Photography in Public Places

For those of us here in the UK,

Photographer's Rights, http://www.sirimo.co.uk/2009/05/14/u...ers-rights-v2/

Print a few out and stick 'em in the gadget bag. I get stop searched quite a lot here in Manchester but as long as you're polite and cooperative, I find that I can then turn the tables, so to speak, and educate police officers into our technological field. Then hand 'em a print of the above. And tell 'em that iPhones are more of a threat!

A quirky little thing from our old friends, Amateur Photographer,

http://www.amateurphotographer.co.uk...ws_300122.html

Not sure of photographer's right for the rest of the world but the U.S. has always been a b***dy nightmare.

Quote:

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Originally Posted by Seriche

Hi Al :)

Have you read no. 4 here yet?

http://rising.blackstar.com/seven-ti...ic-places.html

Pretty sure you're OK with those last shots as they can't be identified. I admire you for having the courage to take photos of people in public :)

Seri

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Hi Seri, thanks. It feels awkward, you know haha. I always ask permissions from people and I think I need more practice in stealing moments, 'cos my hands trembled.:) You're right it really needs courage in my part of the world.

Quote:

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Originally Posted by The Blue Boy

Not sure of photographer's right for the rest of the world but the U.S. has always been a b***dy nightmare.

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Mark I would like to disagree with you on this. If it can be seen from a public place it can be photograph, unless it involves national security. If anyone comes up to complain it comes down to moral issue versus a legal issue. Our constitution grants us that right. This has been verified with several legal professionals ( 2 personally) and several court cases. The only real exception to this if a person is in their house as they have a very real "expectation of Privacy".
There is a misconception that if you can see into someone's house it is public when it is not. Other laws do not allow this. If they are in their front yard this another story all together, but the moral side says they should feel safe on their property period IMHO. I have never been told not to photograph unless I was standing on private property.
Sam

John, thanks so much for the link. It's a really comprehensive explanation of copyright and trademark laws for photographers, and it was very interesting to learn that “You're not going to get into trouble just because you took a photo of a building, logo, or other trademarked or copyrighted work. Just as with taking pictures of people, it's not the photo that matters, it's how the photo is used.” Well, no trouble legally, but it might not stop someone taking offence, of course ;)

I've found plenty of sites covering legal rights for photographers, but nothing much on the early history or origin of those laws. Still looking though :)

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Richard, very interesting to read about tripod laws. Never thought about that before. Love the bit about the silent movie makers in central park :)

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Mark and Mike, those UK photographers' rights cards look like a good idea. Some UK home educators used to carry something similar to clarify the law to police officers who would mistake their children for truants.

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Al, Pete mentioned asking permission after taking the shots as asking beforehand can ruin the moment. That takes even more courage though, I would have thought ;)

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Sam, from reading around the subject there seem to be all kinds of misconceptions about rights floating around. Even within the same country. And it seems that lawyers sometimes press charges against photographers even when there's no legal basis for the action.

Seri