As of lately, especially in public places, I find more and more people complaining that their picture is being made without consulting them. A few days ago I was shooting at a local park and all of a sudden a woman began to shout at me saying that I had photographed her child without her permission. My explanations about shooting in a public place plus my explanations that I was not shooting persons or children (shooting children without parent's consent is a felony in Dade County) did not convince her agitated attitude. She threatened me with a call to the police. I showed her the picture in question, taken with a wide angle and her child was not visible but I deleted the shot in front of her. That did not make her any happier but she did not call the police.

I like to go to local parks and photograph the scenery, not the persons there but this incident has been kind of traumatic to me since I treated the young lady with respect but she did not act the same way with me. Had she call the police it would have been hard for me to explain my rights and I know it is illegal to photograph children without parent's consent. I think I acted as a decent human being but I do not want this to happen to me again.

So, which are my rights?

"I am offended and demand that you not include me in this thread." I am sorry, I do not understand. If you are referring to me I have not included anyone except for the woman that confronted me and I do not believe you are that woman.

Bob it is a tough call for me because I have not been involved with such an incident for a long time and when I did it was because the local authorities had their rules considering a photographer with a tripod as a professional that should be paying dues to the city for photographing in a park. I got in touch with local authorities and that was cleared for me.

It is true that in a public place there is no privacy but to what extent we can photograph without having an incident such as mine I do not really know. I can also understand that with this kind of people any explanations go nowhere and that was exactly what happened to me. The woman kept on threatening me in spite of my soft and decent treatment toward her.

"I would've just told her to go ahead and call the police. After awhile you get tired of all the B.S." I agree with you but there are times when you have to use some judgment. There were children there, I did not aim my camera to them since I knew that was illegal here in Miami-Dade County. Since the woman was in such an attitude I deleted the picture (her son was not in it) and not very happy she walked away.

With street photography I have not had an incident but a very good friend of mine did to the point that the person discussing with him wanted to attack him. I witness the whole ordeal and believe me, it made me think about street photography twice.

We are living in a world where respect and decency are falling apart. Courtesy is practically gone and I find more and more aggressive persons on the streets ready for a fight regardless if they are right or not.
Thank you gentlemen for your input.

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.

Some of what you say is true - however, I think that you are off the mark regarding private property which allows public access - like a store, mall, sports stadium, concert venue, etc. Let's take a Starbucks location - you go into that coffee shop and start taking photos - the manager comes over to you and tells you that you must stop because, for example, other patrons have complained - you woulld be required to stop tking pictures in that case. If you failed to do so, the manager could ask you to leave the premises - if you refuse to do so the police might well be called and if you still refused to leave an arrest for trespass would be a distinct possibility. The same situation could occur in a mall. As far as pubic venues like a theater - many times cameras are banned entirely from concerts.

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.