I had a police officer keep giving me grief after location photo shoots i was doing in west Chicago.
First two times he approached after the shoots.
Third time he comes over to harrass me in fron t of the clients.
I asked my clients if they would excuse me for a minute as this officer had been a consitent problem. Then i tell him the rules on how and when he can talk to me. He tried to leave so i gave him as much grief as a could as i walked him to his car and ended by telling him that he either come up with something serious to talk to me about or never talk to me at all.
Next day i see him sitting in Star Bucks. So i go in and sit at the next table facing him, simply to see if it was over.
He picked up his coffee and moved tables.
I'm not the agressive type but this guy got my back up.
A good question to asks anyone who tries to pull one on you is "Or you will do what? Their answer will tell you the level of power they have. If it is not putting you in jail or giving you a fine you can tell them where to get off.
If I want to take a picture of a stranger and especially a child I would ask for permission from them or their parent first. Whether it's in USA or Timbuktu. It's just plain old human courtesy.
I’m a huge advocate of protecting individual rights, but I’m also a father of five daughters and five granddaughters. So many people seem to get wrapped around the axle over their rights – and forget all about “plain old human courtesy”. Argue with misguided law enforcers all day long, work with lawmakers to maintain our rights - but show some basic courtesy when children are involved.
Unless a person is simply trying to test the limits, it’s not about what you can legally do – it’s about doing what makes sense.
Marc, if you read the original post, there were two complaints. One from the boy playing hockey and another from someone who saw me taking pictures of my daughter and her friend. OK, I spooked a teenage boy who watches too much TV. Whose permission do I need to take pictures of my own kids? Must I ask everyone in the park and have proof that the kids are mine?
Not trying to be an ass, but I still don't understand what evil end results from taking someone's picture. It has never bother me or my wife that people took pictures of us or the girls (I have three).
At our annual 4th of July parade, people are shooting the kids in the parade and crowd shots. Ant major public event such as that brings out shooters galore. Why is that different?
rickmorealnd wrote:
Marc, if you read the original post, there were two complaints. One from the boy playing hockey and another from someone who saw me taking pictures of my daughter and her friend. OK, I spooked a teenage boy who watches too much TV. Whose permission do I need to take pictures of my own kids? Must I ask everyone in the park and have proof that the kids are mine?
Not trying to be an ass, but I still don't understand what evil end results from taking someone's picture. It has never bother me or my wife that people took pictures of us or the girls (I have three).
At our annual 4th of July parade, people are shooting the kids in the parade and crowd shots. Ant major public event such as that brings out shooters galore. Why is that different?...Show more →
Actually, with something public like that, the voyeur could go round taking upskirt shots on the floats and would hardly be noticed.
I didn’t mean to sound as though I was accusing you of being rude :-) I do understand your position, and asking permission most often destroys the spontaneity of the shot. The kid probably got spooked because his parents did a good job of teaching him to be aware of his surroundings. Like it or, not that’s our world today.There is of course nothing wrong with simply taking pictures.
In your parade example, the setting is different – lots of folks snapping away in a crowd situation. Walking around alone in a park taking pictures of other people’s kids could be easily misunderstood as “lurking”. In that situation,
I would have asked in a friendly tone “Hey, guys – I think this is going to make a cool picture. Mind if I catch some of the action?” while holding up my camera and wearing a grin. Could the kid get still get spooked? Sure, but you’ve just reduced the likelihood ten fold.
I don’t think you came across like an ass at all. I’m merely suggesting that there are times when small courtesies can work wonders in helping get what you want!
In the other situation with your daughter - what can I say? You're right - Paranoia strikes deep.........
