Harassed by security guard in mall..

H

Huss

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I like to run a roll of film through cameras I have just bought to make sure everything is working ok. Otherwise back it goes.
So today, I received a beautiful Leica R-E while at work. I loaded it, and went for a stroll in the local mall - the Westfield in Century City, Los Angeles.

I'm taking snaps of random stuff - signs, door fronts etc. No street photog per se, no pics of people. A security guard comes up to me and says I cannot use that camera, if I want to take pics I'm only allowed to use my iphone!
When I asked why, he said because I could be scoping. (his words). I asked him if he could direct me to where I could see rules and policies of the mall, where this may be written. Of course all I got was a blank look...
He then spent the rest of my time there following me around. Nice.

Anyway I sent an email to the mall asking if this indeed was a policy. Because it seems I could do far more creepy stuff with my phone than a 35mm film camera with 50mm lens!
 
Back in 2010 I took some pictures in the Bullring in Birmingham and two security guys came and stopped me. They asked me to delete the pictures (I was using a Leica IIc) and when I told them that I obviously can't they escorted me out of the mall.
On the way out I asked why I am not allowed and they replied that they were not sure about my intentions (who is anyway?).
 
i wonder how policies will change when smartphone cameras get "good enough." will they ban photography with all cameras? or will they let people take photos with "more serious" cameras?

anyhow, it's not illegal to take photos in malls since they are open to the public. but they can have rules that ban photography, and the security guards can enforce it however they want (like letting people use their smartphones and not letting people use film cameras). if they ask you to leave, you legally have to.
 
No need to argue with the poor security guy. He's just doing his job. Just say "My apology, officer!" and move on. It happens to me so often (being escorted out of a shopping center, a public park, police pulling over my car and asking me to leave the neighborhood when I took pictures of trees!) that I'm not even spending a minutes of my thoughts on it anymore. The worst experience I ever had was at the National Mall in DC: I took pictures of trees and monuments at the National Mall in DC when armed military police on ATVs surrounded me and asked me to leave. I once passed by the White House -- on a public street and not even taking pictures! -- when a sniper in full camouflage came out of the bushes, pointed a sniper rifle at me and asked me to leave. Not to mention all the paranoid mothers in parks who shouted at me, thinking their kids are in grave danger because there was a camera dangling around my neck!

Maybe photography should be banned and confined to photo studios? :D
 
Malls are private property and can set their own policies on photography on the site. Many will have notices at the doors about not allowing photography. Pretty common in most retail operations. For customer comfort, I think. Also to avoid future liability, etc.

And yep, it gets silly. I was in a local 'designer food' store (no, not that one, another one). I had a Rolleiflex around my shoulder. A manager approached me soon after I came in and told me that I couldn't photograph in the store. I asked why- retail display and design, and customer privacy. As we spoke, someone came along with a phone and took a series of photos of the vegetable diplay, aisles, etc. The manager watched him and said nothing. I asked him what was up there, and he mumbled something and then made it clear I was not to use my camera.

I've had security people tell me that I couldn't take a photo of a building entrance from the public sidewalk. I told him that he was wrong, had been misled by his managers, and he needed to call the police if he wanted me to stop. I feel bad for most of these people- they are doing what they are told to do and they are told BS by management. Then sometimes you get a power tripper. Including one who physically stopped me from going down the sidewalk and was insulted that the police who I called were telling him that he had committed assault. After a minute he realized that the police weren't kidding and he came to his senses and listened, then apologized to me. no charges pressed.

I've also been stopped and questioned in residential areas. One time the man was quite clear about his concern over photos of the kids in the area. He and I talked for a while and I think it went well for both of us. Other times, people are just a**holes. C'est la vie.
 
aizan said:
it's not illegal to take photos in malls since they are open to the public.
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Not true. Shopping malls are privately owned and they might have no-photography policies. At the very least they have a clause "The shopping center cannot be used for commercial or business purposes by visitors" (quote from the Westfield Mall regulations) and if you have a professionally looking camera, they'll chase you away because of that.

images
 
giganova said:
Not true. Shopping malls are privately owned and they might have no-photography policies. At the very least they have a clause "The shopping center cannot be used for commercial or business purposes by visitors" (quote from the Westfield Mall regulations) and if you have a professionally looking camera, they'll chase you away because of that.

images
Click to expand...

