Your Canadian Rights as a Photographer

01.19.2007 Filed Under: Photographers Rights, Photography16 Comments16 |

Being harassed as a photographer is not a new thing for me. Nor do I think it is a problem I bare on my own.

In the US there is a great PDF that you can print out as to your Rights as a Photographer. There’s also a PDF for protographers in the UK. But what I have found is that there is no definitive answer as to what are rights are as a Canadian.

I was planning to do more research into this subject but found that Tyler from AmbientLight.ca has already done quite a good job of summing up what some of our right’s are as a Canadian.

There are a few points that I want to stress.

A) You have the right to take photographs where ever you want. That being said be aware if you are doing so on private property.

B) No one can tell you to legally delete a photo. Once you have taken a photo they are your property.

C) Know the criminal code. For example if you are on private property and some one asks you to stop talking photos, if you continue, that would be considered trespassing, which is against the law.

D) Common sense and courtesy go a long way. Being defensive and causing a scene will not necessarily help your case. Take a second to think before you speak.

All in all definitely read this summary of Canadian Law. It will definitely guide you on what to do if you ever encounter such a situation. We can’t stop people from harassing us, but you shouldn’t be bullied either.

16 Responses to “Your Canadian Rights as a Photographer”

  1. on 19 Jan 2007 at 12:35 pm   marc

    Thank you for posting this!!!

  2. on 19 Jan 2007 at 1:17 pm   Jeff Msangi

    Yes,as Marc said above,many thanks for posting such a good piece of education and direction towards rights and responsibilities.Good photoblog.

  3. on 19 Jan 2007 at 1:23 pm   mondo

    Great post, Rannie. I’ll spread the word.

  4. on 19 Jan 2007 at 11:58 pm   Ryan C.

    Completely awesome linkage here. I was familiar with a few things just from my Music Business education, but things involving photos on and around private property were completely new to me.

    So you know, it is my policy that pictures are allowed to be taken in my home this coming Wednesday, but they must not appear on this site without the express written permission of Kate Winslet. If you do manage to get in contact with Ms Winslet, be sure to send her pictures of me, and inform her that more explicit ones are available, should she wish to have them. Failing that, I don’t really care either way, actually.

  5. on 20 Jan 2007 at 11:31 am   Kelly

    Same goes for somebody trying to take your film/camera away. Even if you are on private property, they have no right to do so since they’re also your property. I’ve been asked to give film to somebody before, so I informed them that if they could quote me in the criminal code where it says that wouldn’t be theft, then I’d fork it over. Needless to say, I have the film still.

    Also: if you are taking photographs on a public street into a private building, they can’t legally stop you as well.

    I pays to have journalism friends ;) .

  6. on 24 Jan 2007 at 3:06 pm   Mike

    FYI, there was an article in a recent issue of PhotoLife about Canadian rights and photography. I remember that Quebec had different laws than the rest of Canada (surprise, surprise).

  7. on 26 Mar 2008 at 4:04 am   Newbie

    So if I snap a shot of someone I am free to do as I wish with their photo? If not so, what are the laws on that?

  8. on 01 Apr 2008 at 9:25 pm   Jeremy

    Do these laws also apply to videography? After all, it’s just “motion photography”.

  9. on 15 Aug 2008 at 10:37 am   Andre

    Though this person is talking about US law, there are probably some parallels:

    http://kevin.lexblog.com/2007/03/articles/blog-basics/legal-right-to-use-photo-of-person-on-blog/

    Generally though I believe that as long as you aren’t trying to make money off of it then you are fine. If there is money involved then you should get the subject to sign off on it. From a non-legal standpoint I would take the approach: would I mind a photo of me being used this way, without my explicit permission?

  10. on 21 Feb 2009 at 3:48 pm   lynn

    i am wondering what the laws are around posting pictures of an event (say a wedding) on a website (to advertise your services) Is it required to get the permission of the person who hired you??

  11. on 12 Apr 2009 at 4:35 pm   Yuri

    Thank you for this. Things are getting out of hand in Canada. Photographers should start organizing protests.

  12. on 12 May 2010 at 1:27 pm   Oscar Wilde Quotes

    Would you mind if I use some of the info here, and I’ll leave a link back to you?

  13. on 31 May 2010 at 10:29 am   Reed Muzzarelli

    Cheers very much, I’ve found this article very useful!

  14. on 11 Jun 2010 at 9:10 pm   Pissed

    Some idiots at Casa Loma Toronto today told me off for taking pictures of children which were so happen to be walking in my line of photography. They made me delete the photo claiming it’s illegal to take pictures of children or anyone else.

  15. on 30 Jul 2010 at 10:51 am   Focal point

    Responding to the situation (pissed)…no one can legally force you to delete any image, as any photograph is property of the photographer.
    Second of all, anyone can be photographed in a public setting as long as they have not secluded themselves where one could expect reasonable privacy (for example: some guy wonders to the corner of a building to take a leak…although, I believe urinating in public isn’t exactly legal)
    So, these individuals had no idea what the actual law was pertaining to public photography. If anyone was acting unlawfully, it would be them, as it was in fact, your rights that were violated.

  16. on 30 Jul 2010 at 10:56 am   Focal point

    Sorry pissed, I just realized that all the info I gave you was pretty much covered in the initial post…so, I concur LOL

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