“Street Photography: Legal or Not?”
Since the birth of street photography, there has been a clash between the photographers prowling the streets trying to capture the lives of ordinary people to turn them into works of art, and the subjects of those photos who feel violated by the unauthorised use of their likeness. The result of these conflicting elements is confusion among street photographers and the general public regarding what is permissible under the law. As a general rule, if a photographer is shooting from a public space, such as street or a park, he or she will usually have the right to do so without the consent of the subjects. Generally, if you can see something from public space, you can take a picture of it. Here, Street Photography is the perfect example.
Privacy is defined as “the state or condition of being free from being observed or disturbed by other people.” Obviously, it would be objectively unreasonable to expect privacy on a city street or on a crowded subway. So, when someone claims that anyone may take photographs of whatever they want when they are in a public place, another way of saying that the privacy right of a person doesn’t apply unless that person has a reasonable expectation of privacy. Put more directly, you have given up any expectation that you cannot be “observed or disturbed by other people” by virtue of entering a public space or being in a position where you can be seen by others in a public space. And that is why when in a public space, a street photographer can take a picture of anything he or she can see from that vantage point, even including subjects on private property, so long as they are within public view.
Though you generally have the right to take photo in public places, but seven things photographers should keep in mind:
· Model releases are generally not required.
· Use common sense.
· Your rights as a photographer are broadest in public places.
· Just because a property is open to the public doesn’t make it public property.
· There may be restrictions on photography that interferes with others’ enjoyment or use of a public area.
· Concerned parties have the right to approach you and inquire about your activity.
· You are allowed to display and even sell the images that you’ve photographed.
So, at the conclusion, I would like to say that, legally photographer have the right to take photo but they should think before taking any photograph, that what should go for publication and what not. And photographer can maintain a general norm to take permission from the subject before taking photo in some point needed.
Zabed Hasnain Chowdhury (Anando)
Photojournalist and Documentary Photographer Based in Bangladesh.
Student of Diploma in Visual Journalism
The Asian Center for Journalism at the Ateneo de Manila University
