Revised June 2019

Vitamin Angel Alliance, Inc. Photo Use Guidelines

As a registered 501(c)3 non-profit, non-commercial entity, Vitamin Angels captures, uses, and shares documentary style photographs of the people and places associated with our work.

There are two aspects of documentary photography use that are critical for our partners to understand when using our images:

• Appropriate Use: Documentary Image Use by Commercial Entities
• Accurate Use: Photographic Authenticity and Visual Misrepresentation

The following guidelines are intended as the minimum criteria for determining if proposed third party use of Vitamin Angels images is permissible.  

Documentary Image Use by Commercial Entities

Vitamin Angels is pleased to be able to share – via our Asset Download page - a selection of images directly with our corporate partners for use in partnership-related commercial or consumer-facing initiatives. The subjects featured in these images have consented to the use of their likenesses by Vitamin Angels and our qualified partners with the express intention of raising awareness for our cause, including raising funds to further our mission. The subjects have NOT signed commercial or model releases or been compensated for the use of their likenesses. As such, it is critical to ensure that no use of these images implies the subject directly or indirectly endorses any third party product or service.

Acceptable Use:

Advertisements, promotional collateral (print or digital), partner websites and the like may feature Vitamin Angels’ images in the context of the partnership with Vitamin Angels, including how a customer’s purchase of products or services will support Vitamin Angels’ mission.

In all cases, use of Vitamin Angels images must be accompanied by copy, graphics, or the Vitamin Angels’ logo/proud supporter logo referencing the partnership. Reference does not need to happen on the image itself, but it should be in relative proximity to ensure a third party can identify the context.

Unacceptable Use:

• Vitamin Angels’ images may NOT be used in any advertisement, promotional collateral (print or digital), partner websites and the like that links subject(s) in an image with a specific product or service of a commercial entity in a way that may imply a product endorsement from which the commercial entity may profit. 
• Vitamin Angels’ images may NOT be used directly on products or packaging
• Company logos should not be placed directly on top of Vitamin Angels’ images
• Commercial product shots may not be placed on top of or overlapping Vitamin Angels’ images. There must always be a clear, visual separation between Vitamin Angels’ images and any commercial product or product offering. 
  • It is our strong preference that Vitamin Angels’ images not be featured on the same collateral as product shots, even when the sale of that product results in a donation to Vitamin Angels. We suggest using either: a) copy about the product and resulting donation along with a Vitamin Angels’ image, or b) copy about a resulting donation to Vitamin Angels along with a product shot.

A useful rule of thumb. Ask yourself whether a consumer casually passing by, and without reading any copy, might infer that the subject of the photo is endorsing a product or service. If so, please adjust your creative to make the distinction clearer or replace the image with a commercial photo.

Photographic Authenticity and Visual Misrepresentation:

Vitamin Angels’ images represent real people in real-life situations. Maintaining the humanity and dignity of those individuals is of the highest priority. As such, any use of Vitamin Angels’ photography should be done in keeping with Vitamin Angels’ Principles and Guidelines for Ethical Reporting on Children.

Editing Images:

Photographic authenticity may be compromised by inappropriate use of digital photo editing software. Editing of our photographs has ethical, and possibly legal, implications for Vitamin Angels and may affect our credibility. Manipulation of photos for graphic design purposes is generally acceptable as long as the meaning of the image is not distorted by the change(s); this may include cropping, contrast or color balancing. However, manipulation of a photo that distorts the reality of the image is not permitted. This includes, but is not limited to altering images by inserting, removing, or re-touching content. Examples include removing dirt or from a subject’s cheek or a fly from a subject’s eyes.

Accurate Representation:

Any visual misrepresentation of the content of an image is not permitted.

This includes, but is not limited to using a photograph taken in one country and implying it was taken in another. Such use violates the right of the subjects to be accurately represented, and viewers are manipulated into thinking they are viewing subjects from one area, when they are not. Vitamin Angels has an extensive library of photos from the countries we serve, if content from a specific country is necessary, please contact us for available imagery.

For the same reasons, it is our strong preference that our partners do not use stock images to represent the individuals benefitting from our efforts.

Finally, any use of Vitamin Angels’ content must be done in accordance with the terms of use agreed to in order to acquire content. This document does not supersede any other previous or existing terms or agreements.

Questions? Contact: Associate Director of Brand Marketing, Kim Saam, ksaam@vitaminangels.org