LO1: (M2) Legal and ethical issues around your shoot

This report will be stating the legal and ethical laws that I will be abiding by when I take my photographs, from having knowledge of these laws it means that I will be able to take my photographs without being unknowledgeable on my locations and photographs. From having this knowledge I will be able to keep my photographs without any issues and any law suits being taken towards me, this also means that I will not be asked to take any of my photographs down from any platform. 

I will be needing to consider and have knowledge on the laws and rights I have as a photographer. For example I have the right to take photographs in a public place and of anyone, from knowing this information it means that I can defend myself when taking photographs if there is any issues by anyone. It is stated by the law that nobody has the right to ask for a photograph that has been taken by a photographer to be deleted, for a copy of the photograph or to ask a photographer to stop taking photographs. However, they do have the right to do this if the photograph that has been taken is deemed inappropriate or has been taken on private land or is seen to be breaking any privacy laws such as if a photograph is taken inside someones house or their garden. 

Another law that I will have to consider is the idea of there possibly being a model used in my photographs, if this occurs I will have to make sure that I have a model release form (shown below) that states the persons consent to being used in my photographs. From having this consent it allows me to use them in photographs without the worry of there possibly being a law suit against me for having them in photographs, with me having this knowledge it means that I can protect myself and my reputation as a photographer. 

A law that I will not have to worry about but is good to know off is the law of nobody being allowed to take photographs in a working court room, this is because it can cause issues with the case at hand occurring when the photograph is taken. If I was to be caught taking a photograph in these premises then I could be looking to be in serious trouble with the police and the court, this is why there are no images of real court cases being photographed and the illustrations made about a court is from a illustrator that had to memorise the area and draw outside the court facilities. 

Photographs taken in a railway station are permitted as long as they are for personal use only, if the railway has suspicions of the photographs to be used for any other reason such a for illegal reasons the photographs will be taken away and the photograph will be escorted by security out the premises. To avoid this happening I will be letting the railway staff know that I will be taking photographs and I will tell them the reason for me taking photographs is for educations purposes only. 

The law that will protect my photographs from being copyrighted and have issues with is the copyright law, this means I am not allowed to steal anyones photographs and use them for my own purposes and it always means that people are not allowed to use my photographs for the same reasons. From me being the artist that took the photographs they are automatically framed copyright to myself and they are protected as long as I am shown to be the one that has taken the photographs. 

This is an example of what a photographer Bruce Gilden does to capture his photographs, this is not an ethical method to capture his photographs yet he is not breaking any laws. 

I will also be considering the idea of not changing or disturbing nature whilst I take my photographs. This includes avoiding to triple on any plants and ruining them, moving animals o have them in shots and to avoid moving any nature to have a better shot. These are not ethically correct to do for a photograph for it can scare animals if they are to be moved, can kill plants if a flower is picked to be taken for a photograph. These situations could cause issues for the photographer for nature lovers and animal lovers could see the image as a form of animal cruelty. 

There is debates if editing certain features out of a photograph should be allowed to be done because it can edit and change the scenario meaning it is not at its nature state and is more realistic. This can cause an issue because people can see it as a form of lying and means that the photographs are lies and don't show the reality that is occurring and suggesting that the photographs need to be edited to be appealing to the audience. On the other hand it can also be seen to improve the image to avoid the audiences eye to be taken to a stop sign instead of the actual view and avoids distractions. 

Bibliography 

https://www.avonandsomerset.police.uk/report/taking-photographs-in-public-places/ (taking photos of members of the public)

https://improvephotography.com/48423/model-release/. (model releases)

https://en.wikipedia.org/wiki/Photography_and_the_law. (private areas)

https://suesspiciousminds.com/tag/can-you-take-photographs-in-court/ (courts with people in it)

https://www.networkrail.co.uk/communities/railway-enthusiasts/guidelines-for-taking-photos-at-stations/ (railway stations)

 https://www.legalzoom.com/articles/how-to-copyright-a-photograph-or-image (copyright on images)