Photography in public areas- our rights

The right to photograph People, Buildings and Public Places.

As a photographer who works regularly in the public domain it is important to understand what can and can not be photographed when dealing with the general public and public areas and how to go about it correctly.

Generally there are no restrictions on photography, although in some instances there are restrictions on how you go about it. An example would be photography on a beach. It is a public place and every day people go to beaches and take photographs however as a commercial exercise a photographer and or client should have a permit to do so regardless of how simple the exercise may be. This same rule applies to any council or government land and is based more on the fact that a commercial activity is taking place rather than photographs being taken.

People
As the paparazzi demonstrate every day there is no restriction on photographing people, as there is no copyright on the human image.

What you do with that image is a different thing. The paparazzi are deemed to be reporting the news of the day when they photograph people sucking toes in public view, even if the subjects are well known, what they are doing is news worthy and they can duly report it. Do not shoot the messenger here as I do not agree with the aggressiveness of the paparazzi.

However if you photograph anyone, particularly some one of note, and imply they are endorsing something that they have not agreed to or have no knowledge of it will probably get you into trouble.

The simplest example I can give is if you photograph Elvis walking past your resort you have not broken the law. If you print that photograph in a brochure with a caption that says Elvis visited the area you still have not broken the law. If your caption said or implied Elvis stayed in the resort (and he had not) you should be worried. If your caption implies Elvis recommends this resort- start looking for a new business.

In recent times and for good reasons photographing children in any environment has become a concern for all, while each state has laws endeavouring to control this we strongly recommend thorough consultation leading into a project of this nature.

Buildings
There is no restriction on photographing buildings from public places even though an architect may own the copyright of the plans the building itself is exempt of copyright protection. Note I said from public places the right to photograph a building does not give anyone the right to trespass. Like many privately owned areas that allow public access (eg. shopping centres) we all have to respect the conditions of entry to that location or event. We recommend you get a signed property release before photographing anyone's building.

Locations
Now having said we can photograph buildings under copyright law there are other laws that may restrict that as an example if a government department is a tenant of that building you may be breaking a law by photographing it. Landmark locations such as the Sydney Opera House, Uluru, Heritage listed national parks and the bulk of the free world cannot be photographed for any commercial purpose without strict vetting by the appropriate authorities.

Yes- and they call this a democracy. All be it a commercial one.

The bottom line of all of this is homework and paperwork before you start a project. Most people and organisations are easy to work with if you start the right way and respect their concerns. We are always happy to organise this for our clients and would generally clarify this before any shoot. Speaking of paper work next newsletter I will cover model releases when using non professional talent.