A practical guide to getting on top of image permissions

Photo by Josh Withers on Unsplash

If you work in marketing or communications, there is a good chance sorting out the image permissions for your asset library has been consigned to the too hard box, there are a million and one other things to do today so that’s a job for future you.

You know it matters. You know there are rules. But between campaigns, events, stakeholders, budgets and deadlines, it can feel complicated, scary, and very easy to avoid.

The good news though is that you don’t need to solve everything at once.

Managing image permissions is not about instant perfection or full legal compliance overnight. It is about making a few sensible, achievable changes that reduce risk now and give you a solid platform for the future.

This guide is designed to help you take those first steps.

Before you introduce new processes or tools, it helps to understand where you are right now.

This is not an audit designed to catch mistakes. It is simply a way of getting clarity.

Ask a few basic questions:

What types of assets do we already have?

• Photography
• Video
• Audio
• Illustrations

Where does this content live?

• Shared drives
• Cloud storage
• Asset libraries
• Individual laptops

How is it currently being used?

• Website
• Social media
• Prospectuses or brochures
• Internal communications

Most teams discover they already have a large and extremely valuable library of content. They also discover that permissions are often assumed, implied, or stored entirely separately from the files themselves.

That is normal. You are not behind. You are simply at the starting point.

Not all imagery carries the same level of risk.

Focus first on content that includes:

• Identifiable people
• Children or vulnerable individuals
• Private locations
• Commissioned photography or video
• Content used publicly or long term

For education and public sector organisations, this often includes:

• Student photography
• Event photography
• Case study videos
• Staff portraits
• Community engagement imagery

For businesses and other organisations it might include:

• Marketing shots of customers
• Staff profiles
• Case studies

You are not trying to fix the past here. You are simply identifying what types of content should have clear permission attached.

This helps you prioritise where to act first.

Next, look at how new content comes into the organisation.

Ask questions like:

• Who commissions photography or video?
• Is it internal, external, or both?
• Are photographers given guidance on permissions?
• Do we rely on them to collect releases, or do we manage it ourselves?

Many organisations assume permissions are handled by whoever takes the photos. Sometimes they are. Often they are not collected consistently, or the paperwork never makes it back to the team that needs it.

This is a key exposure point.

Clarity here is more important than complexity. Even a simple, agreed approach is better than assumptions.

One of the biggest risks with image permissions is not that they do not exist, but that they cannot be found.

Permissions might be:

• Paper forms in a filing cabinet
• PDFs attached to emails
• Stored with a supplier
• On someone’s desktop

If a complaint comes in or a question is asked, the real problem is often the scramble to prove permission was granted.

A good first step is to agree one principle:

Permissions should be easy to find, clearly linked to the content, and securely stored.

You do not need to solve this perfectly yet. Just recognising the issue helps guide better decisions going forward.

This is where things start to feel achievable.

Instead of aiming for full compliance across everything, define a minimum viable process for all new content.

For example:

• We always collect permission when people are identifiable
• We use a standard, approved release template
• Permissions are captured digitally where possible
• Permissions are linked to the project or shoot
• Permissions are stored securely and centrally

That is it.

This alone significantly reduces risk and builds confidence across the team.

Simple, efficient and secure processes matter more than complex policy documents that nobody follows.

Once the basics are in place, small adjustments can make a big difference.

Examples include:

• Adding permission checks into project setup
• Making releases part of event planning
• Briefing photographers more clearly
• Improving usage descriptions
• Giving teams visibility of what can and cannot be used

These changes reduce friction rather than add to it. Over time, they save effort, avoid awkward conversations, and protect both the organisation and the people you photograph.

Finally, it helps to think about where you want to get to, even if you are not there yet.

A good image permissions process should:

• Grow with your content library
• Support creativity, not restrict it
• Make reuse easier and safer
• Stand up to scrutiny if needed

Whether you use spreadsheets, shared systems, or dedicated platforms, the goal is the same: clarity, confidence and control.

If you take nothing else from this guide, take this:

You do not need to fix everything today.

By reviewing what you have, understanding where the risks are, and putting a few simple processes in place, you are already in a far better position than you were before.

Small, thoughtful steps now can remove a lot of fear and uncertainty later. And once the foundations are in place, building on them becomes much easier.

If you would like support turning these ideas into something practical and sustainable, there are tools and partners designed to help. The important thing is that you have started.

That is how progress happens.