My first photographer pervert test... I think I passed.

[gardener]

Was out this afternoon taking shots of my granddaughter's soccer team (under 8 girls) during a makeup game and was approached by an older woman who wanted to know "who are you with?". My answer was "I'm with me" meaning that I'm not pro and just take shots for the g-daughter's team. After a round of "Well, I work for a newspaper and I ask questions of everyone with a camera as big as yours..." and "what's the name of your g-daughter's team" and so on, she was apparently satisfied that I was with the ***** **** team enough that she could go on her way and not have to call the police...
While I commend her for having the guts to walk up to a stranger and ask what he's doing there in the midst of several soccer fields full of children, I thought her "big camera" criteria was rather strange to pick one person out for questioning among possibly hundreds...
This was a first for me and quite frankly, it was rather weird...

[hookem]

Originally Posted by gardener

... "Well, I work for a newspaper and I ask questions of everyone with a camera as big as yours..."

Steve, I think she was hitting on you.


Seriously though. She sounds like nothing more than an overly cautious (borderline Schizo) grandma.

[Sizzle Pixel]

I've had something like that happen before but It was not my camera she was talking about.

[Daniel Bates]

And the guy with the little 12x zoom camera is guaranteed not to be a perv?


Ah, logic... where art thou?

[Steelsun]

Nosy Nana syndrome.

[Colyn]

Last spring I was out shooting the new flowers at the Fort Worth Botanical Gardens. There were several families with kids there and one woman decided I should leave. When I refused she called the police and said I was a pervert photographing little girls.
It seems she is well known by the police as a troublemaker and was told she had to leave if she didn't like me being there. In the end she was escorted away in cuffs when she started calling me and another man perverts.

It's a shame when any man is looked on as a pervert if he is in public with a camera.

[tiffany]

so the bigger the camera the bigger the pervert?

noted!

[acesteward]

I guess I should change down to the 14mm so that I can get a picture of her playing with the little boys geese some people have some nerve

[Patti Edens]

A lot of parents are getting paranoid about having their kids photos on the internet. So, sometimes it doesn't matter who the shooter is or what kind of camera. I was shooting (20D and 100-400) my nephew's kid playing soccer at a public soccer field in League City when the coach from the other team told me not to take photos of the kids on his team.

I couldn't believe what he was saying. How can you photograph a kid playing soccer without getting some of the kids on the other team in the shots? He said all of the parents on his team got together and researched this out and found that it was illegal for people to take photographs of their kids without permission and that they did not give permission.

I asked him for a copy of the research that they did or at least a reference to the statute or code that bans photography in a public place since I wasn't familiar with it. I politely informed him that I had also done some research and that they were mistaken. I told him that I was planning to print out a few of the good shots for my nephew, I wasn't selling any photos and I wasn't putting them on the internet. He still insisted that I couldn't take photos of the kids on his team.

So, I told him that I was using a telephoto lens and I would only shoot the kids on my grandnephews's team. He said that as long as I didn't take any photos of the kids on his team, it was okay.

Of course, then I just continued to shoot whatever I wanted of whichever team I wanted and hoped that the anti-photography team wouldn't call the police and they didn't. I knew I was within my rights (and they probably did too if they really did any research), but most police officers don't know the law and I just didn't want the hassle.

I can certainly understand parents wanting to do whatever they can to protect their kids. I don't have kids, but if I did, I'm sure I would be fiercer than any mama bear when it came to my kids and if I perceived someone or something as a threat, I'd fight it. Hopefully I wouldn't quote nonexistant laws and try to bully others, but I don't know, I might. Anyway, this time, it all turned out okay. The parents got what they wanted - no photos of their kids on internet - and I got what I wanted - a fairly decent photo for my nephew.

Patti

[jeffkohn]

I can certainly understand parents wanting to do whatever they can to protect their kids.

I can understand wanting to protect them from actual harm, but I can't understand moronic, paranoid behavior that's completely irratational and ineffective. Honestly, the notion that taking an innocuous picture in a public place is going to somehow victimize or harm a child just doesn't make any sense at all, and the fact these people are "just being protective parents" in no way excuses such delusional behavior.

[Patti Edens]

Originally Posted by jeffkohn

I can understand wanting to protect them from actual harm, but I can't understand moronic, paranoid behavior that's completely irratational and ineffective. Honestly, the notion that taking an innocuous picture in a public place is going to somehow victimize or harm a child just doesn't make any sense at all, and the fact these people are "just being protective parents" in no way excuses such delusional behavior.

Jeff, Yeah, I was also very upset (read that major PO'd) when the guy approached me with this nonsense, but I kept my cool and it all turned out okay. That doesn't mean it was okay for them to do this because next time this happens, some idiot might call the police and I might end up losing a CF card or even going to jail if I insist on my rights (which I just might be stupid enough to do if I get indignant enough.)

But, I don't think it's the taking of the photo that has them upset. It's all the hype about how dangerous the internet is and how there are predators out there in chat rooms and scouring the web for photos of cute kids. I can see where they would get paranoid.The media is very powerful and they have created this mess. You frequently see this dramatized on the news. What the parents are not getting is that if I were to take a photo of their kid and put it on the web, it won't have their name of address or phone number or any way for the pervert to find their kid.

But our wonderful media doesn't want them to think about that. They want them to be freaked out, so they push the right buttons to cause the paranoia and it works.

p

[suerenee]

Sad--that this is a case where women are treated differently. I shot my kids' game this weekend and then went and shot my 12 year old god son's game too. I had parents from each team ask me for some of my images. I don't mind b/c I wasn't planning on selling them. I guess because I am a woman I am okay. That's sad.

The reality of it all is most pervs don't have the big camera (trust me--I work for a criminal def. lawyer.) they want to HIDE the fact they are taking pictures--that's part of the perv. Remember to tell the crazy women that next time! So I guess everyone with a camera phone should be watched.

[KeepsakeGirl]

Originally Posted by suerenee

The reality of it all is most pervs don't have the big camera (trust me--I work for a criminal def. lawyer.) they want to HIDE the fact they are taking pictures--that's part of the perv. Remember to tell the crazy women that next time! So I guess everyone with a camera phone should be watched.

now THAT is very true. Lets take the bar scene for instance. Guys walk around there ALL NITE w/ their camera phones, holding it up WAY high to get down the blouse shots of women. I caught some guy doing it to me while his girl was standing there chatting w/ her girlfriends. I walked over there and said "can i borrow your phone?" then took it , pulled up my pic and said "your boyfriend here is an aspiring photographer, you should get him a camera" and showed her my pic. Needless to say, she was not happy and he couldn't believe i had the balls to do that. Well, being a photographer i can tell when someone is scanning the surroundings and I'm not afraid to approach strangers and put them on the spot. Hehe..showed him.

[xseption]

Originally Posted by KeepsakeGirl

Hehe..showed him.

well done!

[johnastovall]

Carry copies of this to give out in situations like these.

The Photographer’s Right A Downloadable Flyer Explaining Your Rights When Stopped or Confronted for Photography

It give you a good starting point for a dialog with the person and may help to reduce their concern.

Fortunately I don't have this problem with roadkill....