BHC Loc: Strawberry Valley, JF, USA

Considering that her child wasn't in the picture, I would have encouraged her to call the police, but forewarned her that I would be suing her for harassment. I'm getting tired of these wild-eyed nuts not stopping to listen to reason or to shut up when they're proven wrong.

Larz

johneccles Loc: Leyland UK

Unfortunately, in this day and age you need to be very careful in when taking photographs in public places when children are around. If you look at it from the parents point of view, all they can see it a man on his own wandering around with a camera possibly looking at their children, so this can look very suspicious to them.
I have a beautiful park nearby but there are often children playing around so if I go there with my camera, I stay well away from them to avoid any problems like this arising.
Here in the UK you can take photographs with hardly any restrictions so a photographer has the right to photograph anything he wants to, just be careful when kids are near.

LWW Loc: Banana Republic of America

I was making fun of people who complain about photographers in public places.

Gene51 Loc: Yonkers, NY, now in LSD (LowerSlowerDelaware)

You have no rights. Get used to it. You're lucky that she didn't pull out a handgun and shoot you - Florida and their "stand your ground" B.S. makes that entirely possible.

The best approach is to be humble, apologize profusely, and if you are successful at de-escalating the situation, provide her with your card, and offer her a free print, or do as you did - delete the image in front of her, apologizing all the way.

Confrontation and trying to explain why you are right (and presumably she is wrong) is NOT a good approach, and will only serve to further agitate the mom. There are numerous reasons why someone would not want to be photographed, or have their family members photographed - witness protection and orders of protection in custody battles. You will never win, and you will risk escalating to the point of creating a scene and possibly getting arrested. It's just not worth it.

A better approach, if the situation lends itself to it, would be to inform parents watching their kids that you are working on a project that involves kids at play, offer then your business card, and would they object to having their children (and themselves) photographed. have model releases ready just in case. If they object, just move on. In this case it IS better to ask permission than to beg forgiveness.

While it is perfectly legal to take these pictures, and the parent has no legal footing with which to object, do you really want to defend your right to take these pics in a court of law? That can get expensive really fast. Common sense needs to prevail. However, if you are in Georgia, in 2010 it became illegal to anyone other than a parent to photograph children. Similar legislation was attempted in New Jersey in 2011, but failed to pass.

Remember, you have no rights. Repeat, you have no rights. Of course you have rights, but in such a contest, you will lose the first battle. And someone being photographed has every right to ask you to not photograph them or their family members. The law may be on your side, but common sense dictates that confrontation and escalation is not a good option.

AndyH Loc: Massachusetts and New Hampshire

Yes. I posted this in another thread. Every photographer should read it.

Andy

cameraf4 Loc: Delaware

I knew that, but a "smiley face" might save you some grief.

Leitz Loc: Solms

Photograph the scenery, not the people.

Largobob

Interesting story, Jeep Daddy. Your last sentence bothered me: "So if a cop from one jurisdiction is accused of something in another jurisdiction, they are treated like anyone else. Not like the old days where they got a pass."

IMHO, no one should be "given a pass." The law must be applied equally and consistently to all.

Naldo

Hassie Loc: Central Pennsylvania

I recently had a school principal stop me from taking pictures of my grandson at a school function outside as many parents have complained about their children being photographed without any approval. She told me that this policy was explained in the school booklet, but since I didn't receive this info, I stopped the photo'ing.
One of the reasons she gave was that some single parents may have moved to avoid being attacked by their significant other and they didn't want their location known.

Lukabulla

I'm in London England .
The ' Law ' here is one can photograph freely in a Public Place ..
It is usually the case , BUT !

Taking pictures of Children can be seen as a Sex Offence and / or
the photographer may be seen as a pervert by Public and or Police .
Even though it's not against the law .. a Photographer may be put on
some police database ..

Taking photos of Buildings can be seen ( by the police ) as a Terrorist Offence !
The Reason being ( by the police ) is that you are scouting for Locations !

Even though it's not against the law to take photos in public places .. If one is faced by an Angry
mob or person .. Then forget your rights and walk away ..

Shopping Centrers / Malls are generally private property even though the public has access .

Ive attached a photo I took at the ' Slut Parade ' in London a few years ago ..
I took many photos of ' Sluts ' who participated .. There was about 2,000 and had not problem at all ..

Until I took this one ! all hell broke loose from some Feminists .. It was a very very nasty experience !
I was shaking for hours after it .. They were most angry that I took the photo , even though the Girls in the
pix were quite willing to pose ..

DavidPine Loc: Fredericksburg, TX

This pops up from time to time. I never shoot a minor without permission. It isn't worth the hassle or any ensuing discussion. Perverts do hang out in parks because that's where their prey hangs out. You can, if you insist on pushing your legal rights, hand the parent or complainer your card and offer to send them a copy of your picture. Having legal rights and being right is sometimes a gray area. I prefer to keep the peace with the public. I'm right, I'm right is a dumb argument.

LCD

A friend of mine had a similar problem when he was taking pictures in the same park as her kids, but not of her kids. I thought she was just a random neurotic lady. It seems like, from these posts, that she is not random at all. I do suspect that few female photographers would have this problem.

Jaackil Loc: Massachusetts

You are wrong it is not a felony to photograph a child in a public place with out a parents consent in Dade County as long as Dade county is still in the United States. I am not saying that Dade doesn’t have some type of ordinance to this effect but under federal law it is not enforceable
This topic has come up over and over. In the United States there is no expectation of privacy in public spaces or privately owned spaces generally regarded as open to the public such as a mall or stadium. You may photograph any one or anything without needing permission provided you do not use the images for comercial purposes. Comercial is defined as using to advertise or promote. So according to the law you can take a picture of a child in a public place and even sell it provided the image is not used to advertise or promote anything. The public space is extended to private areas viewed easily from public areas. So if Jennifer Aniston is standing Naked in the window of her home and you are walking by her house and see her from the sidewalk and take a picture from the sidewalk you might just have a million dollar pic to sell and you do not need permission. The onus is on her at that point. However You may not cross onto her property and take a picture through the window of her or say climb a tree to get a view not normally available from a public area that would not be legal.

If you are going to use an image for comercial purposes you must obtain written consent to use that image. You do not need the consent to take the picture only to use it for comercial purposes. So let’s say you take a picture of a child drinking from a can of coke and the brand is clearly visible. You may sell that picture as art as long as it was taken in a public place. however if you want to sell the image to Coke for an advertising campaign you will need a release from the subject or their legal guardian. Let’s say that public place is a sports stadium and you sell it to them for them to use in some form of ad a realesse is needed from the subject and from Coke

If you are photographing in public areas you need to know your rights and they are pretty broad in scope. If in a public place and not used for comercial purposes as defined by law you may shoot without needing permission period. This is theblaw in the United States. I am only stating what the law is. What is moral or ethical is left to your own opinion.