Nothing like that sign at the Westfield Cent City mall. Lots of dogs there, they even have/had treats for them.

The mall is private and they can enforce their rules. But it’s just bizarre for thr sec dood to tell me to use my phone to take pics.
 
Dan Daniel said:
I've had security people tell me that I couldn't take a photo of a building entrance from the public sidewalk. I told him that he was wrong, had been misled by his managers, and he needed to call the police if he wanted me to stop.
Click to expand...
Try to take a picture in the public space next to a US Embassy anywhere in the world (and I mean taking a photograph of a random subjet and not photographing the Embassy itself) and you will be immediately surrounded by armed security guards asking you to surrender your camera. I always have been wondering what was the legal basis for that...

Cheers!

Abbazz
 
giganova said:
No need to argue with the poor security guy. He's just doing his job. Just say "My apology, officer!" and move on. It happens to me so often (being escorted out of a shopping center, a public park, police pulling over my car and asking me to leave the neighborhood when I took pictures of trees!) that I'm not even spending a minutes of my thoughts on it anymore. The worst experience I ever had was at the National Mall in DC: I took pictures of trees and monuments at the National Mall in DC when armed military police on ATVs surrounded me and asked me to leave. I once passed by the White House -- on a public street and not even taking pictures! -- when a sniper in full camouflage came out of the bushes, pointed a sniper rifle at me and asked me to leave. Not to mention all the paranoid mothers in parks who shouted at me, thinking their kids are in grave danger because there was a camera dangling around my neck!

Maybe photography should be banned and confined to photo studios? :D
Click to expand...

Are you shooting with a Novoflex Noflexar????

Shawn
 
Harrased? Since then asking not to take pictures of business property became harassment?
 
Not worth arguing over boring subjects that have already been posted on Instagram from cell phones thousand of times. There is plenty of beautiful subjects on the world (including my wife) waiting to be photographed.

If people ask to behave in a certain way on private owner places like malls or even on public places, don't argue and move on to other subjects. Your photos will end up with light flares and under/over exposed due to the bad vibe :p

Regards

Marcelo
 
Whenever I am stopped in this situation (it does not happen often) I am pleasant, polite and more often than not compliant. I do not like it especially if I know I am actually in a public space at the time but the guys doing the security job are after all, just doing a job. No point taking it out on some poor shmo who is just trying to provide for himself and his family - especially when, as is so often the case, he himself is being polite to me.

I find that smiling and engaging the security guy in neighborly conversation almost always goes a long way and may even get them to withdraw their objections. I have even been stopped by a Police Chief Superintendent (a pretty senior job in their hierarchy) when I was photographing folks in a lane behind a government building. Technically I was not breaking the law this being a public space but I instantly understood his concern over security of the building and we had a fine and friendly chat when he satisfied himself that I was no threat. So much so that we stayed on smiling, nodding and chatting terms thereafter when we ran into each other in similar situations (usually with me doing the same thing - making photos).

The other thing I often do when this sort of thing happens is to get out my smartphone and show them my Flickr photostream. This usually succeeds in making them so glassy eyed once I insist on them looking at a series of photos, that they are only too pleased to let me get on with it. :)
 
peterm1 said:
Whenever I am stopped in this situation (it does not happen often) I am pleasant, polite and more often than not compliant. I do not like it but the guys doing the security job are just doing a job. No point taking it out on some poor shmo who is just trying to provide for himself and his family - especially when, as is so often the case, he himself is being polite to me. I find that smiling and engaging the security guy in neighborly conversation almost always goes a long way and may even get them to withdraw their objections.
Click to expand...

great attitude. Way to go in those occasion.

Marcelo.
 
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