Photographing Children

best thing is just ask the parents first,
if someone just started taken pic of my kids in a park, id confront them,
yes it prob is just a norm person like us,but in this day an age you have to be careful, and it just polite to ask first,

after confronting the photographer if i was then told , i can photography what i want,when i want etc,here's a card to prove it, then well i guess id be ....bully-thug

but if asked first id let the photographer take the pic's ,think its best to ask nowdays
 
Why's that? Are you afraid they're going to steal your kids' souls?
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er no,
my point is just ask before,its been polite,esp as its a worry over here,
 
Hmm, that's my point, what's the worry? It's a picture, 'they' can't actually do anything to a kid by taking their picture.

Regardless of any laws (or the lack thereof) this is what I don't understand about people going off on one about pics of kids. What do they think is going to happen? Even if a child rapist took a photo of your kid, what's (s)he going to do with it that can in anyway affect your kid?
 
Splog said:
How about someone starting a poll on here so that all togs can say whether they would allow a total stranger to take pictures of their kids playing in a public park :D
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I have been though the divorce from hell (seven years on, still going to Court). I have had no end of problems with me XW regarding seeing my children.

So, if someone started taking pictures of me and/or my children when they are with me, I would want to know who the hell they are and why they are taking photos (I have been followed by PIs before).

The whole point is: as you don't know the person you are taking a picture of, they might have a very good reason to either not want you to their picture or to know who you are, whether you legally can or not.

I would always ask before taking any direct photos of people and/or children, because I would want someone to ask me first!
 
Regardless of any laws (or the lack thereof) this is what I don't understand about people going off on one about pics of kids. What do they think is going to happen? Even if a child rapist took a photo of your kid, what's (s)he going to do with it that can in anyway affect your kid?
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ok see what your saying,
but then id also be anoyed if i came one here and found my child pic had been taken without me knowing,

do you have kids, if so how would you feel, a person appear in a park,snapping away at your kids or suddenly your child was published in the paper or website without you knowing ??
 
chris k said:
if someone just started taken pic of my kids in a park, id confront them,

after confronting the photographer if i was then told , i can photography what i want,when i want etc,here's a card to prove it, then well i guess id be ....bully-thug
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Why ?

If somebody followed my kids around the park taking pictures, then I may have a problem.

I think you need a pack of "Chill Pills"......

And yes, I have children (well a child anyway). He may be all grown up and at Uni, but I have been where you are....

Steve
 
chris k said:
ok see what your saying,
but then id also be anoyed if i came one here and found my child pic had been taken without me knowing,

do you have kids, if so how would you feel, a person appear in a park,snapping away at your kids or suddenly your child was published in the paper or website without you knowing ??
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I don't have kids but I can see your viewpoint - If I wanted a photo of a girl playing on a swing I'd have been inclined to speak to the scary looking father, say that I was looking for a classic photo of a child on a swing and his daughter was very pretty (blah, blah, lots of flattery etc) would he mind if I took some. If he was pleasant I'd probably offer to send him a copy of the best one if he was really stroppy I'd go and find another child on another swing to photograph.

Sometimes the photos are spontaneous and you can't plan and ask permission first but hopefully explaining afterwards why you thought is was such an unmissable photo should placate most worried parents - maybe I'm just an optimist!
 
If I was with my kids and someone was taking photos, I wouldn't be bothered.
If it was a man in a long mac acting shiftily, taking photos and being nervous....I would.

It's all about demeanour and intent. The act of photographing my kids is not a problem.

Those parents who think that going over to the photographer, all huffy and puffy and threatening......er, great parenting! Teach your kids that dealing with people is about being menacing and threatening...nice.
 
The idea of little Baby Apocalypses running about scares the living daylights out of me, but should it ever happen, then no I wouldn't care about people photographing them.
 
chris k said:
ok see what your saying,
but then id also be anoyed if i came one here and found my child pic had been taken without me knowing,

do you have kids, if so how would you feel, a person appear in a park,snapping away at your kids or suddenly your child was published in the paper or website without you knowing ??
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Yes I do (a six year old girl) and I also have cuttings from our local paper of me when I was a kid! Did anyone ask to take those pics errmm no, were my parents consulted? errmm no. Did any harm come from having my pics in the paper on more than one occasion? errrm no.

