Legalfilter... movies and photos

October 12, 2006 1:07 AM

My coworkers took some photos of a movie being shot near our office building and I posted them online in my blog.

I had initially just posted it on my blog/gallery and passed the link along to some friends but now it appears I'm linked to several movie enthusiast sites with hundreds of hits to my page now. I'm wondering if there are any legal implications of having taken these photos and posted them online and should I be moving it to a private password-protected gallery?

posted by PWA_BadBoy to law & government (8 comments total)

As far as I remember taking photos in a public place is protected.
posted by andendau at 1:19 AM on October 12, 2006

Ditto what andendau said. Can we see them as well?
posted by lemonfridge at 2:56 AM on October 12, 2006

If you weren't allowed to take pictures of famous people in public, US Weekly wouldn't have very much content. Presuming you weren't trespassing on private property to get the photos, you're fine.

Having said that, I see that you've already made the photos private. Booo! I wanna see Jessica Alba!! :)
posted by antifuse at 3:10 AM on October 12, 2006

Taking Pictures of Public Events

Q: Do I need a permit to photograph a public event or in a public place?

A: No. It's your constitutional right to photograph in public.

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I sometimes snap pictures of strangers and post them on my blog and Flickr. Could I get into legal trouble for violating their privacy?

Snap away, shutterbug. As long as your subjects don't have a "reasonable expectation of privacy" - meaning they're not somewhere they'd never expect a camera to be - you're on pretty solid ground. Even if you photograph them while they're on private property, you're in the clear - just make sure they're in plain view and you're not trespassing.

Etc. Keep the pics public and enjoy the hits you're getting.
posted by mediareport at 5:59 AM on October 12, 2006

No. It's your constitutional right to photograph in public.

I'm sure it's your legal right, but I don't seem to recall the part of the constitution that mentions photography...
posted by chrisamiller at 9:37 AM on October 12, 2006

Chris, it's in the Ninth and Tenth Amendments.
posted by Steven C. Den Beste at 10:41 AM on October 12, 2006

More info, I'm in Canada....
posted by PWA_BadBoy at 11:07 AM on October 12, 2006

The ABC series "LOST" is filmed in Hawaii, and among friends at least I've got a bit of a reputation as a show stalker. That is, when they're shooting nearby, I'll go and rubberneck and point my camera here and there.

Sometimes I'm told to stop, and even if I didn't have to, I generally will to not be a jackass... but sometimes I'm not waved off and get some shots I'm sure they'd rather I didn't. Not just an actor on the street and the like, but sometimes actual shooting work that contains plot details (a big deal for hardcore fans who want everything spoiled).

My site's been slashdotted for a couple of big scoops, and I sometimes imagine my mug's on a "Wanted" poster in a production office or two... but so far, I haven't been chased down by a lawyer or gotten a C&D.

In the U.S., at least, if they're shooting in broad daylight on a public street, they can't complain. Which is why, as the seasons progress on "LOST," they've been using more and more private, closed sets!
posted by pzarquon at 11:42 AM on October 12, 2006