Howdy,
Today’s article is about a handy document that Gavin Holt from Gavin Photography found about legal rights of a photographer. He carries a copy around in his photography bag should he be confronted by authorities and treated in an uncivilized way.
In the video, we talked about the common scenarios of photographing in a public or private locations and techniques of getting around sticky situations. I hope everyone finds it useful!
Link to legal document – http://www.krages.com/ThePhotographersRight.pdf
Download | Read | Print
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Sincerely,
Lawrence
Chipotle Fan | Furious Photographers
{ 13 comments… read them below or add one }
Wow, thank you so much. This will really relieve my paranoia while shooting. And its SO exciting to know that we can shoot on private property until they ask you to leave, I am always too chicken to ask for permission so I pass up great locations all of the time. A thousand thanks for offering this information to us all free of charge and even including a printout! The only thing we could ask any more for would be the response to give people bugging us! : ) Thanks a thousand times!
Very helpful! Thank you very much to you both.
That was great! I love hearing how other photographers deal with this. Thank you for posting what our legal rights are. You guys rock!
Thanks for the photographer’s rights information and insight!
Great Post! I was always worried about the “deletion of images” when asked by a representative of the location’s that had issues with my photo sessions. I have been asked several times to delete my images or stop shooting and leave but it was usually by an elderly employee so I just put my running shoes to the test
…All kidding aside this was a great blog and a great link to the legal document. Keep of the great work Tofurious!
Thank You,
Brian Smith
S&R Photography
Thanks for the pointers… the handy reference sheet is very nice.
If I were with a paying client and were asked by an official if I were shooting for profit, I would not feel comfortable lying about that. What would my rights be then? Do you have to have a permit to shoot for profit in any public place?
Depending on the location, some public places require permits while others do not. The best solution is to purchase a day permit to photograph commercially. The price for a permit (from my experience) ranges from $25 to $300 for one day.
Good information for all photogs to have! Thanks!
Great PDF, guys.
Robbie – I’ve been telling my clients that no permit means we’re not-for-profit and usually, everyone has been fine with that. And if they’re not, I may suggest to them that a permit is more money (because it is) and sometimes pushes back a shoot date because you have to apply, pay, etc.
If they’re okay with paying for the permit (especially if the location is out of my area and/or chosen by them) and possibly waiting for it to show up, then I’m okay with that too.
And some public places don’t require a permit regardless. Some do. You would need to check beforehand. I know that Paseo-Colorado stopped me on their premises from just photographing my friend on their property. They said I had to obtain permission. And that’s fine; on another day, it might’ve been different with another officer who doesn’t care.
As a wedding photographer though, you generally need to consider a permit beforehand and include the application of one in your pricing. Mostly because you will probably be lugging around some equipment like extra bodies/lenses and obviously a wedding dress and groom will give it away. It’s tougher for them to believe you’re just “photographing my friends.”
Just my .02 cents =)
Great post guys! I am always sooo scared to venture out of my little comfort zone when it comes to new locations…..but with this info I just might!
Great post! I agree with you Lynette, it can be a little intimidating at times. Being polite, courteous, and using common sense will help cut the tension down if you ever find yourself in a sticky situation. Thanks ToFu for all of your valuable information. You rock!!!
Thanks guys. I’ve been yelled at from store owners, and had the police come out and harass me because I was taking pictures of an old abandoned drive-in sign. I would think that being there with a camera would show my purpose as in I’m there for photography. If I was loitering with no camera, I would think that would be more of an issue.
Thanks again! I’m printing this out and keeping it with me for next time.