The ethics of cameras

[david at piano.plus.com]

Recognising that this is primarily a USA list, which American colleagues
are gracious enough to make availiable to us all worldwide, there are
perhaps three factors to consider regarding use of cameras in clients'
homes:

1) The law
2) Common social perception regarding photography
3) The client

LAW: The law certainly varies between countries. In France, for example,
Privacy law is draconian and rights to image-making belong very much to
the individual. You cannot legally, for example, make a photograph of the
front of a charming country house and sell it as postcards - rights in the
image of the building belong to the building's owner.

The law accords the individual in most countries, the right to say what
behaviour is - or is not - permitted in his home, and to eject anyone who
breaks the rules. Smoking would be an example. But so might photography.

SOCIAL PERCEPTION: In the UK, for various reasons, we have become much
more sensitive about camera use, and it's perhaps a hotter issue here than
in the US. In America you are the great spiritual fathers of photography!
The instance of a photo taken without the owner's permission and then it
appearing in the Journal, and the owner liking this, could very well have
a different outcome in the UK, I think.

THE CLIENT:  OF course individuals vary in their outlook. some might be
very happy to have their room photographed, and some might not. And it
might depend on the use to which the photo was to be put.

My feeling is that if the owner is around, and seems approachable, it
would always be appropriate to ask permission: "Your piano looks and
sounds so good in this lovely ambience, I wonder if I might photograph the
room to show a few colleagues?" is surely an inoffensive request.

One could adduce a fourth category to the three above, perhaps, as Simple
Good Manners.

Best regards,

David.


"So... I was called to tune a 9' Yamaha CF in a customers home studio
yesterday. The room was HUGE! From where I was sitting at the piano a
couldn't throw a basketball and hit the pool table at the other end of the
room. Two stories to the ceiling, with a balcony set up for vocals, deeply
recessed skylights and a walk-in fireplace that was as big as my living
room. AND the acoustics of this room were simply extraordinary. Since my
personal ethics prevent me from just whipping out my camera and taking a
couple of quick shots when the customer is out of the room, how else can I
document this experience, if for no other reason than to add to the
category of vacation photos, for my own enjoyment?"