CAUGHT OUT !! (should be a discussion I think now...:(....)

Comment

Comment by Peter Anscombe on December 8, 2010 at 12:55am

Hi Cathrynn,
First I envy you living in Oxford! Great place to photograph architecture and people. I go there often as my son is a post grad at Lincoln College.
The question of the right to take photos of people is an interesting one. To my knowledge the law has not changed but I feel public opinion has. As togs we need to respect privacy so here are my own disciplines:
In public a shot of small groups or single people should be by permission only. If you want candids the only way therefore is to shoot first and ask after; and be willing to delete. For larger groups - street scenes etc. then I think that it's legitimate to just ake the shot. Children is an even trickier area. Some sports clubs e.g. rugby have made it a condition of playing that parents accept that general photographs of their little darlings is permitted - this seems sensible to me.
btw. some building owners are equally concerned in these troubled times.
Keep shooting and keep posting!
Peter

Comment by Charlene Nicole on December 7, 2008 at 9:26am

Thank you for asking this question. This is a great thing to know. :)

Comment by Cathrynn on November 16, 2008 at 6:29pm

thanks everyone, VERY MUCH...that is a great relief - & of course I had forgotten about CCTV cameras everywhere!! ... I was out taking some photos of kids playing football yesterday - & did meet a few concerned parents but the referree said - thats fine, dont worry - carry on...:) ... though I reckon I would have had trouble had I been a man, to be honest...*sigh*........I dont look very threatening!

Comment by Lowell on November 16, 2008 at 2:02pm

Hey Cathrynn you are in the right here if their was a law against that the news industry would be choking about now LOL. You are fine to take public pictures an put them on the net.

Comment by Daniel Cossack on November 16, 2008 at 10:26am

This issue has been asked a lot and has also be debated ad nauseam, though no offense to you Cathrynn -- it is a perfectly legitimate question to ask. If you've been around photographers circles for the past several years, you would be feeling that photographers have been getting much harassment from police lately, especially since Sep 11, 2001. But the laws have not changed since the beginning of time.

The truth is that laws not only vary from country to country, but in the U.S. the laws vary from state to state, which is really to define exactly what is an invasion of privacy. Besides talking to a lawyer in your state, the best source of information on this subject is a book called "Legal Handbook For Photographers -- The Rights and Liabilities of Making Images, 2nd Ed." by Bert Krages, Esq.

In general, people in public places do not have an expectation of privacy with regards to being casually photographed by someone, but it sure makes people nervous when you point a DSLR camera & Lens at someone. We as photographers need to respect that and always ask permission when it is practical.

Comment by tressillian on November 15, 2008 at 9:07am

The law varies between country. In the UK you are perfectly entitled to take photos in public without anyone's permission. If you use the image commercially, then you need permission from the subject of the picture. The police, community support officers or security guards have no rights to prevent you taking pictures in public spaces. They also have no rights to confiscate your camera, request to view your photos or delete them. This is all despite the "hate" campaign waged by the Met police against so-called terrorist photographers. Tell me, is a terrorist going to take photos of a target with a big Canon white lens? - errrr, no. History and research indicates that no terrorist group - Bader Meinhoff, IRA, Al Queda ever took photos of targets. I will (and do) challenge anybody to call the police if they believe I am taking photos illegally (which I'm not).

Comment by Michael on November 14, 2008 at 6:50am

oops, links didnt appear

http://www.phooto.co.uk/rights.shtml

Cant rememebr the other one!

Comment by Michael on November 14, 2008 at 6:48am

Found this on a website
"If you take a picture of someone in a public place, or visible from a public place, then you CANNOT be "invading their privacy". You do not have privacy in a public place ; that's why it's called "public".

It is not even illegal to photograph someone in a private place, such as a shopping mall. You may be asked to leave, and if asked to, you must, but photography, other than obvious cases like obscene pictures of children, is not a matter of criminal law, but civil law. Therefore, no one can demand that you delete photographs you have taken, even if they are "security guards" (the modern posh name for store walkers). Indeed, even the police cannot instruct you to delete your photographs, nor can anyone confiscate your camera. The police only have jurisdiction in criminal law, they have none at all to enforce civil law."


It looks like it makes sense (other sites said th esame kind of thing) but obviously, the best answer would be straight from a legal professional.


Another (probably better) source is from this site...



I hope this helps.

I am not a legal profesional. So please check...