Photography in a public place is not unlawful (as we all know) Any of us (and our children) are captured many hundreds of times over every time we go anywhere near a town centre. So why would you choose to get annoyed if someone takes a pic?

I have a pic of my stepdaughter posted on here. Do you not think that someone could log on here and pinch it? Do you think I did not consider that before I posted it? Do I think it is worth the risk? Hell yes! Family life is family life and long may it continue to be recorded.

Take a moment to think of some of the brilliant togs from the past. Cartier-Bresson never had this problem. All those pics from years gone by of kids playing in the street, running through fountains, having fun. Would you really choose to lose those for the rest of time?
 
AliB said:
Yes I do (a six year old girl) and I also have cuttings from our local paper of me when I was a kid! Did anyone ask to take those pics errmm no, were my parents consulted? errmm no. Did any harm come from having my pics in the paper on more than one occasion? errrm no.

Photography in a public place is not unlawful (as we all know) Any of us (and our children) are captured many hundreds of times over every time we go anywhere near a town centre. So why would you choose to get annoyed if someone takes a pic?

I have a pic of my stepdaughter posted on here. Do you not think that someone could log on here and pinch it? Do you think I did not consider that before I posted it? Do I think it is worth the risk? Hell yes! Family life is family life and long may it continue to be recorded.

Take a moment to think of some of the brilliant togs from the past. Cartier-Bresson never had this problem. All those pics from years gone by of kids playing in the street, running through fountains, having fun. Would you really choose to lose those for the rest of time?[/QUOTE]

That's the whole point, well said :thumbs:
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If you're taking photos of a child at a park, and the parent (be it man or women) question you, IMO that's expected. After all, you're stood in a park, with a professional looking camera/lens (90% of the time), taking photos of their child on the swings.

It's an expectation for them to ask questions, and that's perfectly fine, because in this day & age you can never be too carefull. However, it's not perfectly fine for them to kick off over it, and even get violent. If a father of a child kicks off, and gets in your face about taking photos of his kid, he's in the wrong. He's not in the wrong to question what you're doing, be it perfeclty legal to shoot in public or not, but he IS in the wrong to give it large about it.

However, I think the next step of the situation is down to how you respond to him/her. If they ask what you're doing, and you be polite, sensible, and just explain to them that you're a budding photographer who's looking to become skilled at taking portrait photos, maybe show them the photo, and see what they say. That's one way to handle it, and personally, the best way IMO.

If, however, they come over asking what you're doing, and you straight away jump into the 'i'm doing nothing wrong, F'off' routine, they're going to be even more ticked off, because you've been rude to them.

As silly as it sounds, I think it also depends on what you look like, how old you are etc. It's sad, but I believe it makes a difference.

If you're a 19yr old lad taking photos of some kids in a park, and get confrunted, you're going to be looked at differently than a grown, middle aged man, IMO. That's just down to stereotype. Well all know sicko's can come in all shapes, sizes & ages, male or female, but like I said, it's down to stereotype.

I was confrunted a few weeks back whilst taking some photos of a building that was in the middle of being built, it was still a steel structure at the time, with a few cranes around it etc. It was 4am in the morning, just coming light, and it looked like a good shot to get. I stood over by a car garage, set my tripod up etc, and started snapping away. After a few minutes, I was confrunted via a tannoy, and then by a security guard, followed by a passing police van. I calmly explained that I was out taking some photos of the sunrise, and thought some shots of the building would make a nice photo for a project I was doing. I was then smiled at nicely, and left to my own devices. I wasn't doing them for a project, it was for a competition, but project sounded more formal.

I think it's all about how you interact with people, on first impressions.

But I agree, it's getting a bit silly now, and eventually you'll have to watch what you photograph due to certain laws etc. It's a pssssst take for sure, but what can we do?
 
Marcel said:
IIt's all about demeanour and intent. The act of photographing my kids is not a problem.
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Unfortunately that's exactly where Petey Phile has the advantage. He won't be wearing a mac, sweating heavily and having a game of pocket snooker. He'll be polite, charming and friendly. He will re-assure and put you at ease. Then, having had a nice chat with you he'll offer to send you some prints at which point you'll give him the address of your children.

