Permission to take pictures
Discussion
Hi all,
I'd like to get permission to take some pictures of buildings/interiors of buildings owned by a few large companies - e.g. water boards. I've e-mailed their customer services with my request, but obviously no reply yet.
What sort of problems am I likely to encounter? Are they likely to say "sure, go ahead, tell anyone that F. Bloggins authorised you". Or (i'm guessing) will there be some hoops to jump through? Has anyone done anything similar?
Ta,
Marc
I'd like to get permission to take some pictures of buildings/interiors of buildings owned by a few large companies - e.g. water boards. I've e-mailed their customer services with my request, but obviously no reply yet.
What sort of problems am I likely to encounter? Are they likely to say "sure, go ahead, tell anyone that F. Bloggins authorised you". Or (i'm guessing) will there be some hoops to jump through? Has anyone done anything similar?
Ta,
Marc
I know people who have been chucked out of shopping malls for trying to take photographs and also know people who have had problems with security at supermarkets.
I've also heard that the fantastic new terminal at Bristol Airport is a real no no.
The above are obviously without written consent.
Watching this thread with interest.
Duncan
I've also heard that the fantastic new terminal at Bristol Airport is a real no no.
The above are obviously without written consent.
Watching this thread with interest.
Duncan
There was a post on a similar topic recently. The variety of experiences and regulations seems to be very wide.
I'm pretty sure if you are in public then you can shoot anything you want.
Was out on a photoshoot a few months back, and a particularly odious little oik employed by the council took umbrage at us taking pictures on the town sea front.
He went to great lengths to tell us that commercial photography was banned by the town's bylaws and that any image that contained any part of the town was immediately property of the town and thus could not be used for commercial purposes without written consent (from whom we had to get consent he was unable to elucidate).
Er.... ok then.
Naturally we carried on regardless, the mighty legal machine that is weston-super-mare town council has thus far left us alone!
Was out on a photoshoot a few months back, and a particularly odious little oik employed by the council took umbrage at us taking pictures on the town sea front.
He went to great lengths to tell us that commercial photography was banned by the town's bylaws and that any image that contained any part of the town was immediately property of the town and thus could not be used for commercial purposes without written consent (from whom we had to get consent he was unable to elucidate).
Er.... ok then.
Naturally we carried on regardless, the mighty legal machine that is weston-super-mare town council has thus far left us alone!
I've had one reply back so far:
one company said:And yes, they left the 'xxx' in there!!
Dear xxx
Thank you for your enquiry.
I am sorry to disappoint you, but due to technical difficulties we have had to suspend site visits. You may be aware that in the past we have tried to meet all requests for visits at various sites throughout the [...] region, however, the increasing number of requests has also led to operational difficulties.
I hope you will, therefore, understand the reluctant decision that was made to withdraw this facility.
When I crashed my car a couple of years ago a local reporter conveniently arrived on the scene shortly after the police had been called. I told him to clear off, and when I took umbridge to him taking pictures of my freshly smashed up car he smugly informed me that he was allowed to take pictures of pretty much anything in public. At the time I wanted to shove his camera down his throat but the Policeman stood next to me didn't seem to think that would be a good idea. 
Part of me still wishes I'd just gone through with it....
Part of me still wishes I'd just gone through with it....
What I really want to do is get proper permission from whoever owns the building/land and be able to waft something infront of an oiks face if it becomes necessary.
What i'm not clear about is what sort of issues the owner is going to consider before giving me free rein to take pictures. I am (perhaps naively) assuming that as long as they get to view the pictures before I publish, and I insure myself whilst on their premises, that there's no risk for them?
What i'm not clear about is what sort of issues the owner is going to consider before giving me free rein to take pictures. I am (perhaps naively) assuming that as long as they get to view the pictures before I publish, and I insure myself whilst on their premises, that there's no risk for them?
I was directing a video for a shipping company, one of whose clients was ICI. So we got permission to film inside ICIs HQ at Millbank (and a parking place round the back!). However after two minutes a jobsworth materialised and said we couldn't film. We said 'Yes we can, we've got permission from X'. Jobsworth said he didn't know him and turned us out.
Shipping company was furious and got revenge by putting their rates up
Shipping company was furious and got revenge by putting their rates up
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