I encountered a young lady who asked me whether it was OK to walk about with a camera & tripod or if she would be 'told off' for doing so. My initial response was that it was alright to photograph anyone or anything on public property; that is if the camera and its operator were on public property. Since then I've done a little research.
Note: I do not photograph people from near by - i.e. when they will be recognisable nor do I photograph on private property - including shopping precincts and/or shops.
* I had the tripod because I wanted to get some extremely
zoomed pics as the swan had hatched (9?) cygnets.
Please go to these sites and read the full articles
Note: an ellipsis (…) indicates that a paragraph or more has been omitted.
An excerpt from the London Met Police Official Website:
Photography advice
We encourage officers and the public to be vigilant against terrorism but recognise the importance not only of protecting the public from terrorism but also promoting the freedom of the public and the media to take and publish photographs.
Freedom to photograph and film
Members of the public and the media do not need a permit to film or photograph in public places and police have no power to stop them filming or photographing incidents or police personnel.
…
Officers have the power to view digital images contained in mobile telephones or cameras carried by a person searched under S43 of the Terrorism Act 2000 to discover whether the images constitute evidence that the person is involved in terrorism. Officers also have the power to seize and retain any article found during the search which the officer reasonably suspects may constitute evidence that the person is a terrorist. This includes any mobile telephone or camera containing such evidence.
Officers do not have the power to delete digital images or destroy film at any point during a search. Deletion or destruction may only take place following seizure if there is a lawful power (such as a court order) that permits such deletion or destruction.
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It would ordinarily be unlawful to use section 58A to arrest people photographing police officers in the course of normal policing activities, including protests because there would not normally be grounds for suspecting that the photographs were being taken to provide assistance to a terrorist. An arrest would only be lawful if an arresting officer had a reasonable suspicion that the photographs were being taken in order to provide practical assistance to a person committing or preparing an act of terrorism.
There is nothing preventing officers asking questions of an individual who appears to be taking photographs of someone who is or has been a member of Her Majesty’s Forces (HMF), Intelligence Services or a constable so long as this is being done for a lawful purpose and is not being done in a way that prevents, dissuades or inhibits the individual from doing something which is not unlawful.
…
etc.
And From 'Urban75':
Photographers Rights - Street shooting, people, privacy & children
A brief guide for street photographers.
(©urban75, updated December 2009)
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Photographers Rights In The UK: A Guide So it's vital for the art of photography that photographers should be able to go about their business without hassle from the cops - and by law that's exactly what they're entitled to do.
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If you're on a public right of way - such as a public pavement, footpath or public highway - you're free to take photographs for personal and commercial use so long as you're not causing an obstruction to other users or falling foul of anti-Terrorism laws or even the Official Secrets Act (frankly, this one is unlikely).
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DPP -v- Jones (1999): The Court recognised that the public may enjoy a public highway for any reasonable purpose, provided it does not amount to public or private nuisance or obstruct the highway "by unreasonably impeding the primary right of the public to pass and re-pass: within these qualifications there is a public right of peaceful assembly on the highway."
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Photographers are free to use their photographs of people taken in public places as they wish - including for commercial gain.
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People and Privacy
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The key seems to be whether the subject would have a reasonable expectation of privacy - a statement that seems vague enough to keep a team of lawyers gainfully employed for some time.
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Photographers Rights In The UK: A Guide
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There's also a remote chance that photographs of people in public places may be subject to the Data Protection Act, but that's pretty unlikely if there's no other identifying information accompanying the image.
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Photographing children
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There are no laws against taking photos of children, but someone taking an unhealthy interest can rightly expect to attract unwelcome attention from the authorities (and quite probably passers by) pretty sharpish.
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If someone asks you to stop take pictures of them, it's generally a good idea to do so.
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etc.
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