There seems to be a disturbing trend in today’s “security conscious” (read: paranoid) world where photographers are treated as criminals. Before you ask, paparazzi are not photographers. Neither are those sickos hiding in bushes near playgrounds. I’m talking about serious hobbists and professionals that have a real passion for their work.
A recent TWiP podcast mentioned a court case in Europe where the judge deemed that any picture taken regardless of publication is a violation of privacy rights. This began as a case in a hospital that took pictures of newborns as a service to new parents. A certain couple wasn’t happy with this and asked for the negatives, which the company that did the photos refused to hand over. Now this seems rather straight forward and I agree with it. I mean, a hospital probably shouldn’t have a service like this for these exact reasons. A hospital probably doesn’t count as a public place either. However, this case could set a dangerous precedent and have important implications that affect all photographers.
The ruling that came from the European Court of Human Rights specifically states that taking a picture of anyone in a public place, regardless of whether it is published, is a violation of their privacy rights. To me, this was the wrong ruling to make in this case and encompasses too much.
This essentially outlaws all tourism photography in Europe as it is nearly impossible to take a picture in any hotspot without having some other fellow tourists in it. Ever tried to take a picture of the Eiffel Tower without other people in it? Because of the ECHR’s ruling in this case, all those rent-a-cops that tell us to leave now have legal precedent to actually do so rather than having me tell them to bugger off.
Are You Allowed To Take That Picture?
I have people ask me this all the time since I do, in fact, have quite a few pictures of people that I took in public places without their permission. As common courtesy, if someone really objects to me taking their picture, I usually don’t do it but usually most people don’t care. However, it’s important to know your rights as a photographer. If you are in a public place, that essentially voids any sort of right to privacy in terms of photographs. Obviously you can’t take a picture of someone while they’re in their house or their backyard but if you’re walking around the Hachiko crossing in Shibuya, then all’s fair.
You cannot, however, publish anything with a person’s likeness without their consent if it is in a commercial capacity. If you’re selling someone’s picture to an ad agency to use in some sort of magazine or whatever, that requires a model release but as a editorial or artistic function, you do not.
What makes all this worse is that often I’m picked out of the crowd by rent-a-cops…or real cops in some cases…due to the size and implied cost of my camera equipment. People with little point-and-shoots never get harassed but the fuzz has often told me to beat it because my camera “looks expensive” or “professional”. Of course, none of that matters and in turn, I usually tell them about my exact rights.
As a general rule, you can take pictures of anything and anyone in a public place. Owners of private property can tell you not to take pictures while on their property but they can’t tell you not to take pictures while you’re on other property. They also cannot confiscate any of your film, memory or other equipment.
If you’re curious about any of your rights as a photographer, here’s a great legal site for this exact issue. Of course, with this new ruling coming down in Europe, I’m not sure how well this will hold up there.