Am I being unreasonable? Strangers taking photos.

[Fiona]

At the giants causeway on holiday, a busload of Japanese tourists descended on me and my four yo son wanting to take his pic lol..

Wee so and so starts posing chin in hand etc...

He's probably famous in Tokyo :lol: by now

Fiona

 

[fburton]

Is it common practice to take photos of strangers and their animals?

I used to do this a lot, as a hobby - mostly at shows, but anywhere there was a promising shot to be had basically. If a photo came out really well, I would give a copy free to the owner - and sometimes make new friends as a result. That was when photography was quite expensive due to film stock and printing costs. A few of my photos ended up in books and magazines. I never looked to make any money from this - it was just nice to be credited for them.

ETA: A group of Japanese tourists took photos of me 'asleep' next to a horse that was lying flat out on Midsummer Common, Cambridge - with my head on its neck. That was in 1980 or so. (I wasn't actually asleep, just pretending to be.)

 

[pansymouse]

It would bother me simply because my horse absolutely hates cameras; the clicking and the holding an item up in front of the photographers face bothers her. I can't even take her photo; such a shame because she's really pretty. Her professional photo shoot had to be done with a long lens I've found that when I explain to people they very kind and understanding.

 

[fburton]

Welcome to the world of anyone who hunts! And the people who take the photos are not well intended.

Another case of "If you've got nothing to hide, you've got nothing to fear" I'm afraid. :frown3:

 

[Stockers]

Had my photo taken when riding on Holkham Beach on the old boy - really wish I had been able to get copies now he is no longer with us.

I can't say it bothers me.

 

[fburton]

Please note the watermark is my own - not button pressing required

No intention whatever of pressing any buttons. Just wondering, though, if that watermark would be very effective against Photoshop removal - or maybe you have some clever invisible/digital watermarking as well.

Super photo btw!

 

[NiceNeverNaughty]

in this day and age now with facebook things are out of hand I feel. Its one thing for someone to want to take a photo of a lovely horse and rider they see out in the beautiful countryside, a memento of a nice day out. And yes, there is no law to stop you taking photos in public.. as long as you aren’t directly infringing on someone’s privacy I believe... so where does that line appear? Nowadays the person taking the photo will more than probably post it on facebook and other social media sites and suddenly your photo is everywhere with people making comments on it. Im old and grumpy and in the minority I know but those are my views, I value my privacy and no I don’t like it.

 

[Dry Rot]

No intention whatever of pressing any buttons. Just wondering, though, if that watermark would be very effective against Photoshop removal - or maybe you have some clever invisible/digital watermarking as well.

Super photo btw!

Interesting question. Presumably if the pixels are blown up, where they'd been altered or deleted would be obvious to a specialist. You can't edit audio tape without the cuts being noticeable when the wave form is shown on a 'scope. Someone once "stole" a photo of mine which he used on a web site -- then presented two fingers when I told him to take it down (there were reasons). I had great delight in contacting his web presence providers in Germany with a copy of the 35mm film strip proving my ownership where upon they took it down. I expect he is still wondering how I managed that! But, short of a blatant breach of privacy,contract (e.g. being allowed entry on the condition no photography), or defamation, I think you can pretty much photograph what you can see with the naked eye here in the UK. That is not the case is some other countries, notably the USA.

 

[fburton]

Photographers' rights and restrictions are discussed here: http://www.photographers-resource.co.uk/photography/Legal/Access_Rights.htm

Presumably if the pixels are blown up, where they'd been altered or deleted would be obvious to a specialist.

Almost certainly detectable with the help of image analysis software, though it is possible to do a good enough job that the alteration is invisible to the human eye. As an exercise, I just did this with the image Katikins posted with Paint Shop Pro (poor man's Photoshop) and using its clone brush to obscure the watermarked pixels with random bits of beach chosen judiciously to look natural. It took me all of 5 minutes. (I deleted the edited photo afterwards.)

 

[ester]

It depends whether you are using the watermark to prevent copying/stealing of images you are selling or just so that you can post it places on the web and people know it has your name on it, like a signature if you will.

