Property releases

JumboBeef

JumboBeef

Suspended / Banned
Messages
978
Edit My Images
Yes
Will someone please give me a clear explaination of property releases? :gag:

I'm not talking about photos for private use, but photos you wish to sell/use in some way.

You can take any photo from a public place, of a public place, to do with as you please.........yes? :thinking:

Now, can you take a photo of a pretty cottage, from a public place (ie: the lane outside) and sell that? Or do you need a property release?

What about other property? A flash car, parked in the street: can you take that photo, and sell it?

I read here before that you are not 'allowed' to take photos of The London Eye, but there are lots of photos here.

Cheers!
 
I cannot give you a definitive reply and the following is what I have garnered over the years, but the best thing to remember is that nearly everything is owned, designed or copyrighted by someone. If you are taking a photo and selling it as a print you can get away with a lot more than you can if you are selling it for commercial use - ie royalty free on stock sites. The following mostly relates to stock.

Yes, you can take a picture of that pretty cottage and sell it but be prepared, if it is the only subject in the image for the owner to get a little upset and say that they want paying for your use of their property - especially if they are the architect or garden designer, best to be safe and ask for a property release or make the property part of the scene rather than the subject of it. The laws vary in every country and some require property releases for almost any residential or commercial property.

Flash cars - motor manufacturers are clamping down on this from what I can gather, Ferrari models are copyright and you need a release from the company, Ford do not like you to have their logo in the image. You also have to think about tyre manufactures and possibly clone out anything on the tyres.

Both the Eye and the Gherkin require property releases for commercial use, sometimes they will be accepted on stock sites if they are a small part of the skyline as RF but most of the images on the link you showed were Licenced images rather than RF. Another famous landmark is the Eiffel Tower - this is free of restrictions during the day but the lighting is copyrighted so you would need a release for commercial pictures taken of the tower when it is lit at night.
 
I dont see any problem about taking and selling photos of properties taken from a public place. It may be polite to ask the owner of the pretty cottage if they are happy with what you are going to do, especially if they are watching you!
But, there are some properties / places that may be restricted and you would be unwise to take photos of them without permission.
These are usually military or sensitive establishments. Info on these will be freely available on t'internet.
You might find this linky interesting...
Allan
 
You might be able to shoot public stuff from outside, but at what point can you be stopped from shooting inside public places. :thinking:
Examples: churches, shopping malls, museums, galleries, stations and many other public areas.
 
It's all covered by trespass ivortripod. The owner of a property (in England and Wales) can have a "No photography" rule on their property if they so wish. The minute you turn up and start taking pics you are then breaking the terms of access and become a trespasser. They can only ask you to leave. They can't assault you and they can't demand to see the pics or force you to delete them.

Stations are a little different in that you can write and ask for permission and it is actually often granted, you then get a visitors badge while you take your pics so you can verify yourself to BTP and other rail staff.

If they have a no photography rule and you try to use the images commercially I'd expect a call from their lawyers.
 
Not entirely, (and this is where it gets difficult) Canary Wharf is famous for it! They don't have to stick up signs, just have it publicised. So it can be almost impossible to find. Utter stupidity yes.

The Trafford Centre in Manchester is a good one too. No signs, people openly using compacts and phone cams, yet the minute you turn up with DSLR, you get stopped. I've always found them to be good humoured enough because I'm happy to talk to them but at the same time it annoys me that there I am, with security on the radio while people openly walk past taking pics. It's really dumb.
 
You must log in or register to reply here.
Back
Top