Photo Law – Your Right to Take Pictures in Public
You have a camera. But do you know your rights when it comes to public photography? You’ll learn them here.
Public photography is wide open
That’s the general rule. When you’re on public property (a street, sidewalk, city park, etc) you can take pictures of what you see. This means that you can also photograph private property as long as you’re not trespassing to get the shot.
Unfortunately, life is never that simple. There are a couple exceptions to the rule and other details you need to know.
Does the photo subject expect privacy?
Even on public property, you can’t photograph somebody who has a “reasonable expectation of privacy.” Basically, that means you can’t snap shots of people in the bathroom, a dressing room, or similar places. Ask yourself: “Would the average person expect privacy?” If so, don’t take a photo.
Along the same lines, don’t sneak photographs of people from bizarre angles. In essence, you can’t go around taking “up skirt” photographs. Even if you’re on the public sidewalk.
Is it a question of national security?
It was news to me, but military bases and nuclear facilities can restrict photographs – even from the outside area. Even if you’re not trespassing onto government land, taking pictures of these installations could be illegal.
Don’t even try. We’re not talking misdemeanor illegal. You might be shipped off and never seen again. Yep, crazy illegal!
Stand your ground, politely
If your public photo opp passed these three stages, you’re probably safe to shoot some pictures. Since there are millions of scenarios in which you could be photographing, there’s no way anyone can tell you for sure, ahead of time.
But if someone does confront you about your photography, you can probably win by standing your ground. Bert P. Krages II has some great questions for you to ask, if confronted. Remember to be polite!
- What is the person’s name?
- Who is their employer?
- Are you free to leave? If not, how do they intend to stop you if you decide to leave? What legal basis do they assert for the detention?
- Likewise, if they demand your film, what legal basis do they assert for the confiscation?
I’m not encouraging you to break the law, but I also hate seeing people cower when someone confiscates their camera. Private parties cannot take your personal property without a court order. And unless a police officer is arresting you, he cannot take your property either.
Other resources
The Photographer’s Right – This is Bert’s printable guide on U.S. public photography law. It’s very thorough, but still readable. I’d say it’s a must-have for any budding photographer.
Photo Permit – A great site on photography law, “about keeping photographers out of trouble, and supporting them when trouble looms.”
The Reporters Committee for Freedom of the Press – Their name says it all. If you’re a journalist (or blogger?), these guys are your backup.
Any questions?
I’m sure that whirlwind tour of public photo law might have raised some questions. I’ll do my best to tackle them. Just post a comment, and we’ll talk!
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215 Responses to “Photo Law – Your Right to Take Pictures in Public”
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About Andrew Flusche
Lawyer, bicyclist, husband.
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September 15th, 2009
I thought that a “reasonable expectation of privacy” was only a reason against the police or other government official not against a private person. Like the Lewinsky case when her friend told the police about what happened with Clinton. What is the basis that says that a person has a reasonable expectation of privacy from a private person?
September 20th, 2009
Hello,
I was just wondering where the law stood on an adult male (18 yrs.) has taken pictures of my 8 year old Step-duaghter, without our permission, as she was walking down the road to our house from the public schools designated bus stop. keep in mind, I do not exactly have proof of the pictures, but every time she walks down the road he comes out of his house with a camera and very anxiously takes photos in the direction of my daughter. just wanted to know if you could help me out. thankyou,
Randy
September 21st, 2009
Randy,
Sounds like totally legal, and probably innocuous. They might even be pretty good pictures. Why don’t you approach this kid and buy a couple shots from him?
If there is a legal issue here, it doesn’t involve the pictures; and if he’s standing on his porch looking in the direction of your step-daughter who is on a public street, I can’t imagine that could be illegal!
When I re-read your post, you give the impression that your fear is this kid wants to bone your kid. I find that highly unlikely.
September 30th, 2009
I am a parent that wants to walk into my kids’ classroom ( where I am supposedly welcomed) and take pictures of my two daughters’ typical day and little friends that they’ve made. Well, the teacher personally told me that some parents and issues with that, so she made sure that any pictures of my kids with any other kids in the background was deleted!:( Is that legal?! Also, I had posted up my daughters’ preschool graduation photos on Myspace. The program director made a stink about that too!:( All because other kids were in the background! What should I do?! This is so frustrating for a fun-loving picture-happy mother such as myself!
