Photography banned in shopping centre

FinoBlad

A member of my camera club was approached by security in Dundrum shopping centre at the weekend, she was using the most basic point and shoot camera and told that no photography was permitted on the premises. A sales assistant in a shop confirmed this no photography rule. Note, no tripod was being used and no obstruction was being caused.

I've been there myself, theres no signs to this effect. Theres nothing on their website.

Is this legal?
Is it commonplace to ban photography in shopping centres?

kasintahan

Private property, they set the rules so long as those rules don't break the law.
So yes, banning photography on their premises is perfectly legal, banning photography of their premises from public property or private property not owned by them would be impossible though.*

This is very common in the good ol' free democracy of the US of A.
Something to do with protecting display ideas or marketing or some crap.

*one caveat is if there is an "expectation of privacy" then you can't photograph it, like a window into the toilets with a 2000mm lens for example.

Benster

That's a real pity. It would be a great place to capture human interaction on film, but having that kind of attitude to photography does nothing for their image, imo. I would have thought that having images of the place (and what a place) going around would have been of benefit to them, show it off a bit.

Opportunity missed.

B.

Shrimp

I have taken photos in there before no probs. Well, the car park. But still thats there property. It was late at night and no cars were in it I suppose. I'd say if you rang the manager, and tried to get permission, you may be allowed?

JackKelly

i took a good few pictures inside on the day of the opening. There was no problem. Bit of a ridiculous rule tbh. If i wanted to rob a display idea, i'd walk in and look at it.

FX Meister

I'd just avoid the security but keep taking pictures. I've taken many flicks in places I haven't been allowed. It's not a crime anyway and you can easily talk your way out of any problems.

rymus

ahh it's all going the way of the US. Being "hassled by the man" now seems to be part and parcel of owning a camera.

As FX says, avoid the rent-a-cops and all's good. I'd be too tempted to tell them to eat **** if one of them told me to stop what I was doing though. That's the kinda talk that'll get a fella into trouble.

FinoBlad

This woman is 62 years of age, i find this astonishing, i really do. As a photographer this pisses me off bigtime, I could easily find myself slapping a rentacop telling me where I can or cannot use my camera :mad:

tonyj

FinoBlad wrote:

This woman is 62 years of age, i find this astonishing, i really do. As a photographer this pisses me off bigtime, I could easily find myself slapping a rentacop telling me where I can or cannot use my camera :mad:

An excellent idea for Photo Challenge 4.

beller b

What a joke...We all do it everywhere we go on holidays,whats thier problem ? not enough shoplifters in dundrum to keep them busy?

rymus

oooh me like - Photo Challenge 4: "Stick it to the Man!"

jlang

I took one of the sign that says 'priority on these lifts will be given to push chairs and whee chairs'.

drrnwbb

yeah, i was given a tour of the centre a few months back by a mate who is one of the architects on it. i toook hundreds of pics in the private part of it, but minute we went to the public side of it he said basically that no one was allowed to take pics no matter what. a few of those rentacop dudes were hanging around too. bizarre.

(i did get to see irelands largest I beam - which was nice)

FinoBlad

on the wider issue, I think we should expose and oppose these silly "rules" so we dont end up like the USA