Hospital baby photos

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Jellycat

Jellycat

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It of a strange one here but I would appreciate your advice.

3 years ago a had my daughter. Now when you have a baby as I'm sure many of you know, a photographer from a company called bounty comes round takes rubbish (imo) photos of you new baby and then charges you stupid amounts for said photo.

When they came round to me I declined the photo as I can do a much better job than them. Anyway 3 years on and I received an email from them say that I could get my newborn hi res photos on a disk for x amount!!

Followed the link to the photo viewer out of curiosity and blow me, theres a photo of my daughter!! Now, as i never gave my permission for this to be taken what can I do about it? What would you do? To say I'm p**sed off is an understatement. They have had this photo for 3 years and this is the first I knew about it.

I've emailed the company stressing my anger and am waiting for a reply!
 
You should of stopped her taking the photo in the first place.

They have to store the photo to reproduce them.

I wonder if there is or should be a limit on how long not needed photographs are stored for?
 
Dale_d3100 said:
You should of stopped her taking the photo in the first place.

They have to store the photo to reproduce them.

I wonder if there is or should be a limit on how long not needed photographs are stored for?
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Did you read my post, she didn't take a photo as I wouldn't allow it so how she got this photo I've no idea, can only think it must have been while I was asleep!
 
have a word with the hospital
they should have views on strangers wandering around
 
mmcp42 said:
have a word with the hospital
they should have views on strangers wandering around
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They aren't strangers wandering around the hospital invites them in cause they get a money from the photography company!!
 
They probably have a deal going with the hospital, but it could be worth making a written complaint if your upset enough. IMHO they should really ask the parents first, remember your in hospital to receive medial tretment not to become a business oppotunity for someone.
 
What has really annoyed me is that i told them not to take a photo and she didn't at that time, so i think she must have come back to take it when I was asleep. But I've never seen this photo and suddenly 3 years on the send me a link to view it saying I can now buy it on disk!!!
 
Jellycat said:
What has really annoyed me is that i told them not to take a photo and she didn't at that time, so i think she must have come back to take it when I was asleep. But I've never seen this photo and suddenly 3 years on the send me a link to view it saying I can now buy it on disk!!!
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More of the question is how did she get you contact details? or did I miss that?
 
They are very sneaky. All new mums are given a Bounty pack that's has free stuff, vouches and the government child forms that you have to fill in along with their forms for more free stuff so thats how they get your details.

As a first time mum your think this is all ok!!
 
Hardly a stranger though, an employee of a company who has the hospital's/nhs's permission to be there.

Doubt there's much the op can do as the photo will have been taken on private property (do nhs grounds count as private property? If not then really nothing that can be done.) with land owners permission.

Taking the photo when your not present is a bit of a sly/dirty technique especially if you've already say no thanks but hardly illegal and the company probably makes enough from this '3 years on' type of sale to make it worth the hassle of anyone that objects.

I imagine the only grounds you'd have to make any objection would be if the data protection act applied and a) I don't know if it applies to images and b) you might sign away the right for the company to take and hold an image in with other hospital paperwork.

Edit: Oops, didn't see those other posts.
 
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Jellycat said:
They are only allowed to take photos of you baby with your permission!!!
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Which you probably gave them, inadvertantly maybe.

Jellycat said:
They are very sneaky. All new mums are given a Bounty pack that's has free stuff, vouches and the government child forms that you have to fill in along with their forms for more free stuff so thats how they get your details.

As a first time mum your think this is all ok!!
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send them one of yours, which i assume is far better going by your initial post and ask them for a position bet they make a few bob, it being a captive audiance an all
 
I'll bet the do!
Think I sold a camera body to a girl that was doing that kind of work once.
She quite calmly handed over about £600 in reddies, didn't even check to see it switched on!
I've had the offer of accreditation to go into the maternity units on Jan 1st to photograph any New Years babies, i turned it down as I had far better things to be doing that year but maybe I missed a good money spinner eh?
 
