Camera Ethical Question

[infonote]

Hi,

I have an ethical question, since I am not sure if I was right to act the way I did.

Story:
We were at an event, and they were using my camera (with my permission), the camera was going round, and everyone was taking photos of each other (as we were in a circle).
One of them appeared in a photo, and just deleted the photo (in which she appeared) without asking me beforehand. I got offended, as I had expected her to ask if it is OK to delete the photo from MY camera.

I know that if I own a camera, and someone appears in a photo, I have to delete it, so that is not the issue. If she asked I would have allowed her to delete it without any objection.

The question is, does someone from a moral or from a manners point of view, delete a photo without asking the owner of camera permission beforehand?

Thanks in advance
Peter.

 

[Trever1t]

If you didn't push the release the image doesn't belong to you. If you push the release you don't have to delete anything even if requested unless by a gov't official (and even then) but since you didn't snap the picture you have nothing to say. Lesson learned, don't pass your camera around in a circle.

(Note: the above is USA law, your mileage may vary)

 

[infonote]

So, if someone takes a photo of me, I can just delete the photo from someone's else camera without telling them beforehand that I am deleting a photo?

That is what I really want to know. Not necessarily legal, but from a moral point of view.

 

[paigew]

Morally, why would you want a photo of someone who obviously is not comfortable with it?

 

[infonote]

BTW: there was nothing wrong in the photo, just she did not like it.
All I wanted to know is, it is ok to just delete a photo from someone else camera without asking.

I always thought, I should ask before asking deleting a photo from someone's camera (or any other device), even though they must accept my request, but seems I was wrong.
I learnt my lesson.

Thanks a lot

 

[SCraig]

Yes, from a courtesy standpoint, you should ask before deleting a photograph from someone else's camera. Personally I would ask them to do it since it is their device.

However, in the USA, if you were photographed in a public place where you would have no reasonable expectation of privacy, especially if the photograph is not to be used for commercial purposes, then they do not have to delete the photograph.

 

[KenC]

I agree that it would have been more polite to ask, but as stated by others, it was not your photograph.

 

[Braineack]

So, if someone takes a photo of me, I can just delete the photo from someone's else camera without telling them beforehand that I am deleting a photo?

sure, you can.

Not necessarily legal, but from a moral point of view.

from a moral point? depends on your own morals; the person who deleted the photo had no regard for the potential harm in deleting the picture; but that doesn't necessarily make them immoral.

I know never to give my wife my camera after I've taken photos of her; she will delete them.

 

[cynicaster]

One time I had a bit too much to drink at a party and nodded off on the couch in a rather embarrassing way. Somebody took a photo of it and posted it on Facebook, which made me furious. Ever since then, I take no chances; I have definitely grabbed friends’ cameras and deleted photos they had taken of me. I’m not saying it’s a very polite thing to do, but I don’t really care what anybody thinks of me for doing it. I’d rather be perceived as doing something a bit impolite and apologize for it later than to have a picture of myself posted on the internet alongside pictures of people who are acting like idiots. I’m not uptight in “real life”, so I usually don’t care how goofy people want to act in their private lives and I act goofy myself, but if you don’t proactively manage your online image, then it can reflect poorly on you if you’re a professional. I wish it weren’t so, but that’s the world we live in today.

 

[infonote]

These photos would have been later on been filtered by someone else, and sent to the people who were at the event only.
Glad that I asked this question however.

 

[bogeyguy]

seriously?? You passed the camera around, not to be unexpected. Why did you even pass it around?

 

[tirediron]

Let's not jump the gun here. First of all, the OP indicates he/she is from Malta, so US copyright law does not apply. Maltese law may be similar, it may not be... HOWEVER, even under US law, I don't think the situation is quite so clear cut. There are situations where the photographer does NOT automatically own the copyright to an image; such as certain work for hire arrangements. In this case, I suspect that since the members of the group knew that it was not their camera, and since they had been requested to take a picture, it would not be reasonable to expect that in that setting, under those circumstances, just because you pushed the button, you owned the rights to the image.

 

[Solarflare]

Do you seriously want to discuss something like this in a court of law ?

If not, just tell her you dont think that was nice, and that you'll never lend her your camera again.

 

[ronlane]

Honestly, I think it isn't a big enough deal to worry or be upset over. You've let this person control your life over this and that time is extremely valuable and cannot be recovered. Chalk it up to a learning experience and as a reminder before you pass the camera next time.

It's your life, you should choose how you feel, not let others or circumstances control it.

 

[KmH]

She should have asked first to delete the image.
That she didn't ask first doesn't seem worthy of asking for opinions on an Internet forum.