Let me make a suggestion that will satisfy your need for content without violating copyright issues ... But first, an example that comes from firsthand experience. You're writing a tutorial about how to do compositing and postwork on a photograph, to teach people how to manipulate photos in a graphic program. The tutorial is part of a chapter in a book. So, you shoot a photo of your baby niece or nephew. The parents give you verbal permission to use it. When the chapter is done, you submit it to the publisher for editing and review. They ask "Did you get a release for the photo? We need one." You say "It's my niece and the parents said it was OK." The publisher says "Cool, but we need it in writing." So ... here's a case where it WASN'T someone famous, it was someone in my own family that I knew. The publisher knew they had a legal responsibility to obtain permission to use the photo in their book, and to distribute the photo on their CD. Imagine the legalities involved with photos of celebrities ... So ... my suggestion is to have members of your forum take front and side photos of themselves, and to submit them with an email or PDF file that gives other members of the group permission to use them for character creation. Otherwise you will get yourself in a VERY hot puddle of wax.