My Partner used to work for Bounty. Part of the service is to give you a bag of free baby consumables, nappies, Wipes, Baby Lotion Etc. they then ask if you want photo's taken. It's a service for those who want pictures of there newborn. Not everyone is a photographer. They are not all rubbish photographers. Sounds like you or your partner may have given permission and forgotten. If you issue a complaint then they look into it and see you gave details you will look a bit silly. Just out of interest did you complain about the Free bag of goodies???
 
When the lady came round I explained to her that I was a professional photographer and I didn't want her photo taken. She moved on without protest. Like I've said she or someone else must have come back while I was asleep, as i spent 4 days in hospital they had plenty of opportunity!

If I did give them permission (which I know full well I didn't) I would have seen this photo before as they would have tried to get me to buy it, Instead I see it for the first time 3 years on!!!

I'm not saying all bounty employees are like this but some are and there are plenty of stories on mummy web pages and newspapers about them!

Oh and trust me the photo I have now seen is terrible. For me a photo of a new baby should not be 98% blanket! If I had given them permission I would have removed the blankets!
 
Jellycat said:
They are only allowed to take photos of you baby with your permission!!!
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Not sure on that one - where do you think that is written in law? They have permission from the hospital to be there and take photos. By the nature of the business of givin out gift packs and offering to take photos I guess the initial 'contract' is verbal, or you've accepted something by taking the free gifts?

Any clue where the baby photo was taken? Next to your bed in the 'fishtank' or was the baby at any time taken away from you? It might be the photographer just did the rounds of the ward and took all photos. Any clue in the lighting - time of day etc?

As for asking after 3 years, they probably have a policy to check after a couple of years to see if the parents wanted the image after all before they remove it from their storage. Have you asked?

And honestly, what damage do you think has been done? A company has a photo of your child taken shortly after birth. Is it causing you or your child any inconvenience or damage by them having that photograph?

If you're worried by a baby picture now, what happens for the school photographs, photos taken at after school activities/youth groups, heaven forbid - the childs friends taking photos and putting them all over social media sites?

Ok so I've taken that to an exaggerated conclusion, but haven't you more important things to worry about than an innocent image taken by a baby photographer?
 
It just really Pi**ed me off that when you say no it should mean no! It was taken in the fish tank don't know where. The only time she moved from by my bed is to have her bloods checked!

I'm not anal about her having her photo taken. I won't be buying any school photos, that's for sure (unless they are fantastic).

Baby number 2 is gonna have a big sign on the cot telling the bounty lady to stay the hell away lol.
 
You don't need to give permission for a photo to be taken, even if you do refuse someone can still take it technically there's nothing you can do about it.

However if you ask repeatedly and someone continues to take pictures you can then say it's harassment which is a totally different matter, but that's not the case here.

I do feel where you are coming from but there's nothing really you can do and there's no harm really done other than you feel your privacy has been betrayed and that's made you angry, which I can understand to be fair.

They are an independant contractor so not directly governed by the hospital, however, that's your best option if you want to make a complaint.

You need to write a well worded complaint to the hospital itself and cc it to this company.
You need to play on the fact that you feel your privacy and that of your family has been betrayed by an organisation that prides itself on confidentiality and care, not only that but they did it at a time where you were vulnerable.
You need to state you specifically asked not to have a photo taken and therefore revoked any implied permission you may have given previously (knowingly or unknowingly). However you now find 3 years later that there was a deliberate breach of privacy and confidentiality.

You need to ask for a copy of the hospitals guidelines on the use of camera equipment / photography on the hospital site too, believe me there will be one somewhere, then see how this relates to this company being on site ( I doubt there's anything in there about them though).

In your complaint to the hospital you need to repeat a few times that you were vulnerable, that you were in their care, that you feel that your privacy and confidentiality was breached etc. When I say repeat you need to find a way to word the same thing in two of three different ways as it's quite effective when writing complaints and dealing with hospitals :-)

Also, when making the initial complaint, ensure you ask the hospital for a copy of the aforementioned policy re photography, but ask for a copy of their complaints policy at the same time so you know how they should be dealing with it and help give you a timeline.

