Public Open Spaces

Under UK law there are no general restrictions on taking photographs in a public place [1] or on the photography of individuals (whether adults or minors) and there is no 'right to privacy' in a public place.

[1]The principal exception being "prohibited places" as defined in the Official Secrets Act 1911.

Taking a photograph of a child in a public place is no different from taking a photograph of an adult in the same circumstances. However, photographing other people's children without permission will, in the current climate, raise deep suspicions and is likely to be a matter in which the Police may well be interested.

There are no restrictions on the commercial use or publishing of pictures taken in a public place, although many publishers would be wary of printing recognisable images of individuals without a 'model release' (specific permission from the individual for the use of the image).

On Private Property

There are no restrictions on taking photographs of private property from a public place, but actions that 'interfere' with private property - such as climbing on a wall - might well amount to trespass.

An owner may prohibit the taking of photographs on his property, or place restrictions on what use may be made of such images.

The property owner may use 'reasonable force to remove you from private property, but neither the property owner nor his employees (National Trust wardens, for example) have any right to confiscate equipment or demand that images be deleted from a digital camera. Neither may a Police officer take these steps without a warrant.

Harassment

Under the Protection From Harassment Act 1997 - enacted principally to protect people against stalkers - it is an offence for any person to behave in a way that they know, or 'ought to know', amounts to harassment or causes someone to fear violence.

The test as to whether the harasser ought to know whether his conduct amounts to harassment is determined by asking whether a reasonable person in possession of the information he has would think the conduct amounted to harassment.

It might be possible for a naturist who has been photographed on a public beach to make case that he or she had been harassed by the photographer. However, the harassment must amount to a course of conduct - meaning at least two occasions - rather than a single incident.