Home Home, Law & Money
If you need urgent support, call 999 or go to your nearest A&E. To contact our Crisis Messenger (open 24/7) text THEMIX to 85258.
Read the community guidelines before posting ✨

Permission for taking photos

Former MemberFormer Member Posts: 1,876,323 The Mix Honorary Guru
In town at the moment a building is being torn down and it looks really good and I wanted to take some photos. do you think it will be ok to just go and take some? I won't be in any danger because the pavement and road next to it is not effected and is open as usual and so there won't be any trespass or anything.
Not really sure of the law surrounding photography!

Comments

  • Former MemberFormer Member Posts: 1,876,323 The Mix Honorary Guru
    Yes you are allowed to but the police may hassle you because they're scared of terrorists...
  • Former MemberFormer Member Posts: 1,876,323 The Mix Honorary Guru
    Use a telephoto lens if possible to avoid getting too close. In the 48 hours or so of having only been in this country, I am, to be honest, not particularly impressed with the British police. :yuck:

    Poppi
  • Former MemberFormer Member Posts: 1,876,323 The Mix Honorary Guru
    Use a telephoto lens if possible to avoid getting too close. In the 48 hours or so of having only been in this country, I am, to be honest, not particularly impressed with the British police. :yuck:

    Poppi

    They tend to be on a power trip (some of the time) but most are just ordinary folk. You do have a great deal of civil liberties over here but sometimes the police get 'confused'. We had a chat with a Met police officer not long ago where someone asked him why are they a bit hopeless respect people's rights with regard to photography, its basically because we are at a 'critical' alert for terrorism where they are expecting an attack any day, every day.

    If you're not trespassing there is no crime whatsoever in taking photos for your own amusement. I don't know the exact law on making money from photos. Also, taking photos of children you may need permission in the form of consent forms (at least, schools do).

    edit: http://www.urban75.org/photos/photographers-rights-and-the-law.html

    says nearly the same, that there is well defined law giving you rights to take photos, but police may move you on if they dont like you.
    Photographing Buildings, Football Grounds and Interiors
    Property owners have no right to stop people taking photos of their buildings, so long as the photographer is standing in a public place (e.g. the road outside).

    However, if you're standing on private property and the landowner/occupier objects, then they have every right to request that you stop immediately and ask you to leave if you refuse.

    Many museums, art galleries, football grounds, concert venues and similar places ban photography as a condition of entry, so you can hardly complain if you get turfed out after you've whipped out your camera.

    The same applies to all private property open to the public in general - e.g. offices, shops, even your local chippy - with the owner or occupier having the right to demand that you stop taking photos and get the hell out.

    The irony that they're already busy filming you from every angle via a flotilla of CCTV cameras is generally lost on them.

    What's amusing is that sign on land's end is on someones land, who charges apparently for you having your photo taken on it. But there is nothing to stop you standing 4 feet away in public land and taking a photo :D

    edit: finally, if you are discrete a lot of the time you can get away with it, I've taken photos in clubs, in theatres etc. (obviously without the flash) where photography was prohibited but got away with it ;)
  • Former MemberFormer Member Posts: 1,876,323 The Mix Honorary Guru
    though if it's a normal building being demolished I'd be suprised if the police care - they might have an interest if Parliament or Chelsea barracks you're taking photos off, but even then the scare stories of police swooping on tourists are exxagerated
  • Former MemberFormer Member Posts: 1,876,323 The Mix Honorary Guru
    Thanks for your replies. In the end I went anyway and just asked a couple of the construction company men if they minded if I took some photos. They said that was fine as long as I just stood where I was standing. One of them was quite interested in my camera and so I had a nice chat with him. :)
  • Former MemberFormer Member Posts: 1,876,323 The Mix Honorary Guru
    Aye, I think even when it's not a legal requirement, people generally like if you ask them permission to take pictures of their stuff, sometimes so much so that they will try and help you get a better shot :thumb:
  • Former MemberFormer Member Posts: 1,876,323 The Mix Honorary Guru
    I've found that to be the case pretty much everywhere actually, some of them even want to be IN the photos as well which was a bit of a surprise.
    It's good to know that there aren't too many restrictions on it.

