Should You Ask Permission to Photograph People?
I thought I would pose a question this week. Should you ask permission to photograph people in public places? I have posted an image or two after the jump to get the discussion going and I will be interested to hear what you think!
© Stuart Little 2010
Take the shot above. The man in the picture was unaware that I was taking his picture and if he was aware he was at all he was not concerned at my presence. Although granted I was far enough away that chances are he did not know it was him I was placing in my photograph.
So should I have asked permission? In my view no because that would have taken away from the shot. I like the fact that I am detached from the subject and it allows me to wonder… Where he was going? Who was he on the phone to? What was in the bag?
Chances are he was either about to go for a train or had just got off the train, as we were pretty close to Central Station in Glasgow. But that’s just a guess on my part and thats what makes the image fun! It keeps you guessing. I also like to think the guy had just collected his lottery winnings and the bag is stuffed full of notes! My over active imagination at work… 
If I had interacted with the man and gained his permission, then it would have been a completely different shot and I would have probably of found out all of the answers to the questions above pretty quickly. (I used to be a press-photographer after all)
© Stuart Little 2010
Take this shot of the Apple store that I posted the other week. The couple in the shot were very aware of having their photo taken. How do I know? Well the chap in the long coat smiled and gave me a nod of approval just after this shot was taken. I smiled back and nodded my head in return. This interaction between to people who have never met is why I love photography. Having that piece of glass and metal between you and your subject is a wonderful excuse to do things you would not normally do. The nod was his way of saying I don’t mind being in your photograph.
There is not a week goes by that I do not read of a photographer being stopped in the street mainly because the police assume you are up to no good and therefore you must be a terrorist (See photographernotaterrorist.org).
Is it safer to ask permission? >
I completely agree. Fortunately in Sydney, Australia Photographers aren’t thought of as “terrorists” yet. I love street photography. There is a certain joy in walking out on the street, camera in hand, not knowing what you’re going to see or come across. I think there are certainly right and wrong ways to go about photographing strangers on the street though. I often sit or lean against a wall somewhere in public view. I can then choose subjects as they pass by. You can do it in such a way that it looks like you’re photographing the background or to the side of the subject. Then they feel foolish as to why you’d be taking a photo of them and don’t give it a second thought! I don’t stay in one place too long, I think working quickly is important with street Photography. Moments come and go in seconds, but also the longer you hang around, the more attention you gain.
On the other hand, a smile and a nod when you’re noticed goes down well. If you’re honest, in view and show you don’t have anything to hide then people really shouldn’t have an excuse to be suspicious of you.
I guess it really just depends if your making money off of the picture. Don’t plan on making a book with a compulation of these types of images. It only takes one person to recognize themselves and ask for royalties.
When you took that photo Stu, you only had one camera. I bet the government had at least a dozen pointing at him at the time. Do they ask permission?
I don’t see the need to ask permission when taking shots such as you are showing and are in a public place. It’s a different matter if you are taking a photo of someone say in their garden if the photograph is taken from outside. In this case the subject has a right to privacy.
I did take some photos in a public area where someone then approached me after and I thought that ‘here comes trouble’. It was during a period of snow in the area where I was then living and there had not been snow for some time and there were mothers on the green with young children who had probably never seen snow so I was photographing the kids playing in the snow.
The mother of one of the children approached and asked not what did I think I was doing, but if I had photographed her child could she have a copy. So not everyone thinks a photographer taking photos in a public place is up to no good. Perhaps though in this case I should have asked. One mother did say she hoped i had not photographed her as she hadn’t done her face that morning.
As the Law stands at the moment in the UK there is no right of privacy in a public place, you have every right to take pictures in the street and don’t need any permission.
I tend not to have any problem with the police as they seem to be well briefed it’s the ‘Community Police’ and security guards that cause all the hastle. If I see any of these guy’s on a site I always approach them first and tell them of my intentions, so far without any problems.
The same right holds true for any public building such as Town Halls and Museums, but not Art Galleries as they have copyright issues, cemetaries and parks are not deemed to be public places. From personal experience in Sheffield Town Hall they request that you don’t photograph the Municiple silver or any meeting in progress, which is reasonable, but you can photograph anything else, in fact they encouraged us to do so.
There are factions that would like to erode this freedom usually in the name of national security ot terrorist prevention etc. which is not the real reason at all. At the moment it’s a case of use it or loose it. Austin Mitchel the Labour MP for Grimsby (a keen amateur photographer) has drawn attention to and prevented a few attemps to curb these rights.
