In most Common Law (ie: countries based on the English system of law, which would include the USA), as far as I know, photographs taken of individuals in places where there is no reasonable expectation of privacy need no releases.
In some countries, such as France, you need releases for pretty much everything. The Province of Quebec in Canada, having based it's Civil Law on that of France, recently enacted a law similar to France's. So, in those places (and likely many others), street photographers would have to get releases for photos taken in public, if they intend to display them, AFAIK.
regards, frank
"The optimist thinks this is the best of all possible worlds. The pessimist fears it is true." -J. Robert Oppenheimer
From: "Dr E D F Williams" <[EMAIL PROTECTED]> Reply-To: [EMAIL PROTECTED] To: <[EMAIL PROTECTED]> Subject: Re: The morality of taking a photograph Date: Fri, 21 Nov 2003 20:57:48 +0200
Correct me if I'm wrong and I'm sure some will ... but:
I thought it was okay to take pictures in a public place and use them in
publications without any permission from the subject. Of course MacChicken
or Captain's Cook, or wherever it was, is not a public place, or is it? To
take pictures in a department store, for example, you need the
owner/manager's permission. But outside (maybe even in a fast food joint) --
surely -- you don't need any kind of permission? It would be quite okay in
South Africa, for example, or a London street. Every day thousands of
pictures go out in newspapers. How many photographers ask Tony Bliar [not a
typo] if it's okay to publish his picture?
Thousands of pictures are being taken in Iraq. How many of those subjects
have given their permission for them to be published? But as far as showing/
publishing goes you've done that; and pretty thoroughly.
Don _______________ Dr E D F Williams http://personal.inet.fi/cool/don.williams Author's Web Site and Photo Gallery See New Pages 'The Cement Company from HELL!' Updated: August 15, 2003
"Oh my God! They've killed Teddy!"
----- Original Message ----- From: "Christian" <[EMAIL PROTECTED]> To: <[EMAIL PROTECTED]> Sent: Friday, November 21, 2003 8:36 PM Subject: Re: The morality of taking a photograph
>
> ----- Original Message -----
> From: "Shel Belinkoff" <[EMAIL PROTECTED]>
>
> > Good points, Christian ... but let me ask this: Is it a more honest
> > portrayal of
> > a subject when they know they are going to be photographed and start
> > "performing" for the camera? I suppose it could be in some situations,
> > but
> > perhaps not all. What are your thoughts on that?
>
> I agree with that statement. McCurry has to watch out for the performers
as
> does/did HCB when he thought he wasn't being noticed.
>
> >
> > I've made numerous photos by engaging the people I've photographed, and
> > the
> > results have often been wonderful, but it seems that you feel there's no
> > time
> > when a candid shot is appropriate. Let's step back to HCB for a
> > moment. You
> > never did address the point that much of his work (as was the work of
> > many, many
> > other photographers) was candid, or voyeuristic, and without that
> > approach
> > there'd probably be just a small pamphlet of his work, rather than
> > volumes. And
> > just to be clear, I am not comparing myself to HCB ...
>
> Honestly, of the photographs I've seen from HCB, the ones that are more
> engaged or where the subjects knew their picture was being taken, appeal
to
> me more than his more voyeuristic shots. It's all about personal
preference
> here.
>
> >
> > And then we have the situation where a photographer has been given
> > permission to
> > photograph some one, but still grabs some candid shots when the subject
> > isn't
> > "engaged." Where does that fit in?
> >
>
> Permission was given. They knew they would be photographed in some way.
>
> Christian
>
_________________________________________________________________
Add photos to your e-mail with MSN 8. Get 2 months FREE*. http://join.msn.com/?page=features/photos&pgmarket=en-ca&RU=http%3a%2f%2fjoin.msn.com%2f%3fpage%3dmisc%2fspecialoffers%26pgmarket%3den-ca
