M2 - Write a report explaining the legal and ethical issues around my photography shoot.

 In this report I will be identifying and explaining the laws and ethics around photography. I will cover in this report photography in public, in and around private land and also the ethics that go along with photography. 

The first law I need to consider is that it is illegal to take pictures of children under the age of sixteen without their parents' permission, this can be interpreted in multiple ways such as asking one of your siblings to take part in a photo shoot or even taking explicit photos without them knowing. A way that you can avoid doing this is by having the parent/guardian singing a model release form or by simply not taking explicit photos of someone under the age of sixteen. 

Another law is that you need to permission from the land owner to take photos on private property, good examples of this could be that you want to take photos of a business and inside the business or that you want to take a picture of a field but it is owned by someone else. The way you can avoid getting arrested for this is by having the owner give you permission via a location release form. 

Photos of tourist landmarks are allowed to be taken and shown, however they cannot be used for commercial reasons, this is because these landmarks have organisations behind them, in 2015 the EU tried to issue a new law that any photos taken of a famous landmark could be punished as a form of copyright (EU law 2015 Daily Mail). 

Another legal point of taking pictures in tourist places is that some places ban taking pictures all together and posting it on social media, this is stop unwanted attention from thieves and terrorists. A good example of this is how the Tower of London banned people from taking a photo of the crown jewels. In Doncaster I don't this will be much of an issue as there are no places of importance to thieves or terrorists. 

For my shoot I am wishing my legal rights to take pictures of things I have chosen to take pictures of this is mainly because they are in the town centre which is a public place and all I things I plan to take pictures of are public places, such as the Doncaster Minster, the fountains near  the council building and the "live, cope, give hope" mural near the cast car park. However if I want to use a model in my shoot such as for a portrait or in the background then I would have to get their permission and ask them to sign a model release form. The form is permission for me to take photos of them and also that photos of them can be release and used for commercial reasons. 

Due to the fact that I am filming in a public location I also need to understand the ethics of the photo shoot, this will mean being aware of the people around as I take my photos. This will also mean being patient with my photos due to the town center always being filled by bustling families and couples, looking at morally I think it would be wrong if I was to either to yell at them or even whisper something under my breath about them. This is mainly because I don't want to disrupt people or even give a bad impression of who I am. I can take pictures of people in public as long as they are in the background and not as the main feature of the background. I plan to do this at all my photo spots and even when I have taken the photo so I don't harm or disrupt anyone. 

 

In conclusion, I have looked over the legal and ethical issues which could have an effect  my photoshoot. I now know what I will need to abide by for my shoot to be successful, this includes the legal right to take pictures in public and to also be able to take pictures of people in public. Also on the ethics side of things I won't want to interfere into someones personal space as it isn't morally or ethically right to do so. I have decided I will be taking pictures of urban architecture, this means I want to take pictures of sculptures, important buildings and other forms of art in an urban area.