^ exactly true.
the for profit use or not for profit use is the key.
this topic is ever evolving, but my spouse worked for a major stock image company for like 5yrs in the oughties, so i know quite a bit about use of images.
basically --
regarding people, its ok if the use is not for profit.
if a for profit use, its ok if they are in the public realm and not singled out. if you single people out you need a signed release.
for structures, again its generally ok if not for profit.
if a for profit use, it depends. first of all, the owner of the structure must have first legally secured what is called image rights. then if you use their image the agency will come after you to charge for use. the fee varies on the use. usually, if you dont want to pay, they will just ask you to take it down. if you dont, they will most definately sue you.
for example, the chrysler building is the stock image industry poster boy. they have secured image rights and will go after anyone who tries to use an image of it for profit (you can use an image of it for profit if its in part a cityscape scene though, but that gets into a gray area).
this stuff varies over the years though, so you have to keep up with it.
here is a list of image rights secured places -- it may surprize you!
https://helpx.adobe.com/stock/contri...trictions.html
^ note -- keep in mind that is just adobe and there are several other major stock agencies to check if you are building an image laden website or something!!!
and lastly we get down here to ssp photo threads. if ssp runs at a profit, then images of specific people and places may be an issue. while unlikely to happen, the best solution is if somebody ever contacts you about having a problem something, just be cool and take the image down asap.
