Everyone in NKY knows our friend @paNDA and his tireless dedication to taking and posting pictures of high school athletes on here and his FB page.

 

Recently, he had to take down a collection of pictures from his FB page because a parent contacted the school saying he/she did not wish to have his daughter's pictures on FB. The school did not tell Panda which girl it was so he had to take down the entire collection of pictures.

 

I'd argue that kids' pictures have been taken and posted for public consumption for decades and now it's just a matter of degree and eyeballs that see the pictures and that the request to take down pictures goes too far.

 

So....Does your school have a document for parents to sign authorizing use of their child's picture either in the paper or online?

I don't know about if my school does or not.

 

But if the event was held publicly, I have a hard time seeing where it can be said the pictures need to be taken down.

I don't remember if NCC asked us to sign anything but we did sign a document every year at St. Mary waiving any objections to photos of our children to be used in publications. It was not limited to sports either.

This is easy for me to say, I would have said too bad! But Panda is a lot smarter than I am and is very good at sitting back and analyzing situations.

 

I would love to know who the parent is/was that complained. If nothing else what school.

 

I bet if the pic was posted on a newspaper they wouldn't mind.

 

 

Arent they in public when these pics are made? Is there any type of rules, laws, or restrictions on taking these pics and posting them?

 

Sorry for rambling, I am furious!!!

Everyone in NKY knows our friend @paNDA and his tireless dedication to taking and posting pictures of high school athletes on here and his FB page.

 

Recently, he had to take down a collection of pictures from his FB page because a parent contacted the school saying he/she did not wish to have his daughter's pictures on FB. The school did not tell Panda which girl it was so he had to take down the entire collection of pictures.

 

I'd argue that kids' pictures have been taken and posted for public consumption for decades and now it's just a matter of degree and eyeballs that see the pictures and that the request to take down pictures goes too far.

 

So....Does your school have a document for parents to sign authorizing use of their child's picture either in the paper or online?

Our district has a paper authorization that your child's image may be used that we signed.

I used to take pictures at a lot of sporting events, and even made some money as a semi pro sports photographer. I used to spend a lot time in photography forums, and about 7 or 8 years ago started hearing a lot about photographers who didn't have press credentials, or permission, being asked to leave or not photograph sporting events. It was especially true for girls sports and younger, non high school age, sporting events. I personally never had that happen to me, but it was very commonly talked about, enough so, that many photographers just stopped doing youth sports. With fears of pedophilia, and privacy, especially concerning social media posting, the sports photography business/hobby is getting harder to do. It sucks, and photography as a hobby in general is getting harder and harder to do in public places.

Campbell County also has an authorization document to sign at the beginning of the school year.

I do not remember anything from Cov Cath regarding this topic, but I do seem to recall something from St Pius where if a parent did not want their Child's picture posted on the school website, or used for anything else, they could sign some form. I never was concerned about it so do not remember all the details.

 

With regards to this particular situation that has taken place, IMO it is very sad that a parent feels this way. Thousands of kids and parents have enjoyed paNDA's pics over the years, and now there is a batch of families who will not be able to enjoy them due to one families decision. I know that parents have the right to feel the way they do, but I would guess that their child's picture is already out there so many times due to the kid and her friends posting things to Instagram, You Tube, Twitter, and all the other social media sites kids use these days. I would also guess that paNDA is not the only one who took pictures of whatever event this girl participated in, so there are I am sure other pictures out there with her in them.

 

Don't let this one stop you paNDA - so many of us greatly appreciate all that you do and make available. THANK YOU so much!

In the case of those photos, it is my understanding that there must be some prior notice in terms of the identity of who may not be photographed and there is a provision that speaks to whether they are "for profit or gain" as to the alleged "rights" of those being photographed. The internet has created a huge number of issues like this so much of the professed "rights" to limit publication of one's image are ambiguous. I'm sure the school can simply tell panda that he can no longer take pictures if he doesn't comply, but he has just as much right to photograph his daughter, niece, etc., etc. The wise move was to comply with the wishes of the school, however I'm not too sure the school has real legal standing when the question of intent, etc. comes into play. Tough call. Time for me to lawyer up on this one.

Does paNDA work for that School that the parent is Complaining? If not then that's the way the Cookie crumbles. Just my Two Cents.

Our district has a paper authorization that your child's image may be used that we signed.

 

This.

paNDA works for no one nor sells to anyone. I do however get preferred access to events ie location where I can stand etc.. Occasionally a news outlet will use my shots with permission but again at no financial gain to me.

 

The parent who doesn't want to have their child photographed is tricky simply because I take so many group shots. Avoiding the child in the single shot is easy if I know about the desire to exclude them. In the cross country meet in question I took about 2000 pictures. Posted about 800 of them. I know who the parent is but I don't know who the student is. This is why I took down the entire event album. I trust the parent has a good reason and I don't want to cause anyone trouble.

I don't know if our district has one or not. I do know it took me an hour and a half to fill out and sign documents for the school the night of the first day of school. I'm not petty and if someone takes my kid's picture I honestly don't care. I probably took his picture too. People are stupid. You can take my kid's picture at any Boyle County or Campbellsville University basketball games you may be at, paNDA!!!!!!!

Everyone makes such a big deal about photos, it is in part why I have almost stopped taking pictures completely.

 

In a case like this surely anyone can sit in the stands and take all the photos they want and with the equipment available today those can be some high quality, close up photos. And those same photos can all be posted on the Net.

 

I feel for you paNDA, but it was only a matter of time before some chicken you know what school had a problem. If the school had any guts at all they would tell the parent(s) in question that the games are open to the public and in a free society the public can photograph the participants so if you don't want your son or daughter photographed then either too bad or hit the bricks.

 

With all that said, I talk to a lot of photographers and I firmly believe some (very few) are perverts that get off taking photos of high school girls and boys. And the ones we as parents all need to "worry" the most about are not posting their photos on the net, they are keeping them for their private collection.

 

On tangent, think of how much video cameras have improved, anyone can sit in the stands and take high def video of everything.

 

It's all scary to think about as a parent but taking action against someone like paNDA is cowardly.

I would imagine this child has a Facebook and Twitter account as all teenagers do these days. I hope the parent is as cautious about what pictures the child posts there also.