Club Photography Policy

A club member recently raised concerns about photographs and videos of club members being published on the internet, and felt that this may be seen as an invasion of privacy.

After looking into the subject, the club committee has agreed that:

The law on this subject is fairly straightforward, and the club will comply with the law.

As a general rule anyone is free to take photographs, unless the law states otherwise.

Once a photograph (or video) is taken, the rights to that picture or video belong to the photographer, to do with as they see fit. They may for example put it in a book, submit it to a magazine or newspaper, or submit to a website, either their own or hosted by another party. This is entirely their right.

There are certain restrictions, such as against taking photographs on private property, or certain public places such as Royal Parks.

It is illegal to harass another person, and taking photographs can be construed as harassment. This does NOT mean that someone can say that because a person has taken their photograph they are harassing them. Harassment would be seen as a behaviour which causes another persons alarm or distress, and would have to be seen to be part of a course of conduct (i.e. on more than one occasion).

The general taking of photographs on the hills would not in any way be seen as harassment.

Advertising agencies are unlikely to use photographs of recognisable people without a letter of consent from the individuals, so it is highly unlikely that a photo taken on a club walk will appear in a magazine being used to endorse any type of product.

If you are on a club walk, and you do not wish to appear in any group photos please state so BEFORE the walk. If there are group photos (such as summit photos) being taken please ensure you do not pose for a picture if you do not agree to its use, as shown above.

For photographers, the club has no objection to photos or videos being used, but would ask that the audio soundtrack be removed prior to putting the video on any hosting website.