The Photographers Rights...

[solyluna200]

I live in a small town south of san antonio texas. i was shooting at a festival when a city policeman cae up and asked whom i was with. i simply told him i was shooting for my own personal use. i then asked if i might take his photo as well. he agreed and that was the end of that. however when another officer arrived he kept an eye on me. but i took his photo and then he too moved on.
maybe you could inclide photos of those that are suspiciopus of you.

[andyz]

Police fight cellphone recordings - The Boston Globe

I posted this in a separate thread, but it is appropriate in this discussion as well.

If the camera also records sound, some states (12 I think the article noted) require that all parties being recorded consent. If they don't consent, it could be illegal electronic surveillance. I suppose a device without sound recording capabilities would be in order for some street photographers.

[destinyking]

This is Great information nice post

[SnapperUK]

Some interesting thoughts... Im pretty sure the USA has the same laws regarding property as here in the UK. Only places covered by our national security policy can not be photographed without permission, these include many Ministy of Defence establishments. To do so would be illegal and a criminal offence.

Most people get confused with breeching civil offences while photographing property. It is not an offence, either criminal or civil to photograph a public building, or private building from a public space. However, photographing a building on their propery is another matter as the owner can dictate how someone behaves on their property. So whether they don't want you to take pictures or don't want you eating ice-cream they have the power to ask you to desist and call the police to eject you from their property boundary. They have no claim of rights to any of the photographs you have taken.

Now here is where things get complicated... If you shoot a building for any other reason than commercial then using the images are fine for both editorial and personal use, such as accompanying a news story or showing where you went on vacation. However, if you intend to use the image commercially, say on a tshirt or mouse mat, then while you a free to shoot the image of the building from the safety of a public place, you must obtain the building/company owners permission to use the image, or risk a lawsuit.

Long post, sorry! Finally, returning to the original threads about court houses, which are classed as public buildings, some discretion must be used here. In the UK a photographer is in contempt of court (a custodial offence!) if they photograph and identify a jury member or take photographs on the 'precinct' of the court. Bizzarly, there is no legal definition where the 'precinct' starts or stops. It is defined wherever a judge deems it to be. You can see the possible problems that could arise. Firstly, all it takes is a jury member to get upset as they think you are photographing them, complain to the judge, who hauls you in and end up being charged with contempt of court. Secondly, as there is no defined precinct then even photographing from across the street could see you hauled up in front of a judge if they really want to. The police can only get involved in this type of scenario if you ar causing a nucianse offence, such as obstructing the highway or other disorder related offences they often cite - why? Because it is NOT illegal to carry a camera and take photographs.

Im a press photographer and do a fair amount of shooting outside courts in the UK. Most judges are pretty cool about our presence and will even let us stand and photograph from court property. Never had a problem from a judge or security as they actually do know the law and that photographers are allowed to photograph the building. Had a few problems from defendants who don't want to have their picture taken though!

Hope this helps some of you guys. I'm pretty knowledgeable on the subject, well for UK law anyway and have written magazine articles on the subject with lawyers. Any specific questions, please fire away..

Cheers
Ben

[LWimages]

Here's a new story about a woman arrested while filming in her own front yard

Police arrest woman for filming in her own front yard | Geek.com

[Tony_Baca]

Thanks for the informative information. This is good to know