‘What are you legal rights when it comes to taking photos?’ – this is a question most photographers can’t answer, yet most of us have encountered issues at one point or another. You’d be pushed to find a photographer who hasn’t been moved on or challenged while they’ve been out shooting, despite having the right to be there – or so they think.
Here is a break-down of the law in the UK and USA about where you can and can’t take photos. *correct at time of publish.
In both the USA and UK, you can take photos of almost anything and anyone while you are on public property. So that means, you can take photos of people in the street, buildings, anything, so long as you are on public land (ie. a footpath/sidewalk). You cannot take photos on private property (ie. a shopping centre/mall, home, theatre) without permission (but I’ll come back to this later).
In public places you do not need to ask permission before you take a photo of a building or a person. When you are shooting in public places, despite it being legal there are a few things that you must be mindful of. You can take photos of people in the street, however excessive photographing of a particular person can lead to harassment concerns. Also, if there are children in that public place, you must be mindful that people may be wary of you and may come up to challenge you. The exception to photographing people is that you cannot photograph where people have an expectation of privacy, such as dressing rooms, bathrooms, medical facilities and inside their homes.
Remain respectful when photographing people and make sure that you do not invade anyone’s privacy and be mindful of what people may and may not be comfortable with. Also beware of how you use these images afterwards. If you’ve take a photograph of someone in the street and intend on using the image for commercial use, you should obtain a signed model release form from that person. If the person is not recognisable or seems to be part of a crowd, you do not need a model release form.
The USA also has some restrictions on photography in some areas, such as national parks. Most of these won’t impact an amateur or someone just taking images for their personal use. The exacts of this vary state my state and park by park so this is worth checking before you go there to take your shots.
In the USA, taking photos at tourist attractions and monuments is generally legal, but some will prohibit photography - despite some arguably being ‘publicly’ owned such as libraries and museums. The UK will also have some attractions, even though they seem like it would be fine, that won’t allow you to take photos without special permission – such as Trafalgar square. If photographs are not permitted, you will likely be informed of this upon your entry.
In both the UK and USA, one issue that often get brought up when discussing photographers rights is terrorism concerns. Many of the arguments against you taking photos of buildings when on public land are due to terrorism acts. Some buildings may not permit you to take photos – for example more ‘sensitive buildings’ or military bases. You will attract more cause for concern if people think you are taking detailed photos of aspects of the building. Be prepared to explain yourself and what you are doing, if someone challenges you.
You are most likely to be challenged by security guards or police officers. In both the UK and USA security guards or police officers do not have the right to make you delete images or take your camera. To seize your camera, they must be making an arrest and must have a search warrant to search the contents of your gear.
You must ask permission from the appropriate owner or manager if you wish to take photos on private property. Be warned that you may be breaking the law if you hop a fence into someone’s property
You can take images on private property, if you have been granted entry to the property, unless it has been specified that you cannot. It is a criminal offence to be on private property without permission. For example if you hop a fence onto someones land, you are trespassing and the landowner could take action. If you also do not abide by a land owners wish for you to not take images on their property, they can also take action against this too.
If you are every challenged by someone on the street, or by a security guard or police officer, make sure that you remain calm, courteous and respectful at all times - if you are rude or abusive to them that is an unlawful act on its own.
This is a brief overview of the laws generally around taking photos in public. There are obviously exceptions to the law any many intricacies within this. If you’re not sure whether you can take photos, your best port of call is asking a police officer or any other authoritative figures nearby.
. digitalrev.com2018-1-4 03:00