During our journeys we all come upon scenes of children which would make wonderful photographs and often speak about the culture we’re visiting. Many times, we’ll pick up our cameras and start snapping away. Sometimes that can get us into trouble when we’re away from home.
A photographer I heard from last week related a story about a recent trip he had to Ireland. He noticed some school children on a class trip in a public space and decided to photograph the happy kids. Within moments, he said, the teachers “were all over me.”
They forced him to show his photographs and ordered him to delete them all. He said, “They were very firm about me deleting the pictures.” They threatened to call the police and have him arrested. Being an American in Ireland, not knowing Irish law and not being able to afford being delayed going home, he complied.
Child abuse and pedophilia are serious, horrid crimes. We are inundated with graphic reports of these crimes almost daily, so it’s not surprising that many in the public have an overwhelming fear of anyone showing interest in children. Unfortunately, in today’s poisoned atmosphere, far too many people see every street photographer as a potential child molester and pedophile.
Several times I’ve seen teachers prevent photos being taken of their students playing near the carousel in the Mall in Washington D.C., and show real anger toward the photographers.
It’s a story being replayed in Europe and the US daily.
Overzealous, unthinking teachers, police officers, and others everywhere seem to see every photographer and every traveler with a camera as a likely child abuser, pedophile or trafficker of child pornography if they make any attempt at photographing a child in public.
In the UK — where paranoia about photography of children seems to be higher than even in the US — just like in the US, despite what some police officers say or infer, photographing anyone, including children, in public, from a public space, is generally legal.
In the UK, there is a law regulating photos of children, but it’s about child pornography. The Protection of Children Act 1978 restricts making or possessing pornography, or what looks like pornography, of anyone under 18. There is also a restriction in the UK about children under 16 being used as paid models. In that case you need a governmental license and parental consent, but typical street photography of children in public is legal.
My personal experience, despite the actual law in the UK, is that if you point any camera, a DSLR, point-and-shoot, or even a smartphone at some children in a park, or playing in a playground, or participating in an athletic event, if a policeman is nearby, you better be ready to be questioned.
Craziness isn’t limited to the UK. Just a few years ago someone I know was resting on a bench in front of a school in the US, facing the street. He always has a camera with him and it was laying on the bench next to him. A school administrator approached him, telling him that using a camera on school premises was not permitted and that taking such photographs was considered to be child exploitation and punishable by imprisonment. Despite the facts that he wasn’t on school property, and wasn’t taking any photos at all, the administrator got very animated, so he left, not wanting to wait for police to arrive and have the administrator misstate what had happened.
As travelers, what can we do? We don’t want to have our vacations ruined by being hauled into a police station for questioning, even if we’re quickly released. We don’t want our camera and/or memory cards confiscated, nor do we want our photos deleted.
If you decide to make an image of children, my advice is simple and easy. Even though it’s not legally necessary, before I take a photo specifically of children in public (not children as part of a larger crowd), whether or not I’m close enough that the image of any child would be identifiable, I ask permission to do so. Every once in a while I get turned down and walk away, but I think it’s better at this time, considering the way street photographers are viewed in the world, to protect one’s self from the animus of others. If no adults are around to obtain permission to photograph the children, I won’t make images of them.
Often times I even ask the parents to sign a release for the photos. Most times the offer of an emailed image clinches getting their signed permission.
Ned Levi is a long time professional travel photographer. You can view some of Ned’s travel and other photos at NSL Photography or get more travel photography advice at the NSL Photography Blog.
After many years working in corporate America as a chemical engineer, executive and eventually CFO of a multinational manufacturer, Ned founded a tech consulting company and later restarted NSL Photography, his photography business. Before entering the corporate world, Ned worked as a Public Health Engineer for the Philadelphia Department of Public Health. As a well known corporate, travel and wildlife photographer, Ned travels the world writing about travel and photography, as well as running photography workshops, seminars and photowalks. Visit Ned’s Photography Blog and Galleries.
