Ever since September 11, 2001, it seems war has been declared on photographers. Photographers, including me, have been harassed, interrogated and detained, just for taking photos in public.
William Beem, stopped by four security guards in succession, was prevented from taking photographs at Downtown Disney. They followed him to his car.
Drew Powell, taking a photograph of his son in front of the public library in the Rockville Town Center was stopped by a private security guard.
As discussed in my column, Hey Amtrak, travel photographers are not terrorists! an Amtrak security person threatened me with arrest if I didn’t stop taking photos of the Auto-Train. She told me, “Photographs of Amtrak trains are forbidden by federal law.” It isn’t true.
Despite the above incidents, I can assure you making photographs isn’t illegal, but some legal restrictions on your travel photography may be imposed at times.
I am not an attorney, but I do have extensive experience in travel photography as a professional photographer. Over the last few years, I’ve consulted with some lawyers about the rights of photographers.
In the US, the right to take photographs is significantly defined by the photographer’s physical location when making the image. Generally, anyone may take photographs of almost anything and anyone, when in a public place, such as streets, sidewalks and public parks, unless there is a specific legal statute. This includes photographing private property visible from a public space.
There are exceptions to that rule. Photographs of military or Department of Energy installations, secured emergency areas of police crime scenes, disasters, fires or riots may be prohibited, even when taken from public spaces.
In general, in the public areas of private properties, open to the general public, such as malls and business complexes, property owners may not limit the right to photograph there.
Otherwise, for private property, the property’s owner gets to make the rules. Whether or not we think a property’s owner has made reasonable, or worthwhile photography rules, we have to abide by them. They can prohibit photography all together, or merely ban some photography like flash photography, or tripod use. Property owners are generally obliged to enforce their rules uniformly. If some may take flash photos, for example, they probably must permit everyone to do the same.
Some may disagree but in the US, you can take photographs of virtually anything from a public space including:
• Children
• Celebrities
• Bridges and other infrastructure
• Residential, commercial, and industrial facilities, plus public utilities
• Airport, bus and train depots (though not necessarily their security areas)
• Law enforcement officers in action
Photographer’s rights, for taking photos containing people, when on public property, are limited. You can’t photograph a person who has a “reasonable expectation of privacy.” Photographing people in a bathroom, a medical facility, or a place without general public access is not permitted. You can’t sneak photographs of people from bizarre angles.
Sometimes, you may want to obtain permission to make “legal” photographs. Photography of children in a public park, while “legal,” may be thought extremely suspicious by parents and law enforcement officials. If children are part of a crowd at a public event I don’t think twice about taking the photograph, but before I’d photograph children at play in a park, I’d obtain permission.
Most of the time, it’s security personnel, directed by their employer or on their own, who will attempt to stop you from making photographs. Sometimes they cite security concerns, but photographers’ experiences indicate more often than not they either can’t or won’t give you a reason.
Taking a photograph of a building or an outdoor scene, from a public space, almost never poses a security threat. Taking a photo of a building on public view isn’t going to reveal a “trade secret,” and taking a photograph of a copyrighted architectural work is permitted under US copyright law.
It’s rare, in my experience, but law enforcement officials sometimes object to some photography, but most are reasonable and understand the rights of photographers.
If confronted by security personnel, for your photography, stay calm, collected, polite, respectful, and firm.
Tell the security personnel your name if asked. Use it as an opening to ask why they want you to cease taking photographs. I’d be concerned about showing them your ID, mostly because I’d worry about its return. When on public property, whether or not they tell you why you need to stop photographing, explain that they have no authority to do so when you’re on public property. Then ask politely if you’re free to continue.
If they continue questioning, harass or threaten you, try to confiscate your camera, film or memory card, or attempt to force you to delete photos (They aren’t entitled to do so without a court order.), I suggest you immediately ask for the person’s name, employer, and legal grounds they claim for their actions. Armed with that information, and if they refuse, ask to see a supervisor, or offer to call the police. If you say you’ll call the police, you must be prepared to actually call them, if they don’t back off.
If you’re on private property, try to find out why they’ve asked you to stop taking photos. There may be a way to mitigate the problem. When stopped at Epcot, I determined security had safety concerns with me taking photographs with my tripod in a crowded area. That was reasonable. I offered to stop using the tripod, and was allowed to continue taking photographs. Otherwise, I advise you to follow security’s directive with little argument unless you can point out others who are also taking photos, or if security’s actions are contrary to the organization’s written guidelines.
Recognize that some US states have laws specifically aimed at photography. California has an anti-paparazzi law which more broadly defines a person’s privacy than in most other states.
The laws which govern photography in other countries are often far different than in the US. In Quebec, Canada, its “Charter of Human Rights and Freedoms” defines privacy for photography much differently than in the US. In France, privacy rules, affecting photography of people in public are stringent and tough.
As part of your travel planning, learn the law for where you’ll be traveling and making photographs.
Ned Levi is a long time professional photographer with a passion for wildlife and travel photography. You can view some of Ned’s travel and other photos at NSL Photography or get more travel photography advice at the NSL Photography Blog which was recently included in Photography Colleges’ “Top 100 Travel Photography Blogs.”
