How to not get beat up when photographing public places?
- Thread starter Midphase
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As I was getting payed for that wedding I did not want to make a scene so I just replied "ok" in same rude way and moved along. Funny thing is that after he got drunk he did not mind me taking pictures of himdistant.star said:readycool said:One time I was on a wedding and just taking some food and decoration shots ..and some guy aggressively said something like "don't you take any pictures of me!"
How would you respond to that?
Interesting question, and a lot would depend on circumstances.
It would matter who this "guy" was. A wedding guest? Food service staff? Site security or management? Too much to drink? Most likely, if he wasn't integral to my work at the wedding, I'd just say, "Sure, no problem," and go about my business.
If I had a few minutes and wanted to engage him, I might say something like, "You know, I always wonder about that. Some people like to have their picture taken and some people don't. I can never figure it out. Can you help me understand that?"
An even more aggressively engaging stance would be to say, "Oh, good. You know I'm taking pictures all day, and no one takes my picture. Since you don't want your picture taken, will you take mine?" Then I'd hand him the camera and ask him to take my picture next to the wedding cake. If he says, "Go to hell" and walks away, it's over. If he takes the picture, he's now on your side -- he has a sense he's part of your team, that he's made a contribution. And, maybe he likes it and he takes up photography! You never know.
I don't understand guests at weddings who get all fancy dresses, makeup, haircuts, expensive suites and then don't want to be photographed. A lot of times they see that I am taking pictures of them and then turn their back to me. I know that i am shooting with Canon, but c'mon it does not hurt
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cayenne said:
They can't, what they can do is send a cease and desist notice to anybody who displays it and they can sue you if you didn't make it clear to the image buyer they needed to get permission from the copyright owner, the lighting is copyrighted so commercial use of the display is protected under the same copyright laws that allow you to sell a picture of Justin Bieber getting a ticket in his Lamborghini.
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Alot of people are mentioning problems they've had in far off exotic places. I find that the WORST problems I've had are right here in North America.
Recently was in a nice quiet neighbourhood trying out a new lens, taking a shot of a road and bridge (sun was out, bright blue sky, a few clouds). A van drove up to me and asked what I was doing. I told them I was taking a picture. They then proceeded to claim (very aggressively) that it's illegal to take a picture of them and that I'd be in trouble.
Little more detail here: this was a quiet residential area road. They were about half a mile away when I took the shot (never mind I was shooting with an 8mm lens...). Their aggressive attitude was astonishing. I told them I deleted the shot with them "in it" (the tiny spec that they were) and walked away. They drove off, only to return a few minutes latter, stopping in the middle of the road and taking a picture of me with their camera phone? I just smiled and kept walking.
People seem to have this impression that ANY picture taken of them (even if they are half a mile away behind tinted windows) without "permission" is illegal, and they get VERY aggressive about it if you look like anything beyond a kid with a camera phone.
Was in a best buy once trying out a camera (one of the Samsung WiFi cameras) and this guy walks up to me saying he's calling the cops cause I took a pic of him. It wasn't even my camera...
Recently was in a nice quiet neighbourhood trying out a new lens, taking a shot of a road and bridge (sun was out, bright blue sky, a few clouds). A van drove up to me and asked what I was doing. I told them I was taking a picture. They then proceeded to claim (very aggressively) that it's illegal to take a picture of them and that I'd be in trouble.
Little more detail here: this was a quiet residential area road. They were about half a mile away when I took the shot (never mind I was shooting with an 8mm lens...). Their aggressive attitude was astonishing. I told them I deleted the shot with them "in it" (the tiny spec that they were) and walked away. They drove off, only to return a few minutes latter, stopping in the middle of the road and taking a picture of me with their camera phone? I just smiled and kept walking.
People seem to have this impression that ANY picture taken of them (even if they are half a mile away behind tinted windows) without "permission" is illegal, and they get VERY aggressive about it if you look like anything beyond a kid with a camera phone.
Was in a best buy once trying out a camera (one of the Samsung WiFi cameras) and this guy walks up to me saying he's calling the cops cause I took a pic of him. It wasn't even my camera...
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hgraf said:
Wow...that's very interesting. I've yet to encounter something like this before.
