Clients increasingly ask models for more than photos. A booking may include a 3D body scan, a voice recording, or permission to generate new images of you with AI tools. Once a convincing digital version of you exists, it can potentially work without you, in places and contexts you never imagined.
This guide helps you recognise AI-related requests, ask the right questions, and negotiate terms that keep you in control. The law here is still developing and differs between countries, so focus on what you can control now: clear consent, fair pay, and limits in writing.
- A digital replica is any synthetic version of you, from a 3D avatar to AI-generated images in your likeness.
- Using your images as training data can let a system learn your features for future outputs.
- Meaningful consent should be specific to each use, not a single broad checkbox.
- Digital use of your likeness can replace future bookings, so it deserves its own payment.
- Rights over likeness and data vary by jurisdiction and are being actively debated.
Step by step: protecting yourself in AI and digital work
01Find out what is being captured
Ask exactly what the client will record: standard photos, video, a full-body or facial scan, motion capture, or your voice. Each creates data of different value, and a high-detail scan can be reused far more flexibly than a single campaign image.
If a scan appears on set without having been mentioned in the booking, you can pause and call your agent. Agreeing to be scanned is a separate decision from agreeing to be photographed.
02Ask what the data will be used for
Purposes vary widely. A scan might be used for virtual try-on in one campaign, to create a reusable digital double for future content, or to train an AI model that could generate new people based partly on you.
Request a written description of the intended uses and who will have access, including outside technology vendors. A purpose you can explain in one sentence is easier to limit and price than a vague promise.
03Read the AI and digital clauses closely
Look for words such as synthetic, digital likeness, avatar, simulation, machine learning, derivative works, or any technology now known or later developed. These phrases may appear in standard releases and quietly grant wide rights.
Check whether the contract lets the client alter your appearance, change your body, age, or ethnicity, combine you with other people, or create content showing you doing things you never did. Each of these deserves explicit agreement.
04Give consent use by use
Aim for terms that require your approval for each new use of your digital likeness, ideally with the chance to review outputs before publication. This protects you from appearing in campaigns or categories that conflict with your values, or that clash with an existing exclusivity agreement.
Consider listing excluded uses explicitly, such as political content, adult material, or specific product categories. Clear exclusions are easier to enforce than general good intentions.
05Negotiate fair compensation
If a digital double can appear in content without you on set, that content may replace paid days you would otherwise have worked. Ask for a capture fee for the scan itself and separate usage fees each time your replica is used.
Hypothetically, a brand might shoot you once and then generate a season of product imagery. Your fee should reflect the total output created from your likeness, not just the hours you spent in the studio.
06Limit duration and require deletion
Set a clear end date for any digital use, just as you would for photographs. Ask what happens to scan files, models, and training datasets when the agreement ends.
Request a written commitment to delete or stop using your data at the end of the term, and ask whether the client can confirm deletion. Be aware that removing information from a trained AI system may be technically difficult, which is a strong reason to limit training use from the start.
07Ask how your data will be stored and shared
Biometric data like face and body scans is sensitive. Ask where files are stored, who can access them, whether they will be transferred to third parties, and what happens if the company is sold or closes.
Some countries treat this as protected personal data with specific rights. A privacy or media lawyer can tell you what applies where you live and work.
08Stay informed as rights evolve
Governments, courts, and industry bodies are actively addressing AI and likeness rights, and protections are changing quickly. Follow updates from unions, model alliances, and trusted industry organisations in your markets.
Talk with your agency about its AI policy and how it handles requests. Sharing experiences with other models also helps you spot unfair terms early and builds a clearer picture of what is becoming standard in your market.
Red flags to watch for
- A scan added on set that was never mentioned in your booking confirmation or call sheet.
- Clauses granting rights in any technology now known or later developed, with no extra fee.
- No end date for digital use and no commitment about deletion.
- Permission for unlimited alterations to your face, body, or identity.
- Vague answers when you ask who will access your data and why.
- Ask in advance whether any body scans or AI generation are planned for the job.
- Get every intended use of your data described clearly in writing.
- Request approval rights over new uses and finished outputs.
- Negotiate a capture fee plus separate usage fees.
- Set an end date and a written deletion commitment.
- Check your agency's AI policy and follow model alliance updates.
Technology will keep changing how images are made, but your likeness remains part of your livelihood. Asking clear questions now, and insisting on specific, documented consent, helps make sure the future of modeling still includes fair work for real people.