Shooting in Public spaces. What we should know.

I recently did a photoshoot with the actress Kateryna Pakhomova. The planned day came. I imagined a shoot with a bit of vibe from noir movies that didn’t pan out. The weather kind of ruined the whole thing because the lighting was crap, and then also the rain and wind was just awful.

I had a mind to cancel the shoot, but she was up for doing it, so we arranged to meet in the local library. We would shoot a few headshots and posed pictures among the books.

Kateryna Pakhomova

© Vincent S. Coster 2025

We went up to the top floor among the history and literature sections in the back corner, where there was hardly anyone to get in the way, and where the light was better because it was more open on the top floor.

We were working away grand, not in anyone’s way, and I got a good few photos, even after a moment’s panic when one of the cameras didn’t focus and I needed to fix that. However, once we had exhausted all the photos we could take in the section, we decided to move to the stairs.

I knew that this was something that we would need to do last because the moment we left the shelter of the corner we were working in, I knew that someone would object and we would have a problem to deal with. I even said to Kateryna, “This is the part where we get kicked out.” She did not get what I meant, I don’t think, but we went ahead and started shooting on the stairs.

Of course, it does help if you get permission to shoot first, and if you are doing a big shoot, this is necessary. But since the shoot we were doing was low-key with natural or found lighting and no teams, and did not impact those in the library around us, I had not gotten any permission. I made this decision because I know that I can shoot photography on public property and even private property generally without permission.

However, I also know that if someone asked me to stop, I would be obliged to.

Hence, leaving the stairwell shoot until the last moment.

I took the photos, being careful not to get anyone in them.

That is when one of the staff came over.

My daughter has often said she has Karen energy, and she lived down to that description when she came over and asked if what we were doing was for the library. I said no. She then asked if I had permission to photograph there from the library, to which I explained no, because it is public property, and I can shoot on public property. She then explained that she would discuss this with the manager, and off she went, leaving me to get a few more shots in before she returned to say we had to stop.

In these instances, it is best just to stop.

We had gotten what was needed for the shoot anyway, and there is no need for a pointless argument. I thanked her politely, and we went to gather our stuff. That is when she tried to tell me, in a matter-of-fact kind of “I have the power” tone, that I was not permitted to use any of the photographs taken on the premises.

Now, up until then, I was in the frame of mind of just moving on. But when she then decided to tell me that I could not use the images I had made, I decided that I would inform her that she was grossly mistaken. Because she was very much grossly mistaken.

Because here is the thing.

A photographer can shoot anything he (I use he here because I am a man, but it could be any other personal pronoun) wants from public property as long as he is not acting in a threatening or abusive manner and is not preventing people from moving freely about their business. He can even shoot private property if it is easily visible from public property and the subject has not gone to great lengths to ensure their privacy is maintained on their property. I do not need permission to shoot on public property.

A photographer can also freely use the images he takes, unless 1: the image contains a logo, building or other object protected by copyright law. 2: The image is not defamatory, nor does it rob a person of their income. 3: Is not being used for commercial purposes without the person having signed a release form to allow their image be used to advertise whatever the commercial is for.

However, if using those images for editorial or artistic reasons, the photographer can use the images without permission. They can be printed, published and sold as works of art.

Kateryna Pakhomova on the stairs © Vincent S. Coster 2025

I explained to the woman in the library that she was wrong and that I could use the images because the only person in them was my client and nobody else is visible, and that as works of art I could use them even if there was someone in them. I explained that as a professional photographer and artist, I was more aware of what the law is regarding the making and using of images than she was.

She replied that she would have to check that with her manager, the perfect line for a jobsworth. She then came back and said I was allowed to use the images as if she were bestowing some gift to me. I replied that I knew I could use the images because that is what the law says, and as an artist, I can use the images I make.

You see, for anyone out there thinking of getting into street photography, you need to remember you are not doing anything wrong. Unless, of course, your only motive is to take pictures of girls in such a way as to make them look like they are naked and then publish them for some ugly pornographic reason, in that case, you are definitely doing something wrong and need to stop. But if you are taking street scenes for more pure purposes centred on art and documenting the town you live in, it is important to know what the law says and the fact that you are not doing anything wrong and are perfectly within your rights to shoot photographs of strangers in public.

You can certainly run a photoshoot in a public space, and if you are using a building and someone who works there says to stop, you can stop. You do not have to give them your equipment or destroy any images, and you certainly can use the images there, whether they like it or not. Again, the only thing is that some buildings are copyrighted and cannot be used in photographs, but these are buildings like the Shard and other landmarks in the UK and places like that.

I do think that it would be great to organise a street photography workshop sometime and help others in the area who want to get into this scene to explain why they are good to go. But mostly the main thing I want to reinforce to anyone who is even thinking about photography is make sure that you know what your legal standing is, especially with the usage of your images and never let someone who thinks they know better than you try to intimidate you. Because they will not know more about image rights than you do if you make photography your business and your art.

© Vincent S. Coster 2025