what happens when you get caught photographing strangers...

[philipp.leser]

If the police enforce it then it must be the criminal law, very Orwellian, what is the staute called the “pressfree law”?

The "right to your image" (Recht am eigenen Bild) is part of the General Personality Rights that are encoded in law here. Its intention is a protection of privacy (t)

There are exceptions for "public figures" (if your subject is one might have to be determined by a court of law case by case).

Regards,
Philipp

 

[Pherdinand]

http://www.flickr.com/photos/elevenblades/sets/72157602785629224/

it's always different, what can happen.

 

[Ming The Merciless]

On the rare occasion that someone raises a complaint, I continue walking away quickly. I've gotten dirty looks or looks of "why is he taking my picture?" Most people don't seem to care, if they notice at all.

 

[dmr]

The one I think is funny is the dirty look I got but didn't notice until I got the film back form the lab. Look at the expression on the guy on the right ...

Yes, this was in LV too. Closing night at the Frontier Casino. No, he didn't say anything to me.

 

[steamer]

The big danger of getting busted taking someone's photo in Japan is that they will give you the "V" sign.

 

[Al Kaplan]

I've never had much of a problem with it. A smile, a friendly "Hi" and handing them a card seems to be all it takes. With the ladies, perhaps "I just love the may the sun was highlighting your hair!" In all the years I've been shooting I only got into one violent confrontation, and that was of a bunch of people holding signs at the polls in a recent North Miami city election. One woman got irate, screaming that I didn't have her permission to photograph her, charged at me trying to grab my camera, and punched me a few times. I just kept shooting with my 15mm lens and put the pix on my blog, which is popular in local political circles.

I got a bunch of emails from other photographers about their photos and video at the polls that day. A state agency, the Florida Department of Law Enforcement opened a criminal investigation into "voter intimidation at the polls" and told me that my photographs were great. In turn I gave them the names and email addresses of the other photographers and videographers who'd contacted me.. The other candidate has a civil suit in progress based on the likelyhood that the candidate with the violent supporter doesn't appear to be a legal resident of the city, and neither does the woman who attacked me. The court hearing is the 27th of this month. Some of the pix are posted at http://thepriceofsilver.blogspot.com on the May 31st post.

I bet that woman and the candidate she supported both wish that she'd controlled her temper.

 

[Sparrow]

The big danger of getting busted taking someone's photo in Japan is that they will give you the "V" sign.

why is it the wrong way round?

 

[burt]

Sometimes they do stand in front of your subject...

 

[Wahoo]

I didn't ask permission to take this top photo and maybe that's why I got looks of thunder , I did ask for the others.

Me thinks it's much better to ask.

 

[steamer]

why is it the wrong way round?

You mean the V sign you get in Britain?

 

[Roger Hicks]

Roger: The fact that you remember the number of incidents and their location is of serious concern.

Well, it's their very rarity that makes me remember them!

Out of the seven, I'd class three (NYC, 3x UK) as very polite, one (UK, Socialist Worker's Party)) as polite but angry or possibly paranoid, and the two in France as near-hysterical.

The point is, of course, that most people aren't grumpy when you press the shutter release, and that very few are even after you've taken their picture.

Cheers,

R.

 

[Sparrow]

You mean the V sign you get in Britain?

Good point, well made In my, very, very limited experience of Japan they would as likley apologise for getting in the way or thank you for letting them pose. Courteous doesn’t cover it ime

 

[OurManInTangier]

I'm very lucky, I have a face like a slapped arse which nobody wants to approach no matter how angry or upset they may be.

Actually its never happened to me. Plenty of wally's in Power Ranger uniforms have hassled me but no problem with anyone else

 

[delft]

I'm not a lawyer, but the police can enforce a deletion of pictures or take the film. Taking pictures of people in private spaces can definitely get you jail-time (up to a year I think). The cases relevant for street photography are civil I think.

Regards,
Philipp

As I read it (http://bundesrecht.juris.de/stgb/__201a.html and http://anwalt-im-netz.de/urheberrecht/recht-am-eigenen-bild.html), you can take pictures in public places, you just can't publish them allways. If you shoot in private places, you are in trouble).

Dirk

 

[Sjixxxy]

The point is, of course, that most people aren't grumpy when you press the shutter release, and that very few are even after you've taken their picture.

I've actually had someone stop and give me a hug for taking their photo. More people tend to assume everyone will get grumpy, than those that actually do get grumpy.

 

[varjag]

... McDonalds in Clacton in the UK complained to the police that I 'might have been taking pictures'. I told the police politely that this was none of McDonalds' concern, and they agreed.

Interesting. Back when I lived in a less liberal society than Norway, I was detained once for hanging out with a camera near a McDonalds restaurant (not even taking pictures). They're also known there for reporting "suspicious" patrons to militia after opposition political rallies. I thought that such police over-cooperation was just a local thing, but with other people accounts appears as if it's ingrained in the culture of the franchise. If there was McD in the Third Reich they'd surely be turning in Jewish visitors.

 

[sunsworth]

...the two in France as near-hysterical

The only _really_ bad experience I had was in Paris photographing an anti war march just after the US invaded Iraq. Though most of the people were just making their feelings felt there were a couple of Iraqi guys who took great offence at me taking photographs of some others on top of a bus shelter burning an American flag. It very quickly went from "show me your press pass", to "what country are you from?", to them trying to grab my camera bag. That's the only time I've ever felt afraid as emotions were running very high.

To be fair to the demonstrators another couple of Iraqis came up to me afterwards and apologised.

I can't remember if this was at the beginning of the march or taken a couple of days earlier...

 

[Aurance]

Sometimes you just got to grab the camera and never mind the consequences - the shot can be to good to miss!

Even the police in the UK are worth taking a picture off!

http://www.lawrencephotographic.com/Galleries/People/TPeople Sample Plates/tpplate46.htm

Cheers!

 

[Cabron]

The peculiar thing that I've noticed is that when going through more affluent neighborhoods, I am at times questioned as to why I'm taking pictures, or have even been intimidated (someone in a pick-up truck recently followed me for a few hundred feet as I was walking).

Going through poverty stricken areas, I have never been questioned. I've gone through some of the harsher parts of Newark, New York, and Boston - all without incident. I'm thankful for that. That's where the interesting stuff is anyway.

 

[flip]

The big danger of getting busted taking someone's photo in Japan is that they will give you the "V" sign.

Oh, so true. It's rather nauseating, really. I've seen 5-year-old kids who are incapable of looking natural when a camera is in proximity. [giving the ubiquitous v(^o^)v ] Overall, this is a culture where people just love to be in photos - very much in contrast to the camera-shy West. I'd even argue that giving photos of someone to them (ie, giving pix of your GF to your GF) is a part of the dating ritual. Bizarre, but it does help me practice portrature.