Now, after all that, you need to decide if its worth all the hassle and if you will follow it through when all you will basically get is an apology from the hospital and that they will review the situation :-/

Or does a good rant on here do the job :-) Nothing wrong with a good rant to be honest :-)

But you gotta remember, nothing illegals actually happened, technically your confidentiality etc hasn't been breached and that's why in complaints letters you never say

"my confidentiality has been breached by this action" you say "I feel my confidentiality has been breached....." feelings are intangible and are not based in fact which can be argued against :-)
 
I would hope that anyone in hospital has reasonable expectation of privacy.

Would the replies have been the same if it had happened whilst staying in a hotel?
 
Few things to point out here

1. The bounty bags are given away for free

2. Accepting the bounty bag does not in anyway oblige you to allow pictures to be taken and nor does it imply permission for them to take them.

3. Maternity ward nursing staff are supposed to ask you before hand if you are OK with the bounty photographer approaching you, if you say no they are supposed to pass this information on and you should not be approached.

4. If you tell a bounty photographer that you do not want a picture taken then that is it and they should leave you alone and not keep asking, or in this case come back later and take a picture.

First and foremost you privacy and right to privacy should come first each and every time, no exceptions.

Something has obviously failed in all of this because as the OP has stated they told the photographer they did not want there babies picture taken but it still was, they have every right to lodge an official complaint.
 
Might be worth a read:

http://www.telegraph.co.uk/health/h...wing-photo-sales-reps-on-maternity-wards.html

The Bounty woman came in when I was taking photos of my son in the fish tank, but she just said 'oh you won't be needing photos then as you have it covered' and then toddled off. I always found it a bit odd and seedy these woman would be coming round handing you gifts and hassling you for photos when you had just given birth.
 
Actually they may be more to this than first thought. Where did they get your details? the hospital shoudln't have passed them on, thats a breach of the data protection act and medical confidence (it'd not only medical detail it applies to) so ypu might have some recourse there.
 
Keith W said:
Few things to point out here

1. The bounty bags are given away for free

2. Accepting the bounty bag does not in anyway oblige you to allow pictures to be taken and nor does it imply permission for them to take them.

3. Maternity ward nursing staff are supposed to ask you before hand if you are OK with the bounty photographer approaching you, if you say no they are supposed to pass this information on and you should not be approached.

4. If you tell a bounty photographer that you do not want a picture taken then that is it and they should leave you alone and not keep asking, or in this case come back later and take a picture.

First and foremost you privacy and right to privacy should come first each and every time, no exceptions.

Something has obviously failed in all of this because as the OP has stated they told the photographer they did not want there babies picture taken but it still was, they have every right to lodge an official complaint.
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the most sensible reply yet, and I agree with this reply and the OP.

If someone took my photo without my permission (indeed after I had specifically refused permission) whilst in hospital I would be livid.

To do the same to a newborn baby who cannot speak for itself is much worse. I am shocked tbh
 
PS in my day we got these packs free with no obligation.
 
How many parents are there? 2 You may of not given permission, but they may have.

I would of thought the photo details would of been separate to you filling in the bog standard info.

Is it really something to get worked up about?

I searched for my daughters names on a local news site and found a few photos taken at the summer fair I knew about, but also photos of her in school that I was not aware of.

Did it bother me? no.

Are you going to be the sort of parent who will prevent other parents filming at the nativity play because you don't want them filming or photographing your daughter?
 
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Jellycat said:
It just really Pi**ed me off that when you say no it should mean no! It was taken in the fish tank don't know where. The only time she moved from by my bed is to have her bloods checked!

I'm not anal about her having her photo taken. I won't be buying any school photos, that's for sure (unless they are fantastic).

