Hi there, great forum, just joined! Just wanted any tips on London locations, as I don’t live there currently. I'm looking for offices with big clear windows where the workers are directly visible to the passing public outside, e.g. ground floor offices by busy pedestrian areas, or higher level offices visible from a raised public area nearby, e.g. walkway, bridge, concourse, rooftop garden - (ie close enough to not need a very large zoom). It’s for a project where I’d like to shoot models with the offices as a backdrop. Many thanks!
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London Workers in offices highly exposed to the public and passersby, any tips?
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I doubt your allowed to do that as your shooting through a private property
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Eh?
Anyway, Starbucks (there are other rip off coffee joints) offer some good views of people sat in the window 'enjoying a coffee or a chat or just reading the paper if that is what you are after
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Eh what? You point a camera directly to someone's office. That's private properly simple as.
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If you are on a public area and you are not peeping into the toilet you will be OK.
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George Michael could have done with that advice.
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George Michael could have done with taking lots of advice lol
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If the interior of the office is visible from a public place then you can photograph it (with the exception of a premises that might be covered by the Official Secrets Act or is Crown property). Security can't stop you. Neither can the police. If they tried to they would commit a civil tort against you and you could sue them.
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How many times does this conversation come up!
Hi, thanks for the replies! Essentially I wanted workers in the background who are basically exposed to the public, due to the architectural design and windows being too near a thoroughfare/ raised walkway etc. So the concept is partly documentary, showing people in the background who work in an awkward environment! I'm aware that security may kick up a fuss, but as far as I can see, I'm not breaking any law. And they're welcome to invest in frosted/ reflective glass if they want total privacy. Which most/many offices do in fact have! There aren't so many big ground floor offices. So I was more or less asking if you can remember some places where you really feel the workers are placed a bit too open to public gaze?
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Gotta be pretty close to take shots of an office inside mate unless you use a super zoom. Point is your likely to be in a private place to be able to get the shot that the op has in mind
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Your best bet would probably be Barbican - there's loads of offices around Moorgate, and the raised high-walks will bring you to a level equal of many offices, without them being too far away.
Bear in mind though that there is quite a lot of construction work going on in the area currently, so many of the walks are shut for the time being. Quite a few still open though.
Bear in mind though that there is quite a lot of construction work going on in the area currently, so many of the walks are shut for the time being. Quite a few still open though.
Thanks Glenn, the Barbican is a great idea, certainly a big area of galleries! Shame about the construction though. I was trying to remember other walkways or good bridges - southwark/london bridge came to mind. Or Farringdon. Really any ideas about this type of vantage point would be appreciated!
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As soon you stay on public property you can make photo of everything.
shreds
Slushy
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......with plenty of exceptions. Which is not quite everything.
http://content.met.police.uk/Site/photographyadvice
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Doesn't sound like that at all, London's pavements are not private property.
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Some offices are situated in private pavements etc so it depends
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In the UK, If someone in a public place has an expectation of privacy, then photographing them is harrassment which can be a criminal offence. Someone in an office has that expectation of privacy so photographing them from a public place can well be harrassment.
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I suspect that you're quite wrong there. By definition, if you're visible from a public place, you can have no expectation of privacy. It seems that there is, in any case, no legal remedy in England for an alleged breach of privacy, as decided by the house of lords in 2003 (see Wainwright v Home Office).
As to it being harrassment, there would have to be a deliberate intent to assault the alleged victim.
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From the BBC's guidelines for filming people in public places:
http://www.bbc.co.uk/editorialguidelines/guidelines/privacy/
Legitimate Expectations of Privacy
An individual's legitimate expectation of privacy is qualified by location and the nature of the information and behaviour, and the extent to which the information is already in the public domain. People in the public eye may, in some circumstances, have a lower legitimate expectation of privacy.
Location: People in public places or in semi-public places cannot expect the same degree of privacy as in their own homes or other sensitive locations. (A semi-public place is somewhere which, though private property, gives the public general access, such as an airport, station or shopping mall.)
However, location must be considered in conjunction with the activity. There may be circumstances where people can reasonably expect privacy even in a public or semi-public space, particularly when the activity or information being revealed is inherently private. For example, there may be a greater expectation of privacy when someone is in a public or semi-public place but receiving medical treatment.
There may also be occasions when someone in a location not usually open to the public is engaged in an activity where they have a low expectation of privacy, for example a sales pitch or giving public information. We do not, though, normally reveal information which discloses the precise location of a person's home or family without their consent, unless it is editorially justified.
Behaviour: There is less entitlement to privacy where an individual's behaviour is criminal or seriously anti-social.
http://www.bbc.co.uk/editorialguidelines/guidelines/privacy/
Legitimate Expectations of Privacy
An individual's legitimate expectation of privacy is qualified by location and the nature of the information and behaviour, and the extent to which the information is already in the public domain. People in the public eye may, in some circumstances, have a lower legitimate expectation of privacy.
Location: People in public places or in semi-public places cannot expect the same degree of privacy as in their own homes or other sensitive locations. (A semi-public place is somewhere which, though private property, gives the public general access, such as an airport, station or shopping mall.)
However, location must be considered in conjunction with the activity. There may be circumstances where people can reasonably expect privacy even in a public or semi-public space, particularly when the activity or information being revealed is inherently private. For example, there may be a greater expectation of privacy when someone is in a public or semi-public place but receiving medical treatment.
There may also be occasions when someone in a location not usually open to the public is engaged in an activity where they have a low expectation of privacy, for example a sales pitch or giving public information. We do not, though, normally reveal information which discloses the precise location of a person's home or family without their consent, unless it is editorially justified.
Behaviour: There is less entitlement to privacy where an individual's behaviour is criminal or seriously anti-social.
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From the UK government web site.:
http://webarchive.nationalarchives.gov.uk/20100405140515/asb.homeoffice.gov.uk/article.aspx?id=12624
Relevant areas of the law, described in more detail below, are:
Child protection legislation to prevent the taking, possession, distribution or publishing of indecent photographs of children under 16
Invasion of privacy (the same law applies to adults and children)
Harassment of a person by taking their photograph. It is only considered harassment if your