    Here are a some of the photos I took:

    buildingspray.jpg

    rubble.jpg

    crane.jpg

    corner.jpg
  • Former MemberFormer Member Posts: 1,876,323 The Mix Honorary Guru
    Those are terrific pictures! :)


    And thanks Shyboy for informing me. :)

    Poppi
  • Former MemberFormer Member Posts: 1,876,323 The Mix Honorary Guru
    ShyBoy wrote: »
    Yes you are allowed to but the police may hassle you because they're scared of terrorists...

    legally there's no restriction on photography of public buildings, there's a legal document you can print off of some website

    if you were going to get hptos of a public building for a terroist you can just get them off of the internet, which is why it only happens in films not real life, ever
  • JsTJsT Posts: 18,268 Skive's The Limit
    I've found that to be the case pretty much everywhere actually, some of them even want to be IN the photos as well which was a bit of a surprise.
    It's good to know that there aren't too many restrictions on it.

    LOL, that was funny if your thinking of the same incident I am!
  • Former MemberFormer Member Posts: 1,876,323 The Mix Honorary Guru
    Yeah I am! Also today, bloke number 2 said "yeah but only if I'm in all of them, heh heh heh" how bizarre.
    Did anyone find out the names of the blokes in incident number one btw?
  • JsTJsT Posts: 18,268 Skive's The Limit
    I did, I shall have to find the information as I seem to have lost it temporarily!
  • Former MemberFormer Member Posts: 1,876,323 The Mix Honorary Guru
    Haha ok, well email it to me when you find it!
  • Former MemberFormer Member Posts: 1,876,323 The Mix Honorary Guru
    No restriction on photographing buildings from public land. However if you were to, say, stray into the building site without permission, you could be done for trespass. Also slight caution is needed over the use of telephoto lenses to shoot people's houses, as it could be seen as invasion of privacy.

    Deconstruction photos are great, though :D
  • Former MemberFormer Member Posts: 1,876,323 The Mix Honorary Guru
    The only time I've ever questioned someone who has been taking photos is when they've been taking photos of sensitive sites, and only then because we were on orders to.
    I've never stopped someone in the street and I never will because I know (unlike many from some of the stories I've heard) that I have no power, or even a need to.

    Although a lot of photographers don't help themselves when they demand to know what authority the police officer/PCSO has when they're stopped. it inflames the situation and turns a routine stop/check which will be over in about 2.5 minutes into a possible arrest for disorderly behaviour.

    Incidentally I've been stopped in the street whilst taking photos, I didn't even have to give my details, I just explained why I was there and what I was trying to achieve and they thanked me and wandered off.
  • Former MemberFormer Member Posts: 1,876,323 The Mix Honorary Guru
    I have no power,
    besides stop and account ;)
  • Former MemberFormer Member Posts: 1,876,323 The Mix Honorary Guru
    otter wrote: »
    besides stop and account ;)


    I'll rephrase it. No real need or justification.;)
  • Former MemberFormer Member Posts: 1,876,323 The Mix Honorary Guru
    Out of interest, what is the legal situation about taking photos of other people without their permission? Because paparazzi always photo celebrities sometimes unwanted, criminals going into court etc always taken, I assumed you were allowed to take photos of whoever you want and do what you want with them eg sell them to newspapers, put them on photo galleries etc. I've just had a couple of odd things like if I take pics from a nightclub / event and put them on Facebook, people demanding I remove them because they did not give me the right to put photos of them online - surely they don't have that right!
  • Former MemberFormer Member Posts: 1,876,323 The Mix Honorary Guru
    tinkler wrote: »
    Out of interest, what is the legal situation about taking photos of other people without their permission? Because paparazzi always photo celebrities sometimes unwanted, criminals going into court etc always taken, I assumed you were allowed to take photos of whoever you want and do what you want with them eg sell them to newspapers, put them on photo galleries etc. I've just had a couple of odd things like if I take pics from a nightclub / event and put them on Facebook, people demanding I remove them because they did not give me the right to put photos of them online - surely they don't have that right!

    You need a model release to sell pictures of other people (or other people's property) on a for-profit basis. That does not extend to editorial (I.E. news/entertainment) so people can "demand" that your remove shots from facebook but you have no legal reason to remove them. (I guess there could be exceptions for shots that put people in a bad light, but that's another story).
  • Former MemberFormer Member Posts: 1,876,323 The Mix Honorary Guru
    tinkler wrote: »
    Out of interest, what is the legal situation about taking photos of other people without their permission? Because paparazzi always photo celebrities sometimes unwanted, criminals going into court etc always taken, I assumed you were allowed to take photos of whoever you want and do what you want with them eg sell them to newspapers, put them on photo galleries etc. I've just had a couple of odd things like if I take pics from a nightclub / event and put them on Facebook, people demanding I remove them because they did not give me the right to put photos of them online - surely they don't have that right!



    Mist is right, unless you plan to sell the photos you dont need forms e.t.c.

    However if you're constantly taking photos of the same person without their permission to their distress then you can be arrested for harassment
Sign In or Register to comment.