How to Protect Your Rights as a Photographer
Be well informed, aware of exactly you stand literally. Private property or public? United States of America or Great Britain? No 1st Amendment and numerous Supreme Court wins outside of the good old USA. Not even in Canada. Be polite about your assertions. Escalating will not help you. That’s where Carlos Miller of PINAC and I severely differ. I love what he does, I’m sure he has less respect for my method. So my friends you have two choices out there. Something like his way or mine and the authors below. And this is not just for our serious or pro photographers either. That nice camera in your shiny cell phone can and in fact has created a situation just as fast as my big black obvious DSLR with ten or twelve inches of super telephoto sticking out there. Oh and about that unsubtle speedlite flash… Well that deserves it’s own Page.
The Photographer’s Rights
According to the American Civil Liberties Union, there are five major bullet points noting the rights of photographers in the United States and they are as follows:
When in public spaces where you are lawfully present you have the right to photograph anything that is in plain view.
When you are on private property, the property owner may set rules about the taking of photographs.
Police officers may not confiscate or demand to view your digital photographs or video without a warrant.
Police may not delete your photographs or videos under any circumstances.
Police officers may legitimately order citizens to cease activities that are truly interfering with legitimate law enforcement operations.
There are exceptions to above rules, but, in general, you have the constitutional right to take photographs in a public place. Exceptions may include military installations, which are banned to protect national security. In many areas, pictures of nuclear facilities are also prohibited by the Department of Energy. So be careful and aware of your surroundings when shooting.