Posted on 16 December 2011 by MatthewBamberg
On my usual surfing jaunts on the Internet, I was looking at dpreview site and an article caught my eye. The site announced that the American Civil Liberties Union published a set of rights in which photographers are entitled.
I hadn’t been aware that photographers are free to photograph the police. I have a folder with some police shots that I’m working on as part of my photojournalism collection. The folder is filled with compelling shots.
A few years ago, I lifted my camera to photograph a policeman and he put his hand up and told me that I couldn’t. According to the newly published photographers’ rights, he was wrong.
Of course, this is debatable. If a person—any person—doesn’t want his photo taken, proper photo etiquette is to abide by their command. One thing is for sure, if you go ahead and take a picture when a person doesn’t want to, you risk infuriating your subject, causing him/her to react violently. That is never a pleasant scene.
An officer isn’t likely to get violent with you. There’s not much he can do. If he detains you, he’s working outside the law. He/she can only do that if they suspect you of a crime, and it is not a crime to photograph publically.
Here’s what the ACLU has to say about photographing police: “When in public spaces where you are lawfully present you have the right to photograph anything that is in plain view.” The guidelines state that this includes images of police and that such photography offers an oversight of the government.
While the police might demand to see the photos and/or that you dump them, they are also acting outside the law. Without a warrant they are not permitted to do that.
There is an aesthetic end to photographing police. Their uniforms are a great color—usually navy blue, and they all wear the same ones, making the shot a great example of repetition if you catch a few of them in one place.
In addition, police often ride bikes and even patrol on horseback in some places (like New York City), photo ops that photographers of all levels don’t want to miss.
When you photograph a moving policeman or policewoman, make your shutter open and close as fast as it can. To do this, shoot at a high ISO speed (about 800) with you camera set to a wide aperture (about f/4) in Aperture Priority mode.
Finally, every photographer has his/her own limits. Some get a thrill out of taking chances. Others are more conservative, opting to do nothing that may get them into trouble.
Whatever you do, it’s best to not get in the way if someone is getting arrested or being restrained. Let common sense guide you.
View the original article here
On my usual surfing jaunts on the Internet, I was looking at dpreview site and an article caught my eye. The site announced that the American Civil Liberties Union published a set of rights in which photographers are entitled.
I hadn’t been aware that photographers are free to photograph the police. I have a folder with some police shots that I’m working on as part of my photojournalism collection. The folder is filled with compelling shots.
A few years ago, I lifted my camera to photograph a policeman and he put his hand up and told me that I couldn’t. According to the newly published photographers’ rights, he was wrong.
Image by Matthew Bamberg
Image by Matthew Bamberg
Here’s what the ACLU has to say about photographing police: “When in public spaces where you are lawfully present you have the right to photograph anything that is in plain view.” The guidelines state that this includes images of police and that such photography offers an oversight of the government.
While the police might demand to see the photos and/or that you dump them, they are also acting outside the law. Without a warrant they are not permitted to do that.
There is an aesthetic end to photographing police. Their uniforms are a great color—usually navy blue, and they all wear the same ones, making the shot a great example of repetition if you catch a few of them in one place.
In addition, police often ride bikes and even patrol on horseback in some places (like New York City), photo ops that photographers of all levels don’t want to miss.
Image by Matthew Bamberg
When you photograph a moving policeman or policewoman, make your shutter open and close as fast as it can. To do this, shoot at a high ISO speed (about 800) with you camera set to a wide aperture (about f/4) in Aperture Priority mode.
Finally, every photographer has his/her own limits. Some get a thrill out of taking chances. Others are more conservative, opting to do nothing that may get them into trouble.
Whatever you do, it’s best to not get in the way if someone is getting arrested or being restrained. Let common sense guide you.
View the original article here
