer or photographic company may offer to sell the negatives and copyrights.

Sending a photo in to a competition, or for publication in a magazine, does not have to involve giving up the copyright. Generally speaking, you are allowing someone to reproduce your photograph under specified circumstances. Usually, this is a single printing in one issue of a magazine or book for sale in a limited number of countries. If the company wishes to use the image more than that (eg Web publishing, re-printing in an anthology, publication in another country, use on posters or calendars) then they must obtain fresh permission and pay an appropriate fee. Note that some magazines and companies run so-called "competitions" which are actually schemes for obtaining a very large number of reproducible images without having to pay for copyright or reproduction. Read the terms and conditions of any competition very carefully, and, if in any doubt, don't send in an entry. It is entirely reasonable for winning entries to be published once or twice in a magazine, book or calendar, but full assignment of copyright and unrestricted reproduction rights should not normally be involved.

If you are going to have a photograph published, then the publisher will usually require a "model release". This is a simple statement signed by those people who are recognisable in the photograph and/or named in the caption. An "professional" model release form as signed by a model after a commercial photo session can be quite elaborate, but for most purposes a simpler text be adequate.

A number of suitable examples can be found on the 'net.

Recently, it has become common for publications to require the model release to be specific about whether or not the image can be published on the Web as well as in printed form. You may wish to make it clear that Internet publication is or is not being permitted.

UK magazine H&E Naturist provides some useful guidelines for contributors, including a photographers' model release form. Basically, they want images of naked people in natural settings. Age and sex of the subjects are irrelevant - providing they are adults - but it is preferable for them to be doing something and appearing to enjoy this! Wooden and glamour poses aren't wanted, and indoor images will normally look too much like top-shelf material to be of interest.