(As I walked towards the main shopping precinct in Melbourne, this couple caught my eye. As always, if you see yourself in one of my street photos and object to its public viewing, please don’t hesitate to contact me and I shall remove it promptly).
(As I walked towards the main shopping precinct in Melbourne, this couple caught my eye. As always, if you see yourself in one of my street photos and object to its public viewing, please don’t hesitate to contact me and I shall remove it promptly).
Vicki A Alford - Photographer 
Love this Vicki! Very touching shot.
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Thanks Steve.
(It almost looks as though they were posing for me).
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You caught the moment well.
David.
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Thank you David.
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Generally speaking, it is not illegal to take pictures or video of strangers in a public setting. There is no expressed expectation of privacy while, for example, sitting on a park bench, or sunning on the beach. However, it’s not worth pressing the issue if someone protests. I was taking video of a bell tower, and a homeless guy complained that I was taking his picture. I wasn’t even aware of his presence nor was my camera pointed in his direction. He got pretty hostile. This has happened to me before so I try to be very cautious when out with my camera.
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Thanks for your advice David. I try to find some sort of balance when photographing strangers. If it’s close up, I tend to ask permission (unless it’s a busker who is obviously putting him/herself in the public eye and expecting payment). Crowd scenes, or from a distance, I don’t ask permission. In general, I don’t share images of children close-up unless I have the parent’s permission, or they are just part of a large crowd scene and it’s quite clear I am not focusing on the child.
Strangely enough, I came across a Property Agent’s website of my apartment building in the context of a new development across the road, and low and behold, there was me waiting outside the front door for a taxi to arrive. I was the only person in sight and I found it quite amusing. I emailed my family with the image and said “you just never know who is going to take your photo outdoors nowadays”.
I was chatting to an Indian man one day at the Queen Victoria Market in North Melbourne and he commented on how Australians don’t like their photo being taken by a stranger and yet, when in a foreign country on holiday, Australians have no hesitation about photographing locals without asking permission.
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I recently posted a series of photos from a public Easter egg hunt. Like you, I try to be very respectful of children’s privacy. An Easter egg hunt is one of those occasions where children are essentially the central focus, and there were a lot of people taking pictures.
One mother approached me and asked with a sense of urgency, “Are your photos going to be posted online?” My initial thought was that she didn’t want her child’s picture displayed publicly. Instead, she wanted to know if she could buy a print. You just never know.
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