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O/confusion
3rd of July 2005 (Sun), 13:35
Hi everyone--

I'd appreciate any advice you may be able to offer regarding the question of photographing car meets. Every Friday evening during the summer months there is a gathering of hot rods, sponsored by a local business, which takes place in the parking lot of my home city's largest shopping mall.

A couple of years ago I happened to have my camera with me on a trip to the mall, and took a series of shots that I was quite pleased with (this was before I went fully digital, and with a non-Canon film SLR--so I haven't posted them here. I'm not a die-hard car freak, and I'm not really too interested in taking whole-car "documentation"-style shots; I'm chiefly into catching details, colours, reflections in chrome and paintwork, and the like, so I don't even know if the Transportation forum would be the appropriate place to post anyway!).

I'm a long-time keen amateur phographer with some aspirations of making a little money from my hobby one day—probably in the form of framed "art" prints—so before I turn my new digital gear loose on the cars I want to make sure my ass is adequately covered where permission is concerned. Am I correct in assuming that if financial gain is even a future possibility, I need to get written permission in advance to photograph from the owners/managers of the mall property, and from the organisers/sponsors of the event, as well as from the owners of any vehicles I shoot (even if the particular vehicles are unidentifiable from the details I happen to be recording) ?

Has anyone out there run into difficulties with this sort of photography that I should be wary of? Are many car owners uncomfortable with signing property releases?

(Apologies if this has all been dealt with before--I ran a search for "releases" and read through most of what I found, but didn't see anything directly related to outdoor car shows.)

Thanks for any feedback you can give me on this topic.

regards,
Terry

PhotosGuy
3rd of July 2005 (Sun), 16:18
You'd probably get better advice in "Cornering the Pros". If you're shooting "I'm chiefly into catching details, colours, reflections in chrome and paintwork, and the like", I don't see why you'd need to get "written permission in advance to photograph from the owners/managers of the mall property, and from the organisers/sponsors of the event, as well as from the owners of any vehicles I shoot (even if the particular vehicles are unidentifiable from the details I happen to be recording)? IMO, the permission is implied by opening a private property to the public & putting the cars on display. If it were inside a museum , it might be a different story.

I've never had a problem but I don't ask for property releases, either. Be aware that a legal release requires a minimum exchange of value, $1 or "in kind" pic, etc.

You're in Canada, so things may be different there. Ask a "Barrister"? ;)

O/confusion
3rd of July 2005 (Sun), 18:13
Thanks, Frank.

regards,
Terry