Photographing members of the Public
 

I am aware that Photographing People in public in certain countries without their consent is against the law or is strongly disaproved. In the past I have made some efforts to obtain sources of information on this point but to no avail. As a consequence I have reframed from taking shots with members of the public in the UK and abroad. Can anybody throw any light on this subject ?

Interesting question rob. Cant help on the law side of things though. I have to say that I have never photographed members of the public except in silhouette or as part of a mass crowd. I would love to do more of it though.

I have photograped people, but only when they have walked infront of the camera just as I pressed the sutter to take a landscape or architectual photograph.

ant

If the identity of that person was clearly visable and you posted the shot on the web or sold the image then what ?

Ive read various discussions on this subject in a couple of photo forums. In UK, it seems its pretty safe taking pics if people are in a 'public' place. Obviously, its a little more delicate when it comes to children, especially in the light of current sensitivities, so I steer clear of these situations. Sad really as when out and about you can't help but see the potential for a lovely shot. Like Annette, generally, if a person is featured in a shot of mine, they are usually silhouetted or at distance; but I do have shots of say, street performers in Dublin and couples along the beach. It just depends on the circumstances. I admit, I too can feel quite uncomfortable when out in public with my camera, and its a feeling common to a lot of photographers Ive met, both male and female. These subject discussions can open up all sorts of grey area situations. I too would like more info on the the legal stipulations regarding these responsibilities.

EDIT: Thought I'd do a search on 'The Law and Photography (in UK)' in google and found this: http://www.sirimo.co.uk/ukpr.php Ive not read through it yet, but glimpsed some of the info. You may find something towards helping you with your question Rob.

That's a good piece of info on the UK Tom. More than I managed to gather a year or so back. So did you break the law in Dublin ???? What is the EU stance on this topic. If I recall you can get into very hot water for doing this in France.

As a young teenager when I first got into photography I used to enjoy taking "documentary" style pictures particuarly in the west cumbrian towns where I grew up, which at the time were in decline and the B&W images portrayed this well. I had the confidence then to approach people and ask to take their pictures, mostly they obliged quite happily. There was at the time a local arts group project to document the area and some of the pictures went into an exhibition.

I wondor these days how many would want a fee for a picture of them being there on public display?

These days I prefer taking pictures of wildlife they tend to make any objection to being photographed known to me by running or flying away!

Good point Rob! Still not had a knock at the door, but Im sure there must have been thousands photographing those street performers ;) I must check Dublins' stance, though, as Im sure thats a place I will be visiting as much as possible.

Interesting info on the law and photographing wildlife in UK, in that link above.

Interesing Concept. I generaly dont get individual people in my photos. The few times i do they are freinds/family.
I think in this part of the workd its okay but if you go to asian countrys its not due to customs etc.

So called 'candids' are one of my favourite subjects and I indulge as kuch as I can get away with here in the UK. I've posted a few of them here in my gallery if you wish to see them. So far I haven't been challenged but using a Minolta Z5 with it's 12X zoom certainly helps. Yes, we all have to careful these days though, and not only when it comes to photographing children. For those of us not in the UK but planning to travel here, please be aware that the police are getting a bit jumpy just altely in certain areas of London where some snappers have been challenged in view of the possible terrorist threat. Personally, I think it's all rather sill really - but there yer go.