theirproperty– justbepolitesothat
youcanbothenjoyyourday.
Therearebarelyanypublicplacesin
whichyouarenotallowedtotakepictures,
andusuallytheseplacesdisplaysigns
makingthatpoint.It makeslittlesense
todisobeytherulesastherearesomany
alternatives.If youaimyourcameraat
a militarybaseorattheMI6buildingin
London,expecttobequestionedbyarmed
servicepersonnel!
Justbecauseyouareina publicplace
doesn’tmeanyouwillbefreetoshoothow
youwant.If youareblockinga pavement
orstandingintheroadyoumightbeasked
tomoveon,sobeconsciousthatyouare
sharingthatspacewiththepublic.It also
doesn’tpaytoupsetthepeoplethatyou
arephotographingbygettingintheirface,
sodoyourbesttoavoidit.There’snolaw
againstbeinga bitannoying,butit willbe
inconvenientif youaremissingthegood
lightwhileexplainingtoanurgently
summonedBobbywhatyouaredoingand
whythatpersonis soupsetwithyou.Try
nottobeannoyinganddon’tblockthe
pavement,andyouwillhavea niceday.
CanI beforcedtodeleteshots?
Noonecanforceyoutodeleteanimage.
Youownallthoseyou’vetaken.However,
if askedbyanoffendedmemberofthe
publicit is onlypolitetoapologisefor
upsettingthem,toexplainthatyoumeant
nooffence,andtodeletesaidpicture–
unlesstheyarebeingunreasonableor
youfancya scrap.A policemancan’tforce
youtodeleteanimageeither.If youare
inyourrightstohavetakenit inthefirst
placetherearenogroundstodeleteit.
If intakingit youhavecommittedan
offencethatpictureis evidenceofthat
offenceandyoushouldn’tgoaround
destroyingevidence– andneithercan
policemen. As always though, weigh up
Technique STREET PHOTOS & THE LAWtheprosandconsofthedeletionandthen
makeyourdecision.Photographingminors
Thereis nolawaboutshootingchildren
inthestreeteither,butagainweshould
employcommonsenseandsensitivityin
thisarea.If theparentsarecloseby,smile
andbefriendlyandindicatethatthechild
lookscool/funny/cheekyandsay‘Isit okay
totakea picture?’whilewavingyour
cameraina friendly/open/non-suspicious
sortofway.Usually,if youhavebeen
smileyandlookpositivetheywilllaugh
withyouandsay‘yes’.If theysay‘no’,you
say‘okay,noworries’andwalkon.Parents
likepeopletellingthemthattheirchildren
havepositiveattributes,buttheywillalso
judge you by the way you look – so bepresentableandbepositiveyourself.
I alwaysofferanemailaddresstoo,so
theycantracemeandsoI cansendthem
a copyofthepicture.Beingopenand
confident,andappearingopenand
confident,inthesesituationspaysoff.
If youfeelsuspect,youwilllooksuspect
andpeoplewillsuspectyou.Howyouusethepictures
Takingpicturesshouldn’tgetyouinto
trouble,butif yousella picturetoan
advertisingagency,andthepicture
featuressomeoneclearlyidentifiable,and
thentheagencyusesit topromote
something,thepeopleinthatpicturewill
automaticallybeassociatedwiththat
productorservice.Thesameis trueif that
pictureis usedalongsideanarticleabout
somethingunsavoury.Thenyoushould
expecttogetintotrouble.If youonly
intendtouseyourpicturesinexhibitions,
booksaboutphotographyortheplacein
whichyoushotthem,ortoshowatthe
cameraclub– orinanarticleaboutstreet
photography– youwillbequitewithin
yourrights.Weseepicturesinnewspaper
andmagazinearticleseverydayinwhich
thesubjectshavenotbeenaskedfor
permissionorsigneda modelreleaseform.
Foreditorialuseit isn’t necessary.Trynottoworry
Thisarticleis notpresentedaslegaladvice
andalwaysaska solicitorif youhave
questionsorissues.It’saboutsettlingyour
mindbeforeyougoout.I amveryrarely
stoppedasmostpeopledon’tnoticethat
I’mthere– theyhavemoreimportant
thingstobethinkingabout.Usea small
camera,don’tbeannoying,lookfriendly
andlearnhowtoblendin,and you’ll
be able to shoot all day.More discreet cameras with adjustable rear screens make it easy to capture interesting anglesDonesensiblyand
tactfully,street
photographycanbe
a verycreativeand
rewarding genre