Replying to Photo Policies of Amtrak and other Transit Agencies

A couple of things to say if approached by a police officer or other personnel if they threaten arrest:

"What am I being arrested for?"

"What are you going to charge me with?"

That last one makes it very difficult to arrest someone, when they have nothing to charge someone with.

They're the ones with the guns, the handcuffs, or at least the authority to throw you off the train. They'll think of something.

Never said you should be impolite or disrespectful. And even if you made it the jail, it would never hold up in court. Stand your ground.

A couple of things to say if approached by a police officer or other personnel if they threaten arrest:

"What am I being arrested for?"

"What are you going to charge me with?"

That last one makes it very difficult to arrest someone, when they have nothing to charge someone with.

In NY at least, there have been many cases of police officers who believed that it is illegal to photograph in the subway system, and no amount of rule-printouts could change their opinion. Some of these cases have resulted in arrest, at least once of an MTA train operator( ! ).

the MTA police take the no pictures so seriously that one pulled a gun on his own co-worker cause he and bunch of other co-workers took a picture of him sleeping at the desk. he woke up and drew his gun saying there would be no pictures today. Do not argue with the man in blue. You could suggest that its not and say i have rules to prove it but if he doesn't listen then just stop taking pictures and leave. Not worth going to jail over a picture.

A couple of things to say if approached by a police officer or other personnel if they threaten arrest:

"What am I being arrested for?"

"What are you going to charge me with?"

That last one makes it very difficult to arrest someone, when they have nothing to charge someone with.

In NY at least, there have been many cases of police officers who believed that it is illegal to photograph in the subway system, and no amount of rule-printouts could change their opinion. Some of these cases have resulted in arrest, at least once of an MTA train operator( ! ).

A couple of things to say if approached by a police officer or other personnel if they threaten arrest:

"What am I being arrested for?"

"What are you going to charge me with?"

That last one makes it very difficult to arrest someone, when they have nothing to charge someone with.

They're the ones with the guns, the handcuffs, or at least the authority to throw you off the train. They'll think of something.

A couple of things to say if approached by a police officer or other personnel if they threaten arrest:

"What am I being arrested for?"

"What are you going to charge me with?"

That last one makes it very difficult to arrest someone, when they have nothing to charge someone with.

I'm sure nobody here wants to be intrusive while taking pictures or make people uncomfortable. I know I don't.

In a different context, I'd have agreed with the Amtrak employee's admonition about not photographing faces if, say, the employee had been chatting with a family of Mennonites when one remarked that he always feels like a photo opportunity on Amtrak, and the employee mentioned this to a photographer zooming in on the family. I think that's fine; that's a kindness I can appreciate.

Maybe something like this is what the employee had in mind, but just didn't explain well enough.

Excellent explanation.

Hey! Get the chip off your shoulder. There are quite a few people that do not want their faces in random pictures by strangers

Tough.

You don't have an expectation of privacy when you're out in public.

Aloha

An employee on employer property one is not "in public" And George was spot on.

George may be correct that some people do not want to be photographed. However, that does not make it illegal or improper for a photographer to take pictures in public.

However, an employee on employer property can be "public". It depends very much on the setting.

For example, let's say I'm standing on a public sidewalk adjacent to a public street, entirely within the public right-of-way. I take a picture of a construction site, and in that picture I capture a worker. Whether that worker is the subject of the picture or is merely incidental to the photograph does not matter for legal purposes. He or she may not want to have been pictured, but that does not matter because he or she is visible from public space and does not have a reasonable expectation of privacy.

In the United States, "speech" in public spaces cannot be infringed by the government, except in certain circumstances. Photography is considered a form of speech, and it is almost always legal to take pictures from public spaces. Exceptions include military bases and places where national security is an issue. The courts have ruled that photography of people in public spaces is legal when they do not have a reasonable expectation of privacy.

A reasonable expectation of privacy, for example, would be in a stall in a public restroom, or in a bedroom or hotel room visible from the street. If you walk out into a public square or transit platform, you do not have a reasonable expectation of privacy, and you have no power to stop someone from taking pictures.

In publicly accessible private spaces, like a shopping mall, the owner or an agent of the owner (security guard), can ask you to stop taking pictures. If you do not stop, you can be asked to leave and if you refuse, you can be arrested for trespassing (not for photography).

In private spaces, you do not have a right to take pictures, but you can certainly do so if you have the permission of the owner.

As far as transit systems and train stations go, those are generally considered public spaces. Sometimes they can be publicly accessible private spaces. At any rate, no one in a public space or a publicly accessible private space has a reasonable expectation of privacy, and photographers can take their pictures.

You may not like that, but that does not matter.

That depends greatly on the employer and the location of the company property.

Generally speaking, if you can see them from public property, they're fair game.

Hey! Get the chip off your shoulder. There are quite a few people that do not want their faces in random pictures by strangers

Tough.

You don't have an expectation of privacy when you're out in public.

Aloha

An employee on employer property one is not "in public" And George was spot on.