Ethical sports photography question

[Plato]

Calmly explain your feelings to your parents before the meeting. At your age, there isn't much that you can do without their support and backing, which I expect you'll get. I'll go even further and add that, if they don't do everything that you want, drop it. Yeah, I wouldn't like it either but life isn't always fair.

Again, we're as in me and my parents, are meeting with him monday

You're obviously on line right now and you missed my edit. I am not an expert but be cautious about the possibility that, as an agent for the school, you don't own the photos - the school does. Again, as long as you're on board with your folks, you're handling this properly.

Good luck to you.

 

[Bitter Jeweler]

Dang. Googles fast!

 

[Dantheman4334]

Well, Max Winsten, of New York State's Croton Harmon High...Posting all that information here, on a very popular website, isn't the smartest thing to do. Why, you ask? Posting information like this makes it very easily searchable by your principle.

You should delete all your posts, and remove all the illegal content from the internets or risk being expelled!

I am willing to bet, in just a few days time, searching your name (Max Winsten) and high school (Croton Harmon High) using google, will lead you right here.

Like he really will.

 

[FrankLamont]

1. Were you on the school grounds when shooting? If yes, then they actually have rights to ask you to a) stop shooting and depending on where you are even b) ask you to remove images.

2. Are you shooting to sell? In sports photography, people are easily seen and so model releases may be necessary.

3. Do your photos feature logos (inc. school ones) in a considerable size? May be trademarked.

If not, then just don't upload in the school network.

But laws differ in state, country, etc.

 

[Dantheman4334]

1. Were you on the school grounds when shooting? If yes, then they actually have rights to ask you to a) stop shooting and depending on where you are even b) ask you to remove images.

2. Are you shooting to sell? In sports photography, people are easily seen and so model releases may be necessary.

3. Do your photos feature logos (inc. school ones) in a considerable size? May be trademarked.

If not, then just don't upload in the school network. They can't do anything to you legally.

This has nothing to do with the network. everything I do pertaining to my photos is from the comfort and privacy of my house

 

[FrankLamont]

I said if not (ie, you do none of the above) and they are restricting you, then upload at home. The other things must be considered primarily, of course.

 

[Dantheman4334]

I said if not (ie, you do none of the above) and they are restricting you, then upload at home. The other things must be considered primarily, of course.

Of course! I want to do this as 100% legit as possible.

 

[FrankLamont]

If you're on public grounds and don't cover anything (within reasonable size) that is trademarked and aren't selling -- you really shouldn't worry. There may be other factors, so don't shrug it off, but you should be fine.

 

[Felix0890]

You talked to your principal and he said no . . . so move up the chain of command. Talk to a superintendent. If he/she says no . . . move on up. When I was in High School, I rebelled against many school policies. I'd say 90% of the complaints I sent to the Florida school board were taken care of. Start forming a petition NOW. Use your popularity to gain enough signatures to send to the school board.

Get the press involved. E-mail your local paper/news station and tell them what's going on. Odds are they'll be interested in running the story which will get you MORE signatures. They should be thanking, not punishing, you for giving your classmates so much school spirit. Also, jot down all the hours you spend shooting school events and turn those in as community service hours. I don't know about your state but if you get a certain amount in Florida, you get a guaranteed 100% scholarship to any public University.

Good luck!

 

[flea77]

The first thing I would ask is.... did you use your position as a member of the yearbook to get on to the sidelines of the football game (even if they let you there without you saying a word or flashing a pass because they knew who you were)? If so, any and all pictures you took were, as someone else pointed out, taken as an agent of the school and as such, you MUST abide by their rules. If however, you were not assigned to take photos of the game, bought a ticket like the general public, and shot from the stands, then the school would really have no say in the matter (except of course for trademarks etc of logos as someone else remarked).

Lastly, as I know from personal experience, even if you are in the right the school has enough clout to make your life a living hell if they want to so I would not push the issue too hard. If you really want to get nasty about it and play hardball, take a set of shots you made over to the local paper and see if you can get a job there as a stringer. Then quit the yearbook completely. Then use your press pass from the paper to shoot the events, wait 30 days for the paper's exclusivity to expire, then do whatever you want with the photos, thereby "sticking it to the man". Just be prepared for the backlash.

Allan

 

[o hey tyler]

I think pretty much as long as you don't upload the photos to a social networking and/or photo sharing site on the school's internet connection, you are all set.

The school can't honestly think that people will go to these sports events, and shoot a ton of photos and then NOT expect them to find their way onto the internet in some form or another. And if they say that you can't upload photos that are YOUR property unless the explicitly asked you to stop shooting. They can't tell you to delete all the photos from your hard drive. They can't confiscate your camera. It really just sounds like they are jerking you around and generally being douche bags. Trust me, I was a rebel in high school. If you want to call the big dogs in, the ACLU would back you, no doubt.

Seriously, look into that.

Back when my mother was in high school, she wanted to take some form of a wood shop class. The school tried to tell her that she couldn't. That it was a 'men only' class. Coincidentally my mother also had a female friend of hers that wanted to take the class. My mother did some research, and sat down with the principal and asked, "So, have you considered letting me take that shop class?" The Principal responded with the same old line "Shop class is specifically for men, Home Economics was for women." She pause for a moment and said "Hypothetically speaking, who do you think would win if I took this to court?" After that, the principal had her and her friend in that class by the end of the week.

 

[docphotog]

Dang. Googles fast!

The first link has some of his pics

 

[epp_b]

Did you actually sign a contract giving the school power over certain parts of the copyright of your photos?

The Principal responded with the same old line "Shop class is specifically for men, Home Economics was for women."

Wow... her principal was a sexist pig.

 

[TakenAptly]

Having a website would help to take it more seriously. Having a .com is a LOT more professional than a facebook.

As for the situation, sounds to me like you are more serious about your shots, selling them, and just overall having control over your own work than you are about getting pictures for your yearbook. You know what that means to me? Quit shooting the stuff for the school. Do it on your own and put them online for everyone to see. If you're not shooting it for the yearbook then they cannot say anything, and if your shots are really as popular as you say then I think this would have the most affect than talking to them. (which I don't think is going to do any good.) Maybe it will even get them to make some exceptions.

 

[Plato]

Wow... her principal was a sexist pig.

You say that like there's something wrong with it.