Your Rights As A Photographer
by Adrian Hanft, (6 comments)
A couple weeks ago when I was on a photo shoot in the middle of Indiana. The assignment was to document the workers at a corporation there. Aside from the remote location, it was a fun project. The people were genuinely friendly, the project went smoothly, and the camera I was using really performed well. The only snag came with a photo I needed to take of an Amish worker. The Amish craftsmanship and work ethic is a source of great pride to the company, and they wanted that to be represented in the photos. Out of respect for their religion, we asked worker after worker if they would mind being in a picture. One by one they all declined. The Amish don’t like to be photographed because it might cause them to be tempted by pride. Some didn’t mind if they were in the background of the photos, but almost none of them were willing to be the focus of the picture. I respected the wishes of these people and didn’t take their photo.
When I was done with the “official” photo shoot I spent a couple evenings driving around and taking pictures of rural Indiana. At one point I was walking by some Amish people and had a great photo opportunity. I hesitated knowing how they would feel about getting their photo taken. Did I really need these people’s permission before I could take their photo? If you have ever found yourself in a similar situation, you are probably wondering what your legal rights are. Here are some important things to keep in mind…
It is amazing the great lengths people go to just to prevent having themselves or their property from being photographed. Whether the effort is good intentioned or not, it is important that people understand their own legal rights as well as the rights of the person holding the camera. It turns out, that the photographer has much more freedom than you might think. There is a great article on usatoday.com that explains the rights of photographers and gives several links to other helpful sites. I recommend you read the entire article there, but here are three things that I found interesting:
1. Almost anything you can see you can photograph.
If you can see it, you can take a picture of it. If you are standing on public property you can photograph anything you like, including private property. It is important to realize that taking a picture is different than publishing a photo, which leads to point number two.
2. As long as you are not invading someone’s privacy, you can publish their photo without permission.
You can take someone’s picture in any public setting and publish it without consequence (even if it portrays the person in a negative way) as long as the photo isn’t “highly offensive to a reasonable person” and “is not of legitimate concern to the public.” You can even publish photos if you took them on private property. While you may be punished for being on private property, there is no legal reason why you can’t publish the photo from prison!
3. As long as you aren’t using someone’s likeness for a purely commercial purpose, you have the right to publish the photo.
You can use your photos of other people without their permission for an artistic or news purpose, but you can’t use them for a commercial purpose (such as an ad). You could sell a photo of a person without their permission, but you couldn’t use the photo in an ad saying the person endorses your product.
All three of these things should make photographers feel pretty confident in there rights to take pictures of almost anything they want. I am not a lawyer, and I am paraphrasing from the USA Today article, so don’t consider this legal advice.
Comments (6)
Bennett said:
These are good topics to bring up, and things I have wondered about while taking BA photos in public. Luckily I am not taking photos of people, but of signage.
So what do you think of the Paparazzi? Are they crusaders of photographers rights or are they low-life scum that capitalize on other people’s success?
Even if we have the right to take photos of people in public spaces, isn’t there an ethical standard that a photographer has to take into account when considering the beliefs and/or feelings of others.
Posted on June 19, 2006
Josh said:
It would seem the Paparazzi would fail test #3… based on the fact that they typically sell those pictures for a hefty profit.
Then again, maybe they just risk their personal well being and expensive gear getting those shots out of pure adoration for the celebrities themselves. Who knows.
Great post, by the way.
Posted on June 19, 2006
Adrian Hanft said:
The way I understand it, the paparazzi aren’t breaking any laws as long as they aren’t invading someone’s privacy. Even though selling the photo of a celebrity to a tabloid seems like a commercial purpose, I think it is protected by the law. I am starting to get in over my head when I try to understand point number three, though.
I have mixed feelings about the Paparazzi. They definitely aren’t “crusaders of photographers’ rights,” but I don’t really think the laws should be changed to make it illegal to take photos in public. Maybe I will change my mind when I get famous…
Posted on June 19, 2006
Adrian said:
For more of a moral slant, PhotoCritic.com added some thoughts to my post. Just because you can, legally, doesn’t necessarily mean you should, morally.
Posted on June 26, 2006
marilyn's shampoo said:
this is a really interesting topic and, as allready stated, i think the debate is more a moral one than legal. it’s something i’ve been thinking about a lot with the upsurge in flickr usage and people very much photographically documenting their lives (and thereby their friends) online. being the vain creature i am i would hate to have one of my friends publish unflattering 3am photos of me on flickr yet legally i wouldn’t have a leg to stand on as, creatively, it is their property. once commerce becomes involved it is a far more thorny issue as you are directly profiting from someone elses likeness.
i guess, ultimately, as with paparazzi it comes down to whether you can sleep at night or not!
Posted on July 7, 2006
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