photographing kids in school?

[doctahjones]

i know i saw some stuff in one of the forum categories, but i can't remember where and my seaches didn't seem to have the right key words. if you have the forum links that would be great. google seemed to show mostly UK related topcis, so if you have keywords that bring up the right stuff lemme know. also if there's a better place for this thread feel free to move it.

but i have some questions and was going to see if anyone had some information about pictures with kids in them.

i understand the public place thing and such but this was inside a school. these won't be sold, just possibly given to news corps as stock photos for our company and the event, and a intranet link given for our employees to see.

i just want to make sure i'm not going to get in trouble for anything. i really wouldn't think anything bad would happen, but with all the stuff about photographing children i want to make sure my a$$ is covered!

basically the company i work for adopted a whole pre-k thru 5th grade school and gave -each- of the students a gift bag (and not just a small one, some got a skateboard, others a tabletop soccer game, etc), along with "wish list" gifts the students also asked for. i took pictures and for the most part tried to frame kids out of the picture, keep them out of the dof, or took the picture with their heads turned the other way. but there are some with kids faces.

do i have anything to worry about? i was figuring not since the purpose of the pictures is for noncommercial/informational/reporting/news, even though i wasn't shooting -for- a media outlet.

[toverman]

I can relate only my experience working for media outlets, so it will be only sort of helpful if at all.

Some (including a couple I've worked with) school districts send forms that parents can fill out to exclude their children from certain directory information, as well as whether or not children could be photographed by media. Although a public school is essentially a public place, there are added rules meant to protect the mostly minor children inside, who can't always articulate their rights. With such things as parental custody disputes, adoptions, etc., there are good reasons why some parents don't want their children photographed.

For one district, I was required to stop by the office on the way out from a shoot to determine that identifiable children in photos likely to be published were not on the "do not publish" list. My recommendation would be that, at the least, is something you might look into.

[doctahjones]

that's good info. thanks.

what i might do then is send a link to the pictures to someone at the school to get their take on it, and if there's one of those kids in any of the pictures i went with. I figure if they give me the green light then i'm good right? :)

[srwatters]

If you are in Plano, don't even think about bringing a camera into the school. Trust me on this one.

I suggest you contact both the school principal and the district office and have written permission in your hand if it is approved. You will save yourself a huge amount of frustration. Good luck!

[toverman]

Scott's suggestion sounds good, too. Considering the photos aren't for media use, getting written permission and clearance couldn't hurt.

[BSGp8ntball]

disclaimer - I'm not a lawyer, my personal thoughts only
The school district I worked for also had a "do not photo" list. The # of the children that are on the list varies school to school but for the most part it is very small. The Principle or Asst Principle should know them without having to look it up. Written permission would be great but often that will get more then just the Principle involved. If you send them a link you should have proof of confirmation in the e-mail without having to make a big production out of it. The school district is the one really at risk. If a photo gets published (even in a not for profit way) with a child on the "do not photo" list there is some heavy liability for the district.

[txphotog]

As one who works in the media I deal with this all the time. Ive always taken the approach that if it is a positive story and we are invited to the school that I'll shoot the kids to where they can been seen. If a school is honoring students and such they know that the kids will be seen. If I am shooting a negative story I'll throw'em out of focus, shoot feet, etc. Its always worked and Ive never had any issues with schools.

[lscottpht]

I've photographed kids in school for newspapers, and you must have written permission from the parents. There were certain kids that I was not allowed to photograph, and the teachers would point them out. The schools, as mentioned above, have the list of these kids. Also, if you are planning on using them for stock, most reputable stock companies will not accept them without a model release.

[doctahjones]

found out that this particular school (james bowie elementary) has all the parents of the kids either opt in or out of photos for media/noncommerical type purposes. someone from the school checked the few photos that did have kids in it, and ok'd all but one.

i wasn't planning on using them for stock in the sense of selling, just stock as far as if our company needed to send a picutre to a newspaper or something for a story.

so looks like i'm all good for now. thanks for all the good info!