Freedom to take Pictures

dublin | rights, freedoms and repression | opinion/analysis Thursday August 13, 2009 11:56 by Photographer

The rights of photographers.

In Ireland, any photographer (professional, amateur, self-styled photojournalist, political activist, employee of a multinational, Garda, ...) has the right to take photographs in a public place without the permission of the subject. A subject has no right to stop a photographer or demand to know their identity.

If for no other reason than it leads to better images, most photographers will engage with their subjects, identity themselves and explain what they are doing. However, if a photographer does not want to identify themselves they have the right not to do so unless questioned by a Garda.

Some groups protesting on the street of Dublin take an aggressive attitude to photographers and seem to believe that they have the right to stop photographers taking pictures or the right to control who can take pictures of them. Given that most protests are about gaining publicity, this is odd.

I believe that this attitude needs to be challenged.

Most people who use this site support the right of protesters to take photographs of Garda, security personnel, etc.. Most users of this site would support protests against repressive regimes stopping citizens taking photographs in other countries. Most users of this site ...

So why do some people feel that is acceptable to try to impose their own restrictions on photographers in Ireland?