Then again, I live in New Orleans, where cameras are pretty common out and about with all the tourists, maybe that and the laid back attitude down here keeps it friendly, but honestly, I've never heard of this type reaction or aggression before till this thread.
C
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Cayenne --
I hope you will not take any action based on discussions here. It's fun to sling the bull about, but qualified legal counsel should be consulted if you have questions that can get you into legal trouble.
B&H recently offered a video on copyright that is the best general info I've seen (again, it's not intended as personal legal counsel for your situation). While it's sort of a long, hard slog, (and one guy is a touch obnoxious), it's worth watching if you really want to learn something about this area:
The Copyright Zone Guys
Personally, this was a lot of my MJ training long ago so it interests me enough to watch. Another thing, you probably don't have to actually "watch" the video. I just listened while doing other things (like post process images).
Cayenne --
I hope you will not take any action based on discussions here. It's fun to sling the bull about, but qualified legal counsel should be consulted if you have questions that can get you into legal trouble.
B&H recently offered a video on copyright that is the best general info I've seen (again, it's not intended as personal legal counsel for your situation). While it's sort of a long, hard slog, (and one guy is a touch obnoxious), it's worth watching if you really want to learn something about this area:
The Copyright Zone Guys
Personally, this was a lot of my MJ training long ago so it interests me enough to watch. Another thing, you probably don't have to actually "watch" the video. I just listened while doing other things (like post process images).
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readycool said:I don't understand guests at weddings who get all fancy dresses, makeup, haircuts, expensive suites and then don't want to be photographed. A lot of times they see that I am taking pictures of them and then turn their back to me. I know that i am shooting with Canon, but c'mon it does not hurt
I had that too. I guess some people really don't want they pictures taken.
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cayenne said:
My understanding:
The building is not copyrighted...it's the light display at night which, under French law, is considered a work of art and, if used commercially, requires license fee. Daytime photos of the Eiffel Tower...shoot away all you want.
edit- source:Wikipedia
Image copyright claims
The tower and its representations have long been in the public domain. However, a French court ruled, in June 1990, that a special lighting display on the tower in 1989, for the tower's 100th anniversary, was an "original visual creation" protected by copyright. The Court of Cassation, France's judicial court of last resort, upheld the ruling in March 1992.[53] The Société d'exploitation de la tour Eiffel (SETE) now considers any illumination of the tower to be under copyright.[54] As a result, it is no longer legal to publish contemporary photographs of the tower at night without permission in France and some other countries.
The imposition of copyright has been controversial. The Director of Documentation for what was then the Société nouvelle d'exploitation de la tour Eiffel (SNTE), Stéphane Dieu, commented in January 2005, "It is really just a way to manage commercial use of the image, so that it isn't used in ways we don't approve." However, it also potentially has the effect of prohibiting tourist photographs of the tower at night from being published,[55] as well as hindering non-profit and semi-commercial publication of images of the tower. Besides, French doctrine and jurisprudence traditionally allow pictures incorporating a copyrighted work as long as their presence is incidental or accessory to the main represented subject,[56] a reasoning akin to the de minimis rule. Thus, SETE could not claim copyright on photographs or panoramas of Paris incorporating the lit tower.
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tpatana said:readycool said:I don't understand guests at weddings who get all fancy dresses, makeup, haircuts, expensive suites and then don't want to be photographed. A lot of times they see that I am taking pictures of them and then turn their back to me. I know that i am shooting with Canon, but c'mon it does not hurt
I had that too. I guess some people really don't want they pictures taken.
LOL...I'll bet these same people have facebook or other websites and publish photos of themselves all the time
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Few months ago I was shooting a school building. I was told it'd be empty, but there was some after school basketball tournament no-one told me about. I checked in at the office, they knew I was supposed to be there, and they gave me a visitor badge to wear. And every 5 minutes one of the teacher came to me, asking why I'm taking pictures of the kids. I tried to explain I was hoping the building was empty, as I didn't want people on the pics. Most took the explanation, but one older lady was really pressing me if I was really supposed to be there, and that was I really taking pictures of the building and not the kids.
