Originally Posted by
Manfred M
In the past, there have been an number of questions on getting permission from subjects to take their picture, when photographing out and about, i.e. street photography and some documentary photography.
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There is a legal principle, called "inherent permission" and from a photographer's viewpoint it works like this. If you are out taking pictures in public places, where your subject can see what you are doing with your camera. If you point your camera at them and take their picture and they do not object, they have given you "inherent permission" to take their picture. If they in some way or other show a negative response; shaking their head to indicate "no", turn away from the camera, put their hand out or in some way indicate that they don't want their picture taken, they have not given you their permission to do so.
Some caveats apply; children who are not of legal age can't give inherent permission. If the photographer is sneaking around in "stealth mode" and takes images in such a way that the subject does not know that you have taken their picture, inherent permission can not have been given. It doesn't mean that you can't take the pictures, but it just means you do not have the subject's permission to do so.
This is something that applies to Canada and because Canadian laws are based the UK parliamentary (Westminster) system of Government and have a principle of Common Law, this is likely to apply to other countries with similar legal systems; the UK, USA, Australia, New Zealand, etc.