I'm right, right? Law question

[Braineack]

in Arlington?

 

[480sparky38 37]

Just a word of caution, being in the right doesn't always make it right for your particular circumstances. I once questioned an out of line city cop on a dark road without witnesses, the guy drew on me, and had I continued to "question" who was right, I suspect he would have shot me. He was later fired for misconduct, went to another town, where he actually killed someone, was charged, convicted, and is now in prison. Given the current mentality of the country it is wise to rememberthat sometimes "Discretion" really is the better part of valor.

Yep. Sometimes it's not a question of who's right, but who's left.

 

[Fstop-]

Have your cell phone handy and record then telling you that you are not allowed there. Ask them who owns it.

Many people will back down if they know you are recording them.

 

[vintagesnaps]

I think before you try going there again you'll need to find out who owns that alley and keep in mind when doing a shoot you're conducting business on that property. In my area some places require a photographer to get a permit or pay a fee (although usually for county/city parks, not alleys) to set up equipment or do a shoot because it's shared property intended for the personal use of the general public, not necessarily business use.

If you want to use the painted wall in the photo you may need a property release signed by the building owner; it depends on how you intend to use it and one guideline is if it's recognizable. American Society of Media Photographers - Homepage and PPA have info. about releases. Usually a release would not be needed for editorial use (newspaper, magazine) or for a fine art print (for the buyer's personal use), but would be necessary for retail use (T shirts, etc.) and would be needed for commercial use (advertising, business).

If the person who said something to you lives there, he/she may not have authority to say anything to you or tell you to leave, but in a city you never know what may have been happening in that alley/neighborhood. Maybe people who live there have some concern or anxiety about strangers near their building, and you're somewhat in their space (or maybe close enough to cause discomfort).

 

[dennybeall]

Without doing enough research to KNOW where the property lines are you can't go by what it looks like!

 

[benhasajeep44 43]

Just a word of caution, being in the right doesn't always make it right for your particular circumstances. I once questioned an out of line city cop on a dark road without witnesses, the guy drew on me, and had I continued to "question" who was right, I suspect he would have shot me. He was later fired for misconduct, went to another town, where he actually killed someone, was charged, convicted, and is now in prison. Given the current mentality of the country it is wise to remember that sometimes "Discretion" really is the better part of valor.

In most cases there is a difference between explaining your situation and arguing it. But sometimes it doesn't matter when the other person is ALWAYS right. And in this case feels they have the POWER to enforce it. Can't argue with them! Will not win! Better to drop it and fight it later.

 

[DanOstergren24]

I ask bc I have a shoot coming up and would love to use that background again, but want to make sure I'm within the law.

If your upcoming shoot is with a client, I would avoid a situation like this completely and pick a location that I know for certain there will be no issues such as this occurring. It's one thing to be right, but I also would not want to get into any sort of argument or altercation with someone uninvolved with the photo shoot in front of a client and avoid causing the client any stress altogether.

 

[OldManJim]

Does it occur to anyone other than me that asking a bunch of talented photographers for legal advice is like asking a bunch of talented lawyers for photographic advice?

I'd recommend a legal expert in your area. It won't be cheap, but sometimes you get what you pay for....

 

[ac12]

Sometimes even the city people don't know.
My rental tenant was ticketed for parking his car in a "turn-around" at the end of a street.
My property manager had to go to traffic court, with the property tax map and my property tax bill, to show the judge that I owned the piece of property that the police thought was city street.
So as was said, appearance does not indicate fact.