Taking Pictures at Events

[King Penguin]

I have also come across the theory that it is OK to post pictures of kids (in a sporting context) so long as there is no name or other information associated with them which might help some undesirable character to try to make contact.
... and if we were ever to get into the issue of copyright (please no), who owns it - the subject or the taker ?

[Adventure Racer]

... and if we were ever to get into the issue of copyright (please no), who owns it - the subject or the taker ?

The photographer owns the copyright (unless they explicitly sign it to somebody else). However if the photo is used for publicity purposes (as in Fratello's example) the subject should have signed an image release form. You get such forms to sign at many adventure races - certainly any which attract significant media attention such as Rat Races - so competitors can't then claim royalties or appearance fees if they get featured (most of us are just media tarts and very happy to get any publicity we can - it is after all good for sponsorship). Of course in Fratello's example he (or King as his parent) presumably hasn't signed such a form, so should be claiming lots of money from the BCU for using his picture on a poster

[brooner]

Hmm, is it me or are BO not following their own guidelines with this?

- If the young person is named, avoid using his/her photograph;
- If a photograph is used, avoid naming the young person;

Oh well, at least there is no more involvement with waterskiing with their forms.

[Knee Deep Mud!]

I agree with all the people who think this subject needs to be subjected to a little bit of common sense, and not just box ticking bureaucracy.

I believe that photography should be encouraged and actively used to promote the sport.
If individual people object to their photo being used then their wishes should be complied with (though I believe this should only come into play when they are the main subject of a photo, and not just one of thousands in the crowd behind). In eight years of running a newsletter / website for a non-orienteering group I have only ever been asked to withdraw a photo once, and that was because it wasn't a particularly flattering photo rather than for any more serious reason. In general, most people like having the publicity, so long as the quality of the photography is good, and shows them at their best.

Publishing photos on the web, and linking from the event homepage / nopesport should be actively encouraged, for publicity purposes, and because it lets everybody see what photos have been taken, and gives them the opportunity to object if they so wish.

I would have thought that most people would be able to tell when someone was taking inappropriate photos and challenge them as appropriate.


As for non-orienteering spectators taking photos, I had my photo / video taken by several foreign students whilst running around Warwick last week. They were wandering around snap happy, obviously not having seen snow before, and unfortunately kept on getting orienteers running through their picture....

I also seem to remember another thread mentioning that there was a webcam at Warwick. Did the owner of this sign the forms to allow them to take pictures at a BOF event?

[Paul Frost]

I have been thinking about how/if to publish pictures of the competitors on the World Schools website.

One possibility is to pull in pictures from Flickr. We tell people to give any pictures they upload a specific tag, and I use that in my search.

I wonder if this would get round any permissions issues, as they would have given permission by publishing the pictures on Flickr. Any title or description would also be OK to use for the same reasons. So if someone included the childs name etc. with an image, it could be shown, as it was their choice to make it publicly available.

Any thoughts?

[grubby]

. . . . . . wear a "I could well be a Grubby Paedo" sign around their necks . . . . . .

Excuse me !!?. . . .

[Scott]

Vaguely relevant.

[Harley]

entirely relevant, I would say!

just to quote from the article:

Mr Smith was challenged by a police officer who asked if he had a licence for the camera.
After explaining he didn't need one, he was taken down a side-street for a formal "stop and search", then asked to delete the photos and ordered not take any more.

So the police now think Joe Public needs a licence to take pictures! And BOF appears to be peddling the same sort of thinking!

Get out there and take as many pics as you can before mere possession of a camera in public puts you behind bars.

[ryeland of doom]

Kids are a red herring, I have been visited at home by police and questioned concerning taking photographs of empty fields.

It would be irresponsible in the extreme to pander to these rules. Freedom is not a default condition, and as the previous contributor said - keep going until They cart you away.

I will continue to record the events that I visit. I will continue to photograph forests, no orange and white flag is going to stop that. I dare say I will not be challenged - not in the slightly freer and sensible end of the island.

A more realistic concern - not mentioned here is the possibility of irresponsible photography causing unfairness - ie standing close to flags. Now that is a no-no.

[Ravinous]

It is usual at big events like WOC to have every control manned/watched, often by a non-camera wielding non-orienteer. I believe at WOC in Ukraine, although the army dark green control watchers were maybe a little tricky to spot, some folk could 'smell themselves' into the control by just following the smell of cigarettes. Oh, and if you had a Ukrainian top on, they might have shouted you in - but obviously that could be just a malicious rumour I heard...

[HOCOLITE]

At the West Midland Schools event we sent the BOF photo form out with the final details by email. I thought that this would be cover for the organiser. I have to say I was a little surprised to receive around 20 completed forms on the day. I presume I'm supposed to keep them for a period in case there is any complaint.
However I was inform yesterday by the organiser that the local paper took 'a photo' and want school names to publish in their report. Surprise surprise I don't have a form from them and no one requested permission.