Street photography theme: face masks and the big bad wolf

Dear Jaap,
Thank you for your response. There are many ways to practice street photography. Having a theme for yourself gives you something to hold on to. Then you know what you want to photograph. In any case, have lots of fun with street photography.
Regards: Jan

Hi Jan, how does privacy actually work. Because that keeps me from doing street photography I believe you aren't allowed to post the photos anywhere. Or are you? And thank you for your wonderful contribution. Nicely written too. Regards Jan

Dear John and Jan,

As far as privacy is concerned, in general you are simply allowed to take photographs in public spaces on the street. In shopping areas or, for example, on public transport and such, it is often prohibited or house rules apply. In many museums it is allowed again nowadays. Publishing in the media is also allowed, provided it is not an offensive photo or there is a portrait interest, for example with well-known persons. So go ahead and enjoy photographing on the street and follow many other well-known and unknown street photographers.

greetings: Jan

audb wrote on Tuesday 6 October 2020 at 16:55  | reply

Unfortunately, I do have to make a comment about the second photo: you mention that the lady is wearing a face mask, however, if you look very closely, it seems that she has it sitting on her chin!.
But unfortunately I see all too often that people take the name "face mask" too literally and do not cover their nose.
I would therefore like to give the urgent advice to do so.
Corona can infect you through your mouth, but it is mainly through your nose that you become infected.
You could also put on (safety) glasses, but only in very crowded areas where you cannot stay 1.5 and preferably 2 metres apart.

Dear people,

My street photography blog certainly gets people talking. The subject of face masks is more topical than ever. So it's always good to get sensible advice here as well.
The privacy aspect is also a topical subject in these times. You can assume that as a street photographer I respect the people in the street. Here again, useful tips and advice from readers of my blog. Thank you for your great responses, everyone. For me, an incentive to create even more beautiful street stories with nice supporting photos.

Regards: Jan

Nice article & well written!
Do you actually get many nasty reactions when people see that you're photographing them?
The aplha male didn't come after you?
(he was actually breaking the rules, right? because no face mask)
Greetings from Mars.

primefoto.nl wrote on Monday 12 October 2020 at 12:15  | reply

The GDPR remains a tricky thing. As a street photographer, however, you do need to know something about it, even as an amateur.

disclaimer:
I am not a lawyer and have no legal background. I may be mistaken. Everyone remains responsible for their own actions!!

I have read the GDPR and also read the manual that accompanies it, in which various things are explained. So I am not relying on other people's explanations. You can download both via the government website or that of the Dutch Data Protection Authority, which supervises this law.

I will try to clarify it somewhat.

In accordance with the GDPR, you do not fall under the GDPR if you publish purely as an amateur and in a small group. So if you are a pro or semi-pro and do street work for fun on the side, then that no longer applies and you fall under the GDPR. The pros know that, if all is well.

The GDPR only concerns storing, keeping and publishing, and not taking the photo. You can always take photographs from public space. However, if you put the pictures on a website that is accessible to everyone, then you do fall under the GDPR again and you must meet the requirements. One of those requirements is having a legal basis and collection purposes that you must establish beforehand. There are 6 legal bases, one of which you may choose, one that suits you, with a number of corresponding collection purposes. You must publish those beforehand on your website or in your documentation. An inspection may also follow, and then you must be able to show that you had already met the requirements before publishing. You must be able to prove it!

One of the legal bases is consent. You ask the subject whether you may take and publish the photo. However, that consent can also be withdrawn at any time. If that happens, you must immediately remove the picture from your website remove it. So that is not the most convenient method.

For us photographers, another legal basis is much better, namely legal basis F, legitimate interest. Taking photographs is not a criminal offence and is always allowed, as long as you are standing in a public space when you take the picture. Nobody can prohibit that and nobody can demand the removal/destruction of the photo. That is contrary to copyright law. Prohibiting publication in advance is also not possible. That is contrary to Article 7 of the constitution, which prohibits censorship. After publication, one can make a claim regarding portrait rights through civil law, but that will not be easy. It also applies only if someone is recognisable in it. In short, it is justified to take photographs and practise your hobby in this way.

In private spaces, the operator determines the rules and can prohibit photography. This includes shopping centres, among other things, but also public transport, hospitals and even government buildings. Then you must first ask for permission. If you want to photograph a station, you can call NS. They have a special telephone number for that.


Back to the GDPR.
If you cite legitimate interest as a legal basis, there must also be collection purposes connected to it. Collection purposes are the reasons why you make, collect and process those images. Among them are some very strong arguments such as artistic expression, freedom of expression, historical and or journalistic value. If you put forward these arguments, it becomes very difficult to have a photo removed by a judge via portrait rights because, among other things, artistic expression, freedom of expression and or journalistic value are held in rather high regard in a democracy. A judge will not readily brush that aside.

There is, however, an important note indicated in the GDPR. You must weigh your interest against the interest of the person portrayed. Portrait rights still apply. You do have to take that into account.
Actually, not much has changed, but you do need to know it and adhere to it.

There are still other rules for pros that must be complied with, but as an amateur I do not feel the need to look into that as well.

The purpose of the GDPR is to protect citizens from the large companies that have frequently abused people's data and metadata. In principle, nothing has changed regarding photography, except that you have to start putting some things down on paper/website before publishing them publicly.

My advice is therefore to read the GDPR yourself in that regard. It takes some effort, but is also very enlightening. Hopefully you can do something with this.