Baby number 2 is gonna have a big sign on the cot telling the bounty lady to stay the hell away lol.
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I'm curious now as to what these photos look like. Are they any good? I'm guessing they can't use flash on new borns, so just a pic of a wrapped up new born in the fishtank? (incidently, glad to see others call them fishtanks too). :)

Some good advice above about complaining to the trust as you obviously feel strongly about this. We had the packs with my youngest (now 14) but never a photographer

Oh and you probably will buy a few of the school pics. ;). They have a pretty decent format these days and the costs are really cheap. I think the last package of quite a few smallish prints was £10-12 . I'm guessing they make money from the qualtity.
 
Dale_d3100 said:
How many parents are there? 2. You and the mother. You may of not given permission, but she may have. The state of mind new mums are in, they are not always thinking clearly or can remember events.

Was the photo emailed to you or the mum? Who filled in all the bounty details? I would of thought the photo details would of been separate to you filling in the bog standard info.

Is it really something to get worked up about?

I searched for my daughters names on a local news site and found a few photos taken at the summer fair I knew about, but also photos of her in school that I was not aware of.

Did it bother me? no.

Are you going to be the sort of parent who will prevent other parents filming at the nativity play because you don't want them filming or photographing your daughter?
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Have you bothered to read the thread? If so..... Read it again!
 
Sorry, but get a life. They took a photo of your baby, so what? No-ones died or got hurt. They may well have forgotten and just taken one or two without realising you said no. They do see a lot of babies and they all look the same!

Me, I would just bin and ignore, I certainly wouldn't waste time and energy being angry.
 
Splog said:
Have you bothered to read the thread? If so..... Read it again!
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I missed she was the mum, so have updated the post :) apart from that not much changes :)
 
cambsno said:
Sorry, but get a life. They took a photo of your baby, so what? No-ones died or got hurt. They may well have forgotten and just taken one or two without realising you said no. They do see a lot of babies and they all look the same!

Me, I would just bin and ignore, I certainly wouldn't waste time and energy being angry.
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Dale_d3100 said:
I missed she was the mum, so have updated the post :) apart from that not much changes :)
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What gives anyone the right to take photos of someone in hospital and then try to make money out of it?
 
Its what Bounty do, it is widely accepted.

They do daily rounds of the maternity ward and take photos of the babies.

Bounty is more than just the photos, they give away stuff to mums, support information and more. The hospital invites them in and bounty gives them a cut of profits.


If you read the FAQs, they have changed their operating methods and only keep photos for 6 months, they will email you and if you don't reply then they are removed. They are probably doing the same with the older photos before removing them.

https://www.bountyweb.co.uk/portrait/orders/faq.php
 
They do use flash. The images are taken then submitted online and edited by the distribution centre.

To be honest I think you are making far to much fuss. You should be more worried about the fact you fell asleep and gave someone the chance to enter your ward and cubicle and even had chance to photo your child whilst you slept and was unaware of what was going on!! Not the best start. This country is full of far too many people who are trying to find blame. What are you trying to get?? Compo?? Free Images?? Then when the NHS can't afford to treat patients because they are being sued by Everyman and his dog!! Let it go!!
 
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I would suggest that there are more important things to expend your energy on. Its three years ago, no one got hurt, and its not to do with national security.

All us parents know that the baby arriving time is very stressful and im sure its feasible to say that perhaps the mother or father actually gave permission whilst either of you were away from the bed but forgot in all the commotion? Highly likely. If neither of ever agreed, whats the point in the 'pap' taking a pic that you didn't want and the photographer knew you wouldnt buy?

Id get away at crimbo time if I were you as the school play is gonna be a nightmare !
 
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I've had a great idea for a new business..... I think I'll employ people to take pics of kids having their first shower at school. Should make a fortune.
 
Splog said:
I've had a great idea for a new business..... I think I'll employ people to take pics of kids having their first shower at school. Should make a fortune.
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Nothing like a knee jerk reaction :)
 
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