Photography laws

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Do you mean you can walk onto someone's garden and take a phot through the window?
If talking about legal matters you have a responsibility to be quite clear what you are claiming.
In the UK (Scotland is no different from other parts of UK from what I understand), if you are standing on public land you can take any image anywhere.

But we need to be quite clear (as stated above) that there is difference between taking an image and using an image. It is in using an image that most restrictions take place - there are very few situations where I am prevented from taking an image, but quite a few on how an image can be distributed and/or used commercially.

In Scotland you can indeed walk right into someones garden, up to the window and take a picture of them. We went over photography law quite extensively in uni and I haven't seen any changes to this reported in the last decade. If you use that image you should have the person fill out a model release form, though this is to cover yourself and not a requirement.

Scottish law is quite different from English law in may situations.

Regarding train stations, I was promptly informed by travel for London in England that I was breaking the law when taking a picture of a exceptionally pretty train in the station. There is no such law in Scotland so assume this is a English thing given how different things are between my country and theres. When traveling to another country I would always recommend being as cautious as possible.

In all cases you are much better to dig into it yourself than take the word from someone on a Internet forum. My information could be heavily out of date for all I know. This isn't my day job so I just need to know I can go anywhere in Scotland to get a picture of an animal and that if I travel to another country I better check before hand where I can't go so I don't end up in happy fun camp.

Edit: The train had Pullman IBIS written on it. Cream and brown carriages.
Edit2: https://www.nature.scot/professiona...irds-and-licensing/birds-licences-photography for anyone coming up to sunny Scotland. You might need a licence if you are planning on annoying an endangered animal.
Edit3: There is a 'secret' bunker near my house. I am allowed to photograph inside but not the well sign posted location.
 
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In Scotland you can indeed walk right into someones garden, up to the window and take a picture of them. We went over photography law quite extensively in uni and I haven't seen any changes to this reported in the last decade. If you use that image you should have the person fill out a model release form, though this is to cover yourself and not a requirement.

Scottish law is quite different from English law in may situations.

....................
Not quite sure whether you are thinking of the "right to roam" rules in Scotland, which mean you can essentially go anywhere you like?

However, there are some key restrictions to these, including:
  1. You can only access land so long as you do so responsibly, and "responsibly" specifically includes respecting the right of others, including the need to "respect people’s privacy and peace of mind";
  2. Amongst the places that "rights to roam" specifically do not apply are houses and gardens, and non-residential buildings and associated land (also excluded is land near schools, for obvious reasons).
For more info, a good initial guide is here: Publication 2005 - Scottish Outdoor Access Code.pdf

I think anyone walking across someone else's garden and taking their photo in Scotland is actually committing exactly the same offences as if they were in the rest of the UK. I wouldn't recommend it ;)
 
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Jul 28, 2015
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Scottish law is quite different from English law in may situations.
It is, but I am not convinced photography is one of them.

Regarding train stations, I was promptly informed by travel for London in England that I was breaking the law when taking a picture of a exceptionally pretty train in the station.

I would be amazed if that was the case in general, especially if you refer an 'exceptionally pretty' train
If the 'exceptionally pretty' train was covered by image rights then I could understand it much the same way that a notable building can be covered by image rights if it forms the main (or a significant part of ) the subject. But that does not mean it is a problem in general. In exactly the same way that if you take a picture of a random member of the public can be quite different to taking and selling a picture of a known celebrity.

When traveling to another country I would always recommend being as cautious as possible.

Exactly. Which is why asking for advice on international fora about 'rights' is fraught with risk.
 
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Jul 28, 2015
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I think anyone walking across someone else's garden and taking their photo in Scotland is actually committing exactly the same offences as if they were in the rest of the UK. I wouldn't recommend it ;)
In both countries, the law of trespass applies, but trespass includes an element of damage or harm to the property. Simply walking across a garden is not 'trespass'. Walking across a garden and damaging plants in the process may be - but this is a civil issue, not a criminal one. Deliberately causing damage may fall under 'criminal trespass'but is hard to prove.
Grey areas....so many grey areas....
 
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LDS

Sep 14, 2012
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I would be amazed if that was the case in general

Don't know in England exactly, but during or before WWII many countries enacted laws forbidding to take photos in stations as it was a "strategic asset" and you could gather information about war movements and other targets. Usually they weren't ever lifted, especially since train companies found them very useful to forbid travelers to document disservices....
 
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