Legal and Ethical Considerations

Legal & Ethical Considerations

There are a lot of legal and ethical considerations that photographer's have to consider throughout their careers to produce their photography. There are a lot of laws that a photographer has to be aware of and may easily come into conflict with if not the properly versed with up to date laws that apply to a photographer
Listed below are the subjects that may be of concern and may affect  how a photographer goes about his or hers everyday work


Law of trespass 


This has to be taken into consideration. Photographer's have to be careful they remain on public land and public places in pursuit of their images,it's very easy to stray onto private land and private property which could result in prosecution
Shopping centres for example can be considered as private places and the owners have the right to expel a photographer taking images on their properties


Shown below is an extract from a website I have researched on the Internet which I find is a really good guide for a photographer which outlines all the major laws and photographers rights

http://www.how2fundraise.org/OneStopCMS/Core/CrawlerResourceServer.aspx?resource=D9C09F0D-16DB-4F20-92DA-CA8B1FE90462&mode=link&guid=41c98c36a1c54e1283d1b27391e36803



Obsenity law


Law established by the Obscene Publications Act of 1959 prohibiting the publishing of any material that tends to deprave or corrupt. In Britain, obscene material can be for example pornographic or violent, or can encourage drug taking.There is a defence in support of the public good if the defendant can produce expert evidence to show that publication was in the interest of, for example, art, science, or literature. 


Copyright


A copyright basically allows the author of a photograph (the person who took it) control over how that picture is copied, transmitted and reproduced. Copyright issues have become more commonplace since the birth of both digital cameras and the internet because people now have far more freedom and flexibility when they share images, and it is all too easy to copy or post an image that you do not own


People may be unaware of copyright laws on the internet. When they  reproduce an image in digital form and copy it many times without consent of the person who took the original image they are actually breaking this law


Copyright law is there to protect your images and prevent you taking credit for other peoples work.



Health and safety at work act
All workers have a right to work in places where risks to their health and safety are properly controlled. Health and safety is about stopping you getting hurt at work or becoming ill caused by your working environment. Your employer is responsible for health and safety, but the employee is also resposible must follow giudelines set out by this act

The main piece of legislation is the Health and Safety at Work Act 1974 (HSWA). All work places are covered by this legislation which says that an employer must do everything reasonably practicable to provide a safe and healthy workplace with adequate welfare facilities. HSWA has been supported and extended by various sets of regulations, codes of practice and guidance, all of which deal with various aspects of health and safety. The Health and Safety Executive (HSE) is the government body which decides upon and implements health and safety policy.


Please see a more detailed Health and safety document I have compiled on blog "Health and Safety Considerations" (Unit 205)


Photography of children or Minors

IIt is important to note that there is no law against photographing children. You are perfectly within your rights to take a photograph of a child. Ridiculous stories are common of parents being told to put their cameras away at dance competitions or swimming pools.

There are some common sense guidelines that you should keep in the forefront of your mind when photographing children. The first of these is that, where possible, you should always seek approval from a parent or guardian before you begin shooting. This is particularly important if you are doing street photography. Photographing children in public places can be controversial and is also a sensitive issue,permission should be granted first and with this in mind no real problems are encountered


If in any doubt, I would suggest when taking photo's of minor's always make sure that the parents are present when the photography takes place. I would then show all images to the parents and ask for their approval before the images are processed or printed



Contract Law



A contract intends to formalize an agreement between two or more parties, in relation to a particular subject. Contracts can cover an extremely broad range of matters, including the sale of goods,property,services etc


In order to be valid, the parties to a contract must exchange something of value. In the case of the sale of the photographs, the buyer receives something of value in the form of the photographs and the photographers services, and the seller receives money for these services and the images


There must be an offer and this must be accepted to make an agreement. While this would in the first instance appear to be self explanatory, it is important to distinguish between what the law says amounts to a valid offer. An offer can be made orally, in writing or by way of conduct.

Contract: the elements of a contract

The first step in a contract question is always to make sure that a contract actually exists. There are certain elements that must be present for a legally binding contract to be in place.

Shown below are the two most common elements of a contract

• An offer: an expression of willingness to contract on a specific set of terms, made by the offeror with the intention that, if the offer is accepted, he or she will be bound by a contract.

• Acceptance: an expression of absolute and unconditional agreement to all the terms set out in the offer. It can be oral or in writing. The acceptance must exactly mirror the original offer made.

Disability Discrimination

Consideration must be given to people with disabilities so we all have the same equal opportunities. The photographer may need to go to extreme lengths to provide resources and to accommodate people with disabilities but equal opportunities must be of paramount importance

The Disability Discrimination Act makes it unlawful for a service provider to discriminate against a disabled person by refusing to provide any service which it provides to other members of the public

Extra provision may be needed to enable a disabled person to fulfill their every day lives and this may come at quite some considerable cost

It may be necessary to have another person available to help with people with disabilities. They may need to be lifted,guided or helped in a variety of situations to carry out their everyday duties that an able person may take for granted

A studio may need to be kitted out to meet the requirements of a disabled person and a variety of different aids may need to be put in place to accommodate this. Wider doors,lower sinks,ramps and larger toilets are all a major consideration to provide proper equal services for everybody

Similar considerations have to be taken into account when shooting on location or outdoors which maybe an even harder challenge for the photographer to complete if additional resources are needed to accommodate someone with a disability


Handling Confidential Information

Care should be taken when handling other peoples information. This information is very personal and confidential including banking details etc.. The photographer needs to protect this data and care must be taken if this data is stored on pc's etc.. There are laws governing the storage of  personal data, this is called "the data protection act" The DPA was first composed in 1984 and was updated in 1998.Shown below are the basic principles of this law

The Eight Data Protection Act Principles

The act contains eight “Data Protection Principles”. These specify that personal data must be:

1. Processed fairly and lawfully.

2. Obtained for specified and lawful purposes.

3. Adequate, relevant and not excessive.

4. Accurate and up to date.

5. Not kept any longer than necessary.

6. Processed in accordance with the “data subject’s” (the individual’s) rights.

7. Securely kept.

8. Not transferred to any other country without adequate protection in situ.