Pervert photographs children in public park

[LanceHaynie]

Originally Posted by Truckman

Like me for instance...Wherever I go, my .45 goes with me...And I'm too old and tired to fight, I'll just kill ya...Ben

Heh my point exactly, and you would be perfectly in right if someone pulls on you for taking a photo of your child of all things..

[kdloftis]

I can't tell you how many times I've been in the middle of a photo session and and we've made our way to the playground. I've had random kids come up to me and ask me to take their picture too, they think it's fun and it should be, right? I tell them that they need to ask their parents for permission. You can't exactly explain to a little kid that I might be perceived as a pervert because I photograph children.

[Truckman]

Originally Posted by LanceHaynie

Heh my point exactly, and you would be perfectly in right if someone pulls on you for taking a photo of your child of all things..

I'd rather not exercise that right unless it's absolutely necessary so I'll have to think about what actions I want to take now in case it does come up...I've always tried to be mentally prepared for these situations as long as I've carried (which is many years before we had the CHL law)...I'm thinking now of the last time I was with my grandkids taking pictures of them at the YMCA playground...Nobody thought a thing of it and yet there's always the chance of some well-meaning, albeit stupid, bystander wanting to play hero...

It's a bad way to get your name in the paper from either viewpoint...Ben

[LanceHaynie]

Originally Posted by Truckman

I'd rather not exercise that right unless it's absolutely necessary so I'll have to think about what actions I want to take now in case it does come up...I've always tried to be mentally prepared for these situations as long as I've carried (which is many years before we had the CHL law)...I'm thinking now of the last time I was with my grandkids taking pictures of them at the YMCA playground...Nobody thought a thing of it and yet there's always the chance of some well-meaning, albeit stupid, bystander wanting to play hero...

It's a bad way to get your name in the paper from either viewpoint...Ben

Todays world is sad :-/ But I agree with you 100% I also hold a CHL but rarely actually carry. But I understand.

[gardener]

I've been approached several times on the soccer fields at Eastfield by parents although little old grandmothers seem to be the most obnoxious about it. They want to know who I'm with (business), who I'm shooting (grandgirls X2), and in general, just want to get in my face and tell me off. The first time was a bit offputting but after that, I just tell them that's I'm shooting my grandaughter's game(s) and if they don't like it, go find the soccer association guys and have them come see me. While they rarely go that far, occasionally one will go find the main soccer guy or the university police and when I identify my grandgirls on the team, they always tell me to shoot as much as I want as long as I'm not selling images (I'm not).
Oddly enough, you either get both one end of the spectrum or the other if they say anything to you at all... Had one woman parent on an adjacent field last season grab me by the arm and try to lead me to the next field over saying all the while, "you need to come over and shoot some pictures of MY kid". I respectfully declined but that's not the first nor last time I've been approached to shoot other games by people I've never seen before.
I'm generally shooting a M2n with 100-400 attached as if it made a difference who they decide to badger and who they don't... Personally, I worry more about the wealth of weirdos walking around with cell phone and other tiny cameras.

[CaptainTom]

"You can't shoot here !"

"Can I see your badge please?"

"What are you talking about?"

" If you are the photo police you must be carrying your badge!"

" I don't have a badge "

" Then leave me alone "....

[Corrie]

Good lord. What a d-bag. Poor guy.

[Paul Lara]

This happened to me on the Riverwalk!
I was having lunch outside with my wife, and two adorable little girls at an adjacent table were 'shooting' each other with their fingers like pistols. The cutest part was they were both wearing turquoise cowboy hats. I took a shot, and then set my camera down to resume my meal, when one of the men asked, "Did you take a picture of my kid?"

Yes, I told them I did. He and his buddy (both fairly drunk) were at immediately standing next to me at my table, asking me why I would do that. I told them I'm a photographer that shoots street scenes and I document the life around me. I apologized and told them if it upset them, I would remove the image, which I did.

Well, they continued making such a fuss the restaurant manager called the Park police to intervene. The police condeded I was within my rights shooting people in a public place, but kept asking me, "Don't you have any children?" I explained I had three sons, and there was no ill intent and even showed him some of my portraiture on my Palm Pilot to prove my photographic cred.

At his most arrogant moment, the dad said "How about I just throw your camera in the river?" I later regretted not pressing assault charges.

At day's end, I was amazed at how very deeply this moment upset me, with two large men standing over me and essentially calling me a pervert.

[LanceHaynie]

Originally Posted by Paul Lara

This happened to me on the Riverwalk!
I was having lunch outside with my wife, and two adorable little girls at an adjacent table were 'shooting' each other with their fingers like pistols. The cutest part was they were both wearing turquoise cowboy hats. I took a shot, and then set my camera down to resume my meal, when one of the men asked, "Did you take a picture of my kid?"

Yes, I told them I did. He and his buddy (both fairly drunk) were at immediately standing next to me at my table, asking me why I would do that. I told them I'm a photographer that shoots street scenes and I document the life around me. I apologized and told them if it upset them, I would remove the image, which I did.

Well, they continued making such a fuss the restaurant manager called the Park police to intervene. The police condeded I was within my rights shooting people in a public place, but kept asking me, "Don't you have any children?" I explained I had three sons, and there was no ill intent and even showed him some of my portraiture on my Palm Pilot to prove my photographic cred.

At his most arrogant moment, the dad said "How about I just throw your camera in the river?" I later regretted not pressing assault charges.

At day's end, I was amazed at how very deeply this moment upset me, with two large men standing over me and essentially calling me a pervert.

This upsets me to just hear it. I am sorry you had to go through that.

I dont like that we have to give "proof" of any sort like pulling out examples. It is public, which means you should have no expectations of privacy, in public. If you take a shot of them you shouldn't have to deal with that IMHO.

[picman]

Originally Posted by gmarblestone

I always dress up like a woman when i take pictures of kids. No one bothers me then :)

except for the single dads!

[ttusa]

Thank God I just photograph bugs, flowers, and dew drops!

[3n-Out]

Hey when I shot my first wedding there was a guest there that asked me not to photograph her. I thought that was strange, after all I was the wedding photographer I thought that gave me every right to shoot. But when someone questions you shooting I just stop there is no need to even get into it with anyone over shooting. There is always another day.

[a2rob]

This is Heart breaking. He probably should seek some type of legal assistance on this..

[SaSha]

wow

[toverman]

When I was a newspaper photographer, I always got permission from nearby parents before I started shooting photos of their kids. This was especially important because I was shooting for publication, and building a rapport with the adults (albeit brief) made it easier to get their names, ages and city of residence for the cutlines. I met a lot of neat people this way, and sometimes met them again for other stories later on. There was only one time a parent questioned me, so I gave her one of my business cards and she recognized my name from the paper.

This story in particular is bizarre because he was shooting photos only of his own kids. As for strangers photographing my children in a public place, they may have the right, but it makes me uncomfortable. If they ask me first and are honest and up front about what they are doing, that's a different story altogether (especially if it's a TPF'er!). Minor children (and their parents) should be afforded a little more courtesy, IMHO.