October 3rd, 2009
I have one comment and one request for advice.
The comment is that…in a few tourist attractions especially in India..for some weird or commercial reasons they prohibit taking pictures. Also pictures are prohibited at some places of worship in India.
I wanted to ask for advice regarding searching for pictures on flickr which are part of creative commons and putting them up on my website. I usually ask the photographer for permission or let them know I have listed their pictures on my website. Is there anything else, I need to do to be legally protected. Thanks.
October 5th, 2009
I work for a forturne100 company as a contract employee. Recently, they wanted to take our pictures for a promotional week.
Is it legal for them to take our pictures without our consent? As soon as you walked out of the elevator at our workplace they ambushed employees with cameras.
I can see if it is for an ID badge, but this was for a “Customer CareWeek Kickoff.” Any thoughts?
October 8th, 2009
if i just want to take pictures outside of a movie theater, do i still need to ask permission? (i’m taking a photography class)
October 12th, 2009
Someone is using a photo from MY twitter page on their blog page. The photo is of my minor daughter (A few months old). I asked for it to be removed, to no avail. Can I sue for them posting this on a public forum without my consent? They live in Texas, I live in Ohio.
October 15th, 2009
Air Force One came to my hometown recently, and I was near the airport (not inside, but outside of it along the fence) and got to see the plane land. The airport is the main airport, an international airport in the metro area of a major market city. A police officer on hand said no photos for security reasons and after it landed and was taxi-ing, the police officer said we could take a photo. I got a few nice shots with the camera and lens I have since I do some still photography work on the side. Eventhough there was a fence in front of me, you can’t tell there was a fence in the way. Is it ok to put this on my facebook profile? Also the fence was on grass, a few feet from the curb, is that airport property or public property. Isn’t the airport consided public since it is an international airport in a metro area? I have put “Photo By:…” and my name in a corner of the photos that I took (not anyone else), but have not posted them on my profile. I did my homework looking at wikipedia (spelling) about Air Force 1, the famous AF1 flyover incident, and White House military office. Also looked on the offical White House website…nothing about taking photos is prohibited and putting it on websites is prohibited. My photos are nothing that could be of a sercurity concern, just standard shots of the plane. Only one photo I took when it was taxi-ing where you can see under the wing cause it was turning as I snapped the picture, but you can’t tell anything by it. Its not for commercial use, just my porfolio to show my work. Besides, there is amature video on youtube about AF1 where you can see the plane from different angles.
October 15th, 2009
While pictures of my daughter’s team were being taken I (parent) was told by ph-er that I’m not allowed to take any shots . This situation took place on property of the public school. Who was at fault?
October 17th, 2009
I have a neighbor and from behind their house (East) the moon rises with great luster and beauty. Well I took a few shots of it making sure not to get any rooftops or trees in the shot. Plus I used the flash at about 8-9 at night. Anyways, the neighbor is insisting that I’m taking photos of their car, kids, dog, pretty much everything under the sun. I’ve tried to explain to him and even offered to have him look at the photos, but all the neighbor does is get angry, cuss, and calls the police. Besides finding another spot, which is very hard since trees block the view for miles. Does he have the right to tell me to stop taking photos?
October 17th, 2009
I could go into detail, but my question is basically: When do I actually own a picture that is taken with my own camera? Do I always own it (if, for example, I hand the camera to someone and he/she takes a picture of me), or do I only own it if I myself take the picture with my own camera?
This could also be an issue if I hand someone my camera and they take a picture of me with a celebrity.
Thanks!
George
October 18th, 2009
Allen, no he does not. But you don’t need a flash for your moon picture if you’re not including any foreground — turning it off might reduce the attention your neighbor has been giving you, too.
October 20th, 2009
To post or not to post
I am in my 40’s now and have found on Facebook an alumni web site for an elemenatary school that I used to go to back in the 70’s and am wondering if there are any legal issues or privacy issues that would require a release first before placing the class photos on this Alumni web site. Thanks for any help on this matter.
Darren
October 20th, 2009
I’m interested in Darren’s question as it’s one I have also. I posted almost an entire yearbook on Facebook and now I wonder if there could be any issues. I asked a few of the other people form my class and they didn’t seem to have a problem with it.