 

[ShadowHunter]

Going against the grain and saying yes, it would bother me. We live around a very touristy area and often get people taking photos but they just don't ask! One day i was riding next to a river and two men on the other side stopped and looked, pulled out their phone and started taking photos. I quickly moved off at a very brisk trot as i found it strange and slightly creepy if I'm honest.

 

[MargotC]

It would bother me as well. If someone is to take a photo of me I want to have the say of where and when. Same if one of my animals is involved. You wouldn't take photos of someone's kids without asking, and putting them up for the world to see...

Also, some people need to stay offline for safety reasons to avoid being located and whilst this might not be common, the risk is there and I am a little shocked someone would take and publish pictures of an unknown person without checking with their subject to see if all is OK. Especially in this digital age where anywhere is just a click away.

 

[RunToEarth]

Another case of "If you've got nothing to hide, you've got nothing to fear" I'm afraid. :frown3:

It's nothing to do with that and everything to do with them taking unflattering close ups from your knee level that highlight all of your chins in all the wrong ways. I have nothing to hide apart from my second chin...

Yes OP I think you are being unreasonable.

 

[ILuvCowparsely]

Yes, I get that my gelding is attractive and a show-off. I am fully aware that our hacking largely consists of a nature reserve and we often meet hikers, dog walkers, families with children, cyclists and so on. I am always polite, stop to chat an let people pet my boy, give them my yards' contacts if they're interested in lessons and tell them anything they want to know about horses. Sometimes, however, strangers want to take photos of my boy and I mostly refuse. That's when they sometimes get nasty and refuse to understand my refusal! Don't get me wrong, I'm a very polite person and never get snappy, but I really don't want photos of my horse and myself showing up on someones' facebook feed or on other social networks, especially with several horse theft cases happening in nearby areas.

So...am I being unreasonable? Is it common practice to take photos of strangers and their animals? How do you react when people take photos of your horses while you are out hacking or on the yard/your property? I don't want to come across as rude and snobbish, but I do think I have to draw a line somewhere! (Cookies and mulled wine to those who read through - winters' here!)

If it is a random dog walker or family out in the country side - Then I would take it as a compliment personally - my car always attracts many people at shows and it had over 200 photos taken in June from the visitors to the show. My horse would be no different if out in my carriage or such.

If it was a suspect character or someone i knew and hated then I would say no. The only thing I wont do is stop on the road as I think it is dangerous

 

[Sleipnir]

Well, I guess I'm the Grinch, but at least I'm not alone! To clarify, I still stop to greet, have a chat about horses, let families pet my boy, thank them for their compliments and use the opportunity to positively educate and leave a good impression about horse riders. Also, I don't go yelling around if I see somebody take a photo of us without asking first - I do realize it is inevitable in public places and outside home. I just refuse (mostly) if I'm asked permission and have been shocked by rude reactions because of it. Honestly, I've never felt the urge to take photos of strangers and, for example, their dogs, cats, husbands and other critters and then post them online, so I'm a bit baffled sometimes.

I do have some lovely photos from a time we went to the beach, played around and two ladies who turned out to be professional photographers approached us. They got something special for their portfolios, I, in return, received a free photoshoot, and none of it appeared online anywhere without my consent - that's a whole different matter, I do believe!

 

[Cinnamontoast]

I didn't appreciate some idiot guy (yes, he was an idiot, through and through, not for this reason, but for loads of others!) taking and posting pics of all the horses on the yard in very public places eg unlocked Facebook. I'm not sure it's the best place to post pictures which demonstrated location, each horse etc. I know there's no law against it, unless the landowner says no, but it made me cross.

I did start storming over to some random guy in the next field at a remote yard who was taking lots of pics. He ran away before I'd got near him, I do wonder if it was a bit dodgy.

To answer the OP: if someone asks and I say no, I'd be peed off to have rude responses. Tough luck if they don't like being politely told no, it's very rude to persist and respond impolitely.

 

[tashcat]

I'm guessing that most of them are not horsey..

If you are uncomfortable with people taking photos give them a reason, so they can understand why.
Try explain to them that whilst you're sure they wouldn't steal your horse themselves, theft is rife in the area and you are trying your hardest to minimise your horse's vulnerability - therefore you have no a photo rule for everybody.

If people understand your reasons, they are far more likely to oblige.

 

[Llanali]

Doesn't bother me either. There are probably hundreds of pictures of my show dogs littering the Internet, that I don't know about, and I don't care. Most of them are rather nice!

 

[Shantara]

I actually love it
When I rode through central Milton Keynes, almost everyone stopped to take a picture! I did my best not to start laughing and try and look half decent

They were obviously town folk, Ned is a small 15.1 and a lot of them said "Wow, look at that MASSIVE HORSE!"

However, if it was just me and no horse, I would be wondering why anyone would want my picture and hope they delete it! Without a horse, I hate my photo being taken!

 

[ameeyal]

Wouldnt bother me, i would be flattered, i have 4 black long coat german shephards people are always taking pictures of me walking them.

 

[westerngirl]

random photos would not be a problem, but years ago opened a well known magazine to find fashion photo spread with my horses in it! When I phoned to complain and ask how they had kept my mare out of the photos they just said the photographer had seen them in a field and hadn't thought it would be a problem and would I like a complementary magazine!

 

[Katikins]

Photographers' rights and restrictions are discussed here: http://www.photographers-resource.co.uk/photography/Legal/Access_Rights.htm



Almost certainly detectable with the help of image analysis software, though it is possible to do a good enough job that the alteration is invisible to the human eye. As an exercise, I just did this with the image Katikins posted with Paint Shop Pro (poor man's Photoshop) and using its clone brush to obscure the watermarked pixels with random bits of beach chosen judiciously to look natural. It took me all of 5 minutes. (I deleted the edited photo afterwards.)

Unfortunately there is no surefire way of protecting your images if someone wants to nick them. Generally I use the watermark more as a deterrent than anything and am OK with people sharing as long as I still get credit for the picture. However, legally you can press charges for someone using your images without permission and, especially if you shoot in RAW, can ensure that your copyright is embedded into the image meta data.

But I am not a professional photographer, although hopefully that will change one day. When that happens I will probably only post pictures on my own website where right clicking is disabled.

 

[Tnavas]

Yes you are being unreasonable. If in a public place then you have to accept that people will take pics =.

 

[happyclappy]

Usually I say yes, why not? Legally, you cannot stop them if they are standing on Public Land.

 

[PorkChop]

It wouldn't bother me but I used to have quite unusual hair and was stopped on more than one occasion by people asking for pics. I found that weird! My horse is a far more worthy point of interest (imo!).

Me too

 

[Orca]

It would bother me as well. If someone is to take a photo of me I want to have the say of where and when. Same if one of my animals is involved. You wouldn't take photos of someone's kids without asking, and putting them up for the world to see...

Also, some people need to stay offline for safety reasons to avoid being located and whilst this might not be common, the risk is there and I am a little shocked someone would take and publish pictures of an unknown person without checking with their subject to see if all is OK. Especially in this digital age where anywhere is just a click away.

That is an incredibly good point!

 

[Orca]

Me too

��..

 

[tankgirl1]

I feel left out.... Only time a stranger has ever wanted a pic of my pony was when she was dressed up as a pirate :/

 

[case895]

Sadly the law says they can. We should have a right to privacy like in France. If they get shirty ask for their home address so you can sit outside their house and photo them going in and out. Not keen? Really?

 

[Dizzle]

If you are worried about security and horse theft, telling them which yard you keep your horse at would be the bigger risk.

I'm not bothered if people take pictures, if you go to a show or a fun ride or even hunting, pictures are taken and posted online, there is nothing stopping you from buying pictures of me and putting them up on your mantlepiece (no seriously, there is nothing stopping you, my pony is pretty cute and my cantery jumpy grimace is a sight to behold, PM if you'd like the link to us trotting over some very small XC jumps, would make a lovely Christmas present...).