Anyone ever get arrested using lights?

I have two buddies who are uniformed deputies and also photographers. When I am doing a shoot with lots of gear I will pay one of them to come out in uniform and handle any situations that may come up regarding locations. Sometimes they can even bring their cop car out and park it right next to us. As you can imagine, we have no problem when we work like this.

JakAHearts wrote in post #12173137
So, typically, just snapping some pics doesnt get you noticed a whole lot. However, when you start setting up lights and such, I would imagine you get noticed more or even gather a crowd. Has anyone ever went the "Easier to ask forgiveness than permission" route and not gotten forgiven?

Im always nervous to start dropping lights and stands in public places.

http://www.photography​isntacrime.com/

canonphotog wrote in post #12175739
Just because the public is allowed to frequent somewhere, such as a parking lot, parking garage, etc., does not mean it is a public place. As you've pointed out, someone or some entity owns it.

The City of San Antonio has many "public" parks that it maintains, along with the tourist areas downtown. The city has a permit program which encompasses ENG, filming movies and professional photography. I have found this to be very photographer friendly.

In some places the city owns the sidewalks, in others the businesses own the sidewalks and the city ownership starts at the curb. Bear in mind, that just because you are standing on a publicly trafficked sidewalk, it doesn't mean you are standing on public property. It may still belong to the homeowner or business owner. Only the property plot and the deed can tell you for sure.

http://www.photography​isntacrime.com/

Check this site , sorry that I just put the site twice but dont know how to multiple quote
also this one
http://www.pixiq.com/c​ontributors/248

this guy have been fighting and also winning after some problems with the cops you may also read the story
there also some videos of him filming from public places , federal buildings and the reaction of gurds and his arguments about our rigths to take pic
However there are too many problems to also get one more when shooting outside but at least we know this

I live in Corona Del Mar, CA, which falls under the jurisdiction of Newport Beach. The City has an ordinance that requires a permit for any commercial photo shoot. Basically the police rule of thumb is anytime a light is on a stand it's considered a commercial shoot. Many photographers have argued that they're hobbyists just shooting their girlfriend, friends, etc and are not being paid, but bottom line is they won't let you shoot without a permit if your light is on a stand.

Get a carry always permit and that ends any problems 1,2,3. Lol

I had a rent a cop try to grab my lens while I was taking a christmas card picture of my step son 2 yrs ago in front of a macys in a local mall. I flipped out gave my camera to my fiancé and squared up with him bout to knock his head off for approaching me completely wrong. I'm sorry you don't walk over and just try to grab someones lens like that! I am sorry I work hard for all my gear!

I had one cop intervene on a shoot but it's cuz he was a fan of the subject

IMAGE LINK: http://www.flickr.com …g_photography/4​447509442/

This thread has struck a nerve. Allow me to venture a bit off track: In my experience, irrational security policies, mothers with their children, and out of control rent-a-cops have collectively become a real problem for photographers. Apparently, if you have a camera in your hands, you're either a terrorist or a pedophile or both. While I have never been arrested, I have been harrassed without legal justification on several occasions by security personnel.

In January, 2010, security personnel descended on me while I was taking time exposures of rides in the Circus Circus Adventuredome in Las Vegas. An unidentified woman had reported a man without a child taking pictures. That "man" would be me. The fact that I was a guest at the hotel (it's a sewer; don't EVER stay there) didn't matter to the rent-a-cops. Once they decided I wasn't a pedophile, they came to the inescapable conclusion that I was a terrorist scouting out the Adventuredome as a potential target. I showed them the photos I had taken:

Dave........oh ya your an evil man. Luckily you didn't show them your diy battery packs or you'd really have gotten in trouble

I've gotten stopped taking pics of my daughter in a mall. "sir this is a security breach". Oh ya my daughter will look at these photos and will come back and steal products from the stores in this mall!!!!

Sometimes you never win.

Define 'Arrested' and 'lights'

That's insane, Dave.... although, not surprising.

I've found many situations where I was shooting and had security approach me and either ask me to stop taking photos or to leave.

I've only ever had one "encounter"..........

A photog was taking photographs of a (his mate) skate-boarder on a public footpath.

I snapped a few of the jumper and the "pro-photog" told me that I could not take photographs.

I pointed out that we were on a public footpath and I could. After a 1 second stand-off he obviously decided I was right and went back to shooting.

BTW, Don't know what the rules are in other places, but Downunder the "rent-a-cops" have absolutely no rights or privileges over what a regular citizen has.

Of course, as they are generally employed by the owner of the private property (shopping centre etc) then if they tell you to move on then you need to..........

Austen.

aroundlsu wrote in post #12176942
I have two buddies who are uniformed deputies and also photographers. When I am doing a shoot with lots of gear I will pay one of them to come out in uniform and handle any situations that may come up regarding locations. Sometimes they can even bring their cop car out and park it right next to us. As you can imagine, we have no problem when we work like this.

That'd be awesome. I can imagine the benefits that carries, and the extra security would be most welcomed with a good model or the business promotion from a high end client.

I've been told to leave once or twice, didn't bother me that much, generally folks are pretty cordial up here.

Dave, since you were asked to leave the hotel at which you were staying, did that come with a full refund ?

My rule of thumb, is that if im setting up lights, i would like not to be bothered, so permit or location are going to come into the decision factor.

Like many others here I have been questioned as to what I was doing and if I was on a commercial property I always had permission. Just because you stay in someone's hotel or shop in a corporations shopping mall isn't license to ignore the rules and just shoot anyway and then complain about it when security challenges them.

There are times when I believe that we are own worst enemies and hurting our industry and fellow photographers because someone wants to flex their constitutional muscle and make a scene. In most cases that I have read about the security personnel were correct to the letter of the law. What does it hurt to pick up the phone, visit the security office etc. and ask for permission to shoot on their property. Problem solved but no juicy stories to post online.

Csae wrote in post #12193023
...
Dave, since you were asked to leave the hotel at which you were staying, did that come with a full refund ?...

I wasn't asked to leave the hotel; just the Adventuredome building which is attached to the (incredibly crummy) hotel.

The rent-a-cops really needed to be concerned about my photos of the structure:

http://www.google.com …n&tab=wi&biw=16​59&bih=849

http://maps.google.com ….001497,0.00347​3&t=h&z=19

Now that I think about it, one choice tidbit I neglected to mention was that the head of security told me I would have to WRITE to the MGM media office (owner of the property) to obtain permission to photograph inside the Adventuredome. This statement of policy came as we were standing amid a swirling mass of overweight P&S toting tourists in too tight brown polyester stretch pants snapping their brains out. In true rent-a-cop fashion, what I was told was 100% incorrect. Permits from MGM are only required for commericial filming

Putzes!.

Dave F.

On this subject, and I have posted this before in some other thread here, I was stopped by security at the Venetian where we were staying in Vegas. After some discussion, he gave me the name of a lady in their public relations department. I called her the next morning and was given permission to shoot on the property ( casino excluded of course ).
This was after I assured her my shooting was non-commercial.