Now I'm not for a second saying this kind of thing happens every day, the point I'm making is that anyone who is going to be preying on children for their own twisted purposes will generally be the last person you expect. They will be very careful not to give you cause for concern and will appear to be completely trustworthy, the same as any good con man.

The reality, for them, is why bother? If they want to see kids playing there are literally thousands of ways to access that - flickr, the swimming pool, early morning kids telly, basically anywhere that children are present. I suspect that the number of people who get off on seeing a kid on a swing is very very small. Granted it might be a starting place for these people to "research" their victims but with sensible precautions and good parenting there's no reason for your child to endangered beyond wrongful thoughts - something we have no control over to start with.

In the current climate possibly the biggest danger to kids is other kids and something that can and should be addressed.
 
I'm not a lawyer, but as I understand the law, if the father of said children confronts you and asks you in no uncertain terms to stop taking pictures of his children and yet you continue to take their pictures in any sort of provocative way (i.e. blatantly, deliberately) you could then face a harassment charge.

You might probably win, but you could still be arrested, charged and have a day in court.
 
Why ?

If somebody followed my kids around the park taking pictures, then I may have a problem.

I think you need a pack of "Chill Pills"......

And yes, I have children (well a child anyway). He may be all grown up and at Uni, but I have been where you are....

Steve
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why,cos i want to know why there taking pic of my kids,

I think you need a pack of "Chill Pills"......
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why ?
iam not inneed to chill, just explaining
And yes, I have children (well a child anyway). He may be all grown up and at Uni, but I have been where you are....

Steve
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right so you want to know why too ??,

after confronting the photographer if i was then told , i can photography what i want,when i want etc,here's a card to prove it, then well i guess id be ....bully-thug
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because of his attuide ,to me, i would have confronted him nice and politly
 
Eau Rouge said:
I'm not a lawyer, but as I understand the law, if the father of said children confronts you and asks you in no uncertain terms to stop taking pictures of his children and yet you continue to take their pictures in any sort of provocative way (i.e. blatantly, deliberately) you could then face a harassment charge.

You might probably win, but you could still be arrested, charged and have a day in court.
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I don't think it would stand up at all. The law is the Public order act and it would fall under causing harrassment, alarm and distress. I really don't see how you could do that to a child just by taking his/her pic. After all it's been done for years so I think there is a bit of a precedent in law there.
 
twice ive been in a park with wife kids etc, and a photographer came over and asked if was ok to take some shots, family shots,kids ,kids kicking a ball,
one was a pro said he'd post some pic via email,or would post, i chose via email(never got them)
the other was student doing some pic for her collage project
 
If it becomes illegal to photograph children, at what age do we then think it becomes OK to obtain 'legal' candids in a public place? Eleven? Thirteen? Eighteen? ......

My point here is, there will always be some jackass pervert that will get off on some sort of wierdo behaviour. It's all very well legislating for this and against that but, where does reasonable behaviour fit in? We have, as AliB has written, precedent in Law. So it would take radical, swingeing changes to overturn this.

Another point to consider......

....... how about the protection photographers offer by having their cameras around in public places? I'm sure if the amount cameras/photographers drops because of any new legislation preventing them from being there the number of sordid crimes and sordid people will rise!

Kowtowing to this ridiculous nonsense is actually going to make the problem worse!
 
Chris K,

There is "want to know why" and then there is confrontation. The latter will always end in tears, maybe not yours, but it won't send a good signal to your children.

A polite "what are they for mate?" will allow you to gather your thoughts as the tog responds.

It's similar to being stopped by a copper - confrontation gets you nowhere (expect in trouble), politeness can often end in a laugh and joke and everybody's happy.



Right, I'm off down the park wiv' me raincoat and 300mm lens :D

Steve
 
Jelster
There is "want to know why" and then there is confrontation. The latter will always end in tears, maybe not yours, but it won't send a good signal to your children.

A polite "what are they for mate?" will allow you to gather your thoughts as the tog responds.
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i never said id be anythink other than polite,
yes i would confront him/her and ask why ?
then if said person got funny ,then i may then turn to what someone else mention ...bully thug, or what ever


Right, I'm off down the park wiv' me raincoat and 300mm lens
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have fun,i have 400mm lens ner
 
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