ChrisJ
Hi Stu,
I think it’s just common sense really. Some people will obviously and probably rightly, object in certain situations; play parks, swimming pools etc…but in general I’ve never had any problems with candid street photography. Sometimes, when people discover you’ve been taking shots of them, they’ll actually pose for you. I love it when that happens as it did at our local train station with one of the security staff just last week.
It would be a tremendous loss if it ever bacame illegal to capture people in public places; think of all the great shots in history, photojournalists and magical historical moments, parades, fairs, ammusements etc… also I love looking a old photos of towns and cities with ordinary people in them. Imagine if it became illegal and 20 or 30 years from now there was no record of our time? That would be a crying shame.
All the best with this one Stu. Regards, Don.
I really enjoyed candid photography. The reason is just as you mentioned. You get a more natural pose, look and scene this way. I find when you ask people to take their picture, if they agree, they tend to over pose and often look cheesy with exaggerated smiles etc. It also takes away from the overall scene. If you are going for a portrait type shot, then that is often expected and desired but its a different type of shot with different meaning.
One of my favorite places to shoot people is fairs and festivals. I did this as a volunteer for my place of employment several times. I would catch adults and kids while riding the attractions and often would get some of the most unusual and most happy but natural looking poses and faces. I was told my galleries were always a huge draw online because of this and even sold a few prints from subjects who saw their photos online.
In comparison, another colleague would go the opposite route and asked folks if they could take the photo. Their photos ended up stale and basically just uninteresting and very staged. I refused to work this way because of that and never really had an issue. I handed business cards out for my employer to those I captured so they could see for themselves online and would honor their wishes to not be included if so desired however.
We are on camera constantly, those CCTV installations following us every step on the way. On the streets, inside buildings, virtually everywhere.
If you are in London, or any city in the UK, there is no escape.
Does the government ask our permission? Don’t think so.
Having said that, I never photograph people. I have plenty of other subjects in nature or architecture.
At least if you get an objection, you can press the delete button, far easier than ripping out a cassette of thirty six HP5′s!!
As the law stands we have the right to take photographs in a public place of whoever and whatever we want without their permission or payment of royalties.
It must be obvious that we should, where possible, avoid causing offence and be absolutely sure that we are in a “Public place”.
We emphatically must exercise this right and defend it as far as the granny state will permit.
I am not really going to add much to the comments section but I just wanted to say a big thank you to everyone who took the time add such in-depth thoughts. I have really enjoyed reading them. I am going to give myself a little a assignment soon and do some street photography in my home town but also pick a subject to approach and actually do a street portrait of to illustrate the differences in technique.
Cheers
Stu
The rule (law) is that where taken from and to a public place, there is no need to obtain permission to publish the images of any person in a crowd – defined as SEVEN or more. Under that asking for permission is optional.
For over 40years I’ve taking photos of people in all situation and countries. It would be simply impossible to ask their permission for endless reasons and may I add I never had anyone object.
In most cases actually approaching someone to obtain permission to do a street portrait would destroy what you are trying to capture.
I’ve just found out that a client of mine will be taking part in Spencer Tunick’s photo shoot in Salford and Manchester on 1st and 2nd May. I immediately thought what a great spectacle and photographic opportunity to be there during his work with hundreds of naked people. I was thinking how I could get a new slant on the subject, not to rip off or emulate Spencer’s compositions, but to look for the behind the scenes moments, or to capture him and his crew at work. It has occured to me that the machine which has organised and created many such events in many cities over the world might not wish other professionals to muscle in, and might have ways to prevent them from openly taking photographs. I know that they shouldn’t be able to prevent photography in a public place, but at least one of the 8 locations will be in Salford Quays, which is privately owned. They don’t like you to take photos there at any time, fearing you will sell postcards, or something, but what if the spectacle moves into other public places? This is all apart from the ethical standpoint, which my wife feels strongly about. She thinks it would be an invasion of privacy to take photos of the people who have only agreed to Spencer taking their photograph, many of which will be naked in public for the first and last time in their lives. One side of me thinks she has a point, the other thinks what an opportunity lost, if I didn’t go. I wouldn’t want to be Peeping Tom watching Lady Godiva, though. What do you think?
Rather than think about photographers’ rights should we consider our responsibilities? If the publication of a shot is likely to embarrass a person in it should we take it in the first place? If we’ve taken it and then notice that it could compromise the person should we delete the shot? I suppose that I’m saying that good manners and consideration for others should be a stronger guiding force than complaining that we have rights. We start to sound like whinging teenagers and that can’t be good!