Amyl and the Sniffers' Amy Louise Taylor sues photographer over "exploitation of her image"

Amy Louise Taylor filed a complaint against Jamie Nelson under the district court of California, detailing that her photos taken for the July issue of Vogue Portugal were being used unlawfully. The dispute first began Amyl and the Sniffers' manager Simone Ubaldi reached out to Nelson back in July 2024 to take photos of the band for their third album, Cartoon Darkness.

Court documents obtained by The Guardian state that in August, the band informed Nelson that their "name, image, or likeness" shouldn't be used for the promotion of her photography business or to sell merchandise, including "fine art prints". Consequently, the band didn't go ahead with the shoot.

"As explained to Ms. Nelson, the Band was zealously protective of their image and did not want these used for non-Band-sanctioned, private commercial purposes such as Ms. Nelson had proposed. As a result, the photo shoot was never conducted," the complaint states.

Nelson later contacted Taylor about posing for the Vogue Portugal shoot, with the stated intention that the photos would be used exclusively for the issue. Taylor agreed to these conditions, but the complaint states that she did not authorise Nelson's use of the photos for additional commercial use. The photoshoot went ahead in May, with the images appearing in the July issue.

In September, Nelson sent Taylor and Ubaldi a selection of photos that she wished to sell as "fine art prints" on her website, according to the documents. They state that Ubaldi "immediately" reiterated that Nelson did not have Taylor's permission to sell the photos, with Taylor adding that Nelson was “well aware of [her] antipathy to such an expanded exploitation of her image”. Nelson was not authorised to sell images from the photoshoot at any point despite her further requests for licensing, which Taylor continued to decline.

According to the complaint, Ubaldi wrote to Nelson: “We are not interested in a buyout of these images … I cannot be clearer about this – [Taylor] does not want you to sell images of her face, or her body as fine art prints."

"If you had been transparent with her in advance of the shoot about your desire/intentions to sell the photos, she would have said no to the shoot. If you had any notion or desire to sell pictures of [Taylor] to recoup your costs, you should have disclosed this beforehand. We simply would have said no to the shoot.”

The complaint notes that on 20 September, Taylor found that Nelson had listed the photos as "fine art prints" on her website, and was promoting a "zine" consisting of both published and unpublished images from the shoot.

It further states that Taylor's photos are still featured across Nelson's website and social media channels, alleging that the use of her "distinctive Australian ‘pub rock’" image runs the risk of confusion around her involvement with Nelson's commercial activity. Additionally, it claims that Taylor will “continue to suffer” harm, including “lost profits and damages to her reputation, brand, and business interests”. Neither Taylor nor Nelson has publicly commented about the dispute.