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serendipidy said:cayenne said:m said:
Hmm..ok, Well, I take a picture, and redo the color in PS and voila!! It is them my original work of art.
Copyrighting light? Sheesh...seems a stretch there too, but again...daytime shots or PS edited nighttime ones should be ok, eh?
Thanks for the input, and I'll watch the video listed above later this evening...
But seriously...how can someone "copyright" a public building?!?!
I just can't see how that would stand up in court.....
C
My understanding:
The building is not copyrighted...it's the light display at night which, under French law, is considered a work of art and, if used commercially, requires license fee. Daytime photos of the Eiffel Tower...shoot away all you want.
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I plan to handle it via monologue...
"Wow... so @holes like you really do exist. You know, I read a thread on Canon Rumors one time where people discussed what to do if some jerk comes up and begins demanding that you throw away your legally protected rights because they're uneducated and insecure for some reason. It went on for several pages. The recommendations varied from smiling and apologizing - for what, I'm not sure, since I have the legal right to do what I'm doing - to flashing you this gun I have here in my camera bag, to swirling 4 lbs of metal and glass around my head like Crocodile Dundee and lodging it inside your ignorant @$$ head. What you do next is going to determine what happens. You can either tuck your tail and walk away or you can live the rest of your life as a vegetable. I'll calmly await your decision with my gun in one hand and my camera strap in the other..."
At least... that's how it goes in my head when I ponder what I'd do... lol
"Wow... so @holes like you really do exist. You know, I read a thread on Canon Rumors one time where people discussed what to do if some jerk comes up and begins demanding that you throw away your legally protected rights because they're uneducated and insecure for some reason. It went on for several pages. The recommendations varied from smiling and apologizing - for what, I'm not sure, since I have the legal right to do what I'm doing - to flashing you this gun I have here in my camera bag, to swirling 4 lbs of metal and glass around my head like Crocodile Dundee and lodging it inside your ignorant @$$ head. What you do next is going to determine what happens. You can either tuck your tail and walk away or you can live the rest of your life as a vegetable. I'll calmly await your decision with my gun in one hand and my camera strap in the other..."
At least... that's how it goes in my head when I ponder what I'd do... lol
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cayenne said:
It's the fear that has been propagated by the media that everyone is out to kidnap and abuse your kids, or use them for some other nefarious reason. Especially men, they are teh debil, and obviously just looking for an excuse.
This is very unfortunate, as it could be a great challenge to shoot kids at a playground or something since they're moving all around so fast and always are doing something.
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The paranoia runs especially deep (at least here in the U.S.) when it comes to children -- at least taking photographs of them (we don't seem to get quite as upset when they're shot!).
I found myself surrounded by four police officers (township and county) demanding to know why I was taking pictures of kids on school buses. I was standing on the street waiting for a bus, and to kill time I was taking pictures -- a few school buses went by and big yellow things make colorful pictures. I didn't give it a lot of thought or look for much from the pictures.
Apparently someone who should be seeing a therapist called the cops and told them someone was taking pictures of kids on school buses. Police, equally paranoid, sprang into action; not much else going on mid-afternoon, I suppose.
It can be tough when you carry a camera!
The paranoia runs especially deep (at least here in the U.S.) when it comes to children -- at least taking photographs of them (we don't seem to get quite as upset when they're shot!).
I found myself surrounded by four police officers (township and county) demanding to know why I was taking pictures of kids on school buses. I was standing on the street waiting for a bus, and to kill time I was taking pictures -- a few school buses went by and big yellow things make colorful pictures. I didn't give it a lot of thought or look for much from the pictures.
Apparently someone who should be seeing a therapist called the cops and told them someone was taking pictures of kids on school buses. Police, equally paranoid, sprang into action; not much else going on mid-afternoon, I suppose.
It can be tough when you carry a camera!
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distant.star said:
Wow..that's amazing.
Seems stupid to me too...I mean, if you WERE wanting to kidnap some kids or something, WTF would you want to be photographing them so brazenly in public beforehand?? Just doesn't make sense....
Then again...of late, it seems the world has really changed in so many significant ways in the past couple decades in ways that are truly sad, and one of them is in how we think of and treat other people.
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