DO's and DONT's

[Ticklemdammit]

I'm pretty new here, but had a few questions. I was told that you cannot take pictures inside of a store.. And I was taking photo's on the subway in NY, and a cop walked up to me and said I couldnt take pictures because it was against the patriot act or something. Can someone give me a detailed article on the do's and dont's of taking pictures in public(without breaking the law)? Thanks in advance!

 

[jstuedle]

Actually, it's not illegal to shoot anywhere in public places unless it's posted otherwise. If you have the "guts" to politely ask the cop if he could show you the law, because when you read it you could not find where it said that, he would most likely back down. I would first read the act and become familiar with it. Basically is you have no ill intent and are in a public place, there is nothing illegal with shooting what you want. Often though, it's easier to excuse yourself and walk away.

 

[LaFoto]

Why would it be forbidden to take photos in stores?
I have done that (without letting anyone know, I should add ) and never felt like I would be in conflict with any law.
But this is Germany, and what I was most unsure about were the PEOPLE who got into my frames, not the store as such!

 

[hobbes28]

The no shooting in stores is mostly because they don't want the competition to copy their designs.

 

[LaFoto]

Oh. I see.
Well, I was in a supermarket and I don't see how anyone else could design their red peppers and tomatoes after them :mrgreen:

 

[Mitica100]

Here are a few useful links:

http://www.krages.com/phoright.htm

http://blog.photoblogs.org/2004/05/nyc_to_ban_subw.html

 

[terri]

The no shooting in stores is mostly because they don't want the competition to copy their designs.

I got tossed out of an indoor flea market where they cited that very reason. They came off more like paranoid freaks than people concerned over copyright infringement. That made it more enjoyable, at least.

 

[clarinetJWD]

Actually, it is illegal to take photos in the NY subway. The law went into effect almost a year ago. deviantART actually had a "subway photo contest" to protest the law back before January. Almost any other subway is fine (though, I'd be really careful in London these days...)

 

[danalec99]

The cop was probably misinformed - http://www.nppa.org/news_and_events/news/2005/05/subway.html
But there is no point in reasoning with him. Smile and move on.

 

[danalec99]

Thanks for the krages.com link Mit!

 

[Ticklemdammit]

Actually, it is illegal to take photos in the NY subway. The law went into effect almost a year ago. deviantART actually had a "subway photo contest" to protest the law back before January. Almost any other subway is fine (though, I'd be really careful in London these days...)

Yeah this happened in NY... But thanks guys, really appreciate it!

 

[Xmetal]

The no shooting in stores is mostly because they don't want the competition to copy their designs.

...and store security, "ohh nice display" *Security device clearly visible*

 

[Bettybooty]

I'm from NY and I have heard of that before, in the sense that people have been asked not to take pictures. I take pics in stores allot if I want to remember a price or what the item looked like. I've only been asked once not to take pics in a store....