Photography and Privacy

The following is an overview of privacy related to photography in the United States. It is meant to be informative, not legal information.

What is Street Photography?
Street photography is photographing the human condition: people and the spaces they occupy.

How much privacy does a person have in public?
In the USA, anyone may photograph whatever they want in public places or places where they have permission.  Without any specific statute or ordinance, anything seen in or from a public place may be photographed.  This is a 1st Amendment right. Public places include streets, sidewalks, public parks, and other public spaces.  Members of the public have minimal privacy rights when in public places.  Anyone can be photographed without consent except when they have secluded themselves in places where they have a reasonable expectation of privacy, such as dressing rooms, bathrooms, medical facilities, and inside their homes. 

What can be photographed in public?
In public, the following subjects may be photographed:

  • People and Things

  • Accident, Fire, and Crime scenes

  • Children

  • Celebrities

  • Bridges, infrastructure, residential and commercial buildings, and public utilities, 

  • Modes of transportation and facilities (autos, airports, train, bus, vessel)

  • Criminal Activities and Arrest

  • Law Enforcement Officers

Can photographs be taken on private property?
Property owners may legally prohibit photography on their premises, but they have no right to prohibit others from photographing their property from public areas (streets, sidewalks, etc.).

What are the rights to use an image?
In general, taking pictures of people in public does not require a model release or their consent. A model release is only required if the way the photo is published makes it seem that the person in the photo endorses a product, service, or organization creating a commercial intent. Selling a photograph adsent of any endorsement is art, and constiutionally protected. Photographer’s have the right to sell their intellectual property. A model release would almost always be required if a photograph is used for advertising.  A model release is unnecessary for publishing a photo as news or for artistic or editorial expression.  See California Civil Code 3344 for specific information related to image use.