Taking photos in the park?

[Cajungaltx]

I was talking with a photographer that has some serious years of experience. He has graciously agreed to do lunch with me a few times a month, and basically talk photography with me.

He asked me where I'd done some of the sessions that I'd done -and proceeded to ask me if I'd bought a permit to do the sessions there.

Ummm... no?

They were pbing sessions - so I wasn't getting paid anything.

And honestly - I didn't KNOW that I needed to BUY a permit.

It's a public park... Terry Hershey Park.

He said the cost is like $135 per day.

WTH?

I'm usually pretty aware of stuff like this... and am surprised that I missed it.

Any advice on this situation? $135 per permit to use the park - is going to make me NOT use those parks for my sessions. At least for a while anyway.

[Jeff Lane]

I'd double-check this with the city officials in charge of the park. Your friend may be right or wrong about either the need for a permit, or the amount of it. Heck, he may even have his recollection right, but he got the wrong information from the City in the first place. If you get the answer from the City that, yes, you do need a permit, and yes, it is an outrageous amount like $135 per day, ask the official to give you a copy of the ordinance on which he is relying. There may be circumstances that change the analysis, but you won't know to bring them up without seeing what the law actually requires.

An illustrative anecdote: I have worked in the past with a religious group that rehabilitates houses for elderly folk. One of our worksites was told that in order to get the work permit to re-roof a house for a sweet little lady, they not only had to have a big dumpster on site (I already knew that), but that we also had to pay an additional $200 (more than the cost of the dumpster for a week) to the City of Dallas for them to send an "inspector" out just to make sure that the dumpster complied with city codes. This was in addition to the regular price of the building permit. I asked for the citation to the ordinance, and was told he didn't have to tell me the citation, and that because I was a lawyer, I could either look it up myself or go to hell. Two supervisory levels and one City Councilman later, I determined that there was no such ordinance, and that as a condition of continued employment, the original official was going to pay for my dumpster, and that building permit fee was going to be waived on the basis of a discretionary "charitable" waiver.

The moral of the story -- you can get wrong answers from the best intentioned city officials, but if you'll be conscientious and persistant about finding the legal authority, you might find that the law is not what we all thought at first.

Good luck

[shaggyrockmer]

Originally Posted by Jeff Lane

I could either look it up myself or go to hell

Classic.

[Gateruner]

Donna, some parks have a fee some dont. Some actually inforce them some dont. All City of Houston Parks are supposed to have a fee. I have heard it range from $10 a session to $110 a session. When they started this my decision as a photographer was to never use them and we havent. I'll pay the fee for a year at Rice before I pay the city for a public park. Harris county parks tend to be fee free but that could have changed as well. I know photographers who pay the fee, have their clients pay the fee or just ignore the fee and take their chances. You decide what you want to do. For us, we will not put our clients in that situation of potentially being embarrassed on a shoot. You will have to decide on how you want to handle this and go from there. Sounds like your mentor plays it pretty straight so that is a good thing.

See ya round sometime.

Scott

[ka5txl]

Donna,

I agree with Jeff. I have a situation with the city of Dallas and was bounced around from office to office in the building dept. I call it Wack-a-Mole only I am the mole. And don't rely on the information on the city's website as it may not have the complete information. I have spent a lot of time and shot a lot of images at White Lake Park and I have never been asked for a permit.

[hooligan]

Honestly, I have a fundamental problem with paying for use of a public space, (key word being PUBLIC). Now, if you were brining in a movie production, I could understand. Admission fees are acceptable, but to have to pay to take photographs so long as it does not interfere with the functioning of the park is wrong.

[Tom]

I've never had a problem in any public area (Hermann Park, Buffalo Bayou, Discovery Green, Galvetraz Beach, etc.)

[ngoduyviet]

Originally Posted by Thomas Campbell

I've never had a problem in any public area (Hermann Park, Buffalo Bayou, Discovery Green, Galvetraz Beach, etc.)

Some higher-than-thou worker, not security or patrol, just a worker at the fast food join next to the lake @ Discovery Green came and asked for my permit last Sunday, March 29 09. I was so very tempted to tell him to go suck it but politely spelled out my last name and told him to go check with his superior. I did have a permit for that shoot. I think he was just bored & wanted to show his superiority. I saw him at the end of the session cleaning up the trash around the next area, but he avoided me heh.

Most other parks, I haven't had a single person asked for it yet. Although, I always cover my bases. If you want to look professional in front of your clients, you need to check with the park / location before you shoot.

[jkderby]

I am truely amazed by some of the parks in the DFW area whcih the tax payers are funding then to us it you have to pay a permit. I have not seen as much of this until I moved here. Hardly any fees in Chicago, Seattle, Tampa, Orlando and SanFransisco as it is here. Seems to be just an "invisable" tax that is called a permit.