Permit still required in parks for personal use photos?

I want to go to some of the local parks in Orange County, CA and take some nice family pictures using off-camera flashes. I know you need a permit for commercial photography, such as engagement photos, but will park rangers still hassle you if you are taking family photos or photos of close friends for free?

Thanks!

My inclination would be to just go and shoot. The worst that could happen is that you're asked to stop.

crn3371 wrote in post #13703679
My inclination would be to just go and shoot. The worst that could happen is that you're asked to stop.

That's my feeling. When I was younger, I would shy away from situations like that, but nowadays I'm a lot less worried. Last weekend I was shooting my sister's engagement photos in a college's arboretum (my sister attends that college) and they asked me for a permit. I said I didn't realize I needed a permit, but neglected to say this is my sister and that I'm doing it for free. The person didn't kick me out but said next time I need a permit. I can understand that a permit is appropriate there because it's a private place, but a public park I'd hope would be much more lenient.

I'd say it would depend on the park and then on the individual "enforcer". I believe some parks contstrue their permit requirement to indicate that use of gear like a tripod and light stands and such would require a permit, since they are gear that a pro would use and take up the same "space", but as to whether you would be bothered, well, you could check with the park online and see if they have anything posted, you could find someone there to ask, or you could do like the other poster said and just go and shoot, and hope that if anyone does stop you you will have gotten the shots that you needed!

I've seen some pretty elaborate "pro" setups at public parks and I'm sure they had a permit. For the "guy with a tripod", I'd think not. But you are talking about lighting stands and such, more gear involved, so it might be beneficial to find out in advance.

I went out to Irvine Park today in Orange County and never once did anyone say anything. I had one light stand up for about 30 min and took some group shots. Of course the park is huge and we were among the trees so it wasn't obvious. I think I'll likely go back there in the future for more family shots as the foliage is fantastic. It also is so large that it feels like you are by yourself at times

I doubt you'll be bothered, I would assume these rangers have more important things to attend to than someone taking photos.

I was faced with a different "setting" when my son obtained a couple tickets to a local Minor League baseball game and wanted me to take/go with him.

I know that Major League venues tend to be "picky" about photography, typically preventing anyone but pros with "passes" from shooting with telephoto lenses and such.

So, I checked the online site and looked through their various pages of info and found nothing restricting photography, so that gave me some confidence -- I packed a bag with my 1D3, my 70-200 f/2.8 IS and my 100-400, as well as a wider lens -- in other words a pretty hefty "kit". I wondered if I really could get through the gate, but when I asked a couple staff members they said "No problem!", so with double reinforcement from the Web site and the staff, I had a good time shooting and got some decent shots!

The one thing I didn't do or ask about was getting out of my seat and going to the ground-level areas where the photogs with passes were shooting...next time I'll see about that!