booted

So I get a referral to shoot an adorable little girl for her modeling card. Mom suggests Filoli as a location. It's a grand estate with formal gardens and the whole deal. Sounds lovely! I'm in! Well, we get there and of course I arrive a little early to scope it out. While I'm there, I find the manager to ask if there are any photography restrictions (I'm thinking maybe they don't want flash photography indoors, can't photograph artwork, things like that). Well, they very politely inform me that there is no commercial photography at all. Only "vacation photos". No portraits in the garden, no engagement photos, nada. Well, darn, but okay. It's a private place, they can do what they want. Mom suggests Central Park in San Mateo. It has a tea garden and such. I've been there before. Sure, nice place, why not?

So, we truck over to San Mateo. I shoot the first outfit along a wooden fence. We're not going to let the Filoli thing bring us down. Then, we go into the tea garden. We have the place to ourselves. I go down a little path with the girl and a supervisor approaches the mom to ask if I am being paid. She's an honest sort and says yes. Well, he comes over and tells me that no one can make money on city property without a permit. Now this just blows me away. Really, it's just me, the mom, a little girl on a weekday afternoon taking a few pictures. I had no idea this wasn't okay in San Mateo at a public park. Apparently there has been a rash of people giving private tennis lessons there! Well, uh, okaayyyy....he says I can "finish up" in the tea garden but in the future I'll need a permit. Now the mood is coming down a few notches. Big sigh.

Well, we're now out of options so we slink around and finish
the shoot in out-of-the-way spots. Mom and I are kind of deflated. I could've done the shoot at my studio, but we thought it would be grand to go on location. Still, I was determined to not let things spoil the shoot. I've learned a valuable lesson from this- to research the local laws for any spot where I want to shoot. I guess I just didn't expect that something so low key as a mom, a child, and one photographer could create such a fuss. I did a little internet research and learned that not all parks are so restrictive about photography. Golden Gate Park states on their website that a "casual shoot involving up to 5 people that does not include any props or models, is not in a restricted area, and does not have a significant impact on the park (due to equipment or other reasons) does not require a photography permit from the Office of Special Park Uses." However, they also state that location fees for shoots of 11 or less people range from $50-$750. If photographers have to start paying location fees and buying permits everytime they want to do a portrait, fees for photography are going to have to double. The blog, War on Photography, addresses these issues.