Watch How Police Respond When 6 Photographers Attempt to Shoot on Public Streets (VIDEO)

We’ve all heard stories of photographers being hassled by law enforcement officials when attempting to legally shoot photos in public places. In the amazing video below, you’ll see what happened when six British photographers attempted to do just that in London.

This “Stand Your Ground” experiment from the ShootExperienceTeam was devised to test how police and private security officers react to photographers—even when shooting on public sidewalks. Keep in mind the video was made in London in 2011, and that U.S. laws on shooting in public places may vary from state to state. Nonetheless, it pays to be aware of the possibility you may encounter police intervention when out shooting on the streets.

As you’ll see in the video, some of the photographers used tripods, others shot hand-held, and one even set up a 4x5 camera. All six were stopped on at least one occasion during the experiment, and three of the encounters led to police intervention. It’s also important to note that even though you may technically be in the right, sometimes it’s best to move on, rather that argue with a cop and suffer the consequence.

After watching this video, you may want to look at our earlier story about a controversial U.S. Forest Service plan under consideration that would require photographers to purchase a $1,500 permit for shooting in Federally-owned wilderness areas.

Via ShootExperienceTeam

COMMENTS
stevefotos's picture

It is amazing in the age of the Smartphone to see such inept security. Having worked with the American Secret Service I can say that these people are at play with their earplugs and mikes, pretending to be doing security work by harassing photographers with big cameras and tripods. What a joke.

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