Photography law help please

J

JaneMBE

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Would appreciate a little help, if anyone knows the answer!

legal to take photos of horses in fields/on rides etc without owners consent? Legal to use them on sites or put for sale, say, as greetings cards?
Is this correct: Any person or animal in a public place can be photographed, painted, drawn or have any other image made of them - witness the Royal Family (including its Royal Animals). Copyright law offers them no protection, nor does the law of trespass or public nuisance.

If anyone has more info I would be very grateful, especially if it is sooner rather than later!
JJ
 
No idea, but some man in our village is often out on a weekend taking pics and he must have hundreds of us hacking along the road - i think his album must be sooo dull! I am considering asking for a fee next time I see him though!
 
lol
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or free photos
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I just take pictures of anything, everyone knows that. I don't make a living out of it, I think I sold a picture once lol, and that went into a charity.

There is a lot of stirrers around, mean people who like to cause disharmony.....
 
you are on sticky ground, as I understand it, if you use a pic of someone's horse, taken on private property and used it say, on a greetings card for profit. I would always get a model consent form signed.
people/animals at competition/public places are fair game legally though (as long as they arent minors).
I always ask myself if I'd mind
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Not really no if you can actually make out the features of a person and use the image for monetary gain then you should have a model release form.

Selling the images to competitors as DV says will not cause much problem as you only really sell them back to their familys etc.
 
I think if the photo is taken from a public place it can be used. We had a guy sell us a photo he had taken of our house from the path. It had been tweaked to look all pretty but he was also selling notelets and postcards.
 
Surely if people can publish pictures in the tabloids of people in their own gardens etc. then there is no problem with taking anyone's picture, this does actually include children, under English law you have no rights over your image, unless you have the copyright of the photo because you took it yourself.
 


A guy recently asked to photograph my son riding. He gave me his details (professional who makes cards, calendars etc) and said he would send us copies of the photos. He never did, and I am rather annoyed at that as he may now use them on a card or something without my consent. As it stands i think I'm powerless to stop him if he wanted to. So, morally, I don't think it's right, but legally I think it's okay.
 
my husband was a profesional photographer for 15 yrs and his advice is for eg, if you were to photograph a field and a horse and rider was just passing through your shot in the background then you would be ok to keep the shot, but if you were to zoom in and make the horse and rider the main feature you would need their permission, he suggests offering a copy of the photograph, this is usually enough to keep most people sweet.
 
As far as I'm aware the photographer can photograph any object and the copyright of the photo will always belong to the photographer, unless the photo/image is entered into a competition, this means that the copyright is then handed over.
Hope this helps?
Kate x
 
Photographing of minors should not take place without the consent of a parent or guardian. Where a professional photographer is present at an event parents who prefer their children not to be photographed should let the show secretary know as well as the photographer.
Any person wishing to take photographs at an event where minors are present should seek permission from the secretary & be prepared to provide evidence of identification.
(At one pony club event an older man was taking photo's & vanished very quickly when he was asked why he was taking them & did he have any ID on him...........).

It needs to be kept in mind that vunerable adults should be treated in the same way as minors in these instances, with the permission of the parent or guardian sought prior to taking any pictures.
 
Thank you for the replies
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I think it helps. You know me, only take pictures of horses usually no people (they are headless lol)
The owner knew a while back and was happy enough. But a bit of back-stabbing and Bam! A war starts.
 
Be very VERY careful when it comes to kids. I have to take photos whilst carrying out survey work, often in schools, I am very careful to never take a photo of a child.

As for copyright, even if the picture is published or appears on the web, the photographer retains copyright, unless it is sold with the photo. Public domain does not mean pubic property.

It is always nice to get the subjects permission, but not always possible, I take shots at all sorts of events, purely for my own portfolio, in those situations you don't even know who you are taking a picture of, let alone how to get their permission.
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:nods in agreement:

I wouldn't take pictures of children, unless I had parental permission. Not beside the fact I can't stand the little beggars ( :lol: )
I'll try and smooth things over , but I won't be bullied over a blasted picture of a horse!
 
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Having checked this for our RC, you are at liberty to take photo's of minors without their parents consent.

[/ QUOTE ]

To an extent that is correct - but where there is a professional photographer on site that should made clear (a notice in the entry / declaration area is sufficient). Then the onus is on the parent to let the right people know that they do not want their child photographed.

Best practice for RCs (well any organisation really) is for all photographers to identify themselves, & for the organisers to query any 'unknown' photographers as described above.
 
This was actually in the context of a land owner taking photos of children using a disputed right of way, not an event. I think the original post was about random photos, not at events.
 
Yeh Yorks, it was about random pictures.
Thankfully the person concerned has realised that no harm was meant and they are a bit peeved about the stirring also, someone with a gripe trying to make trouble. We have never had an issue before, and now they have seen through the other person they are ok with the photos.
I'm really glad I am not on a livery yard permanently!

Thanks for the replies, it is still a tricky subject and one I will bear in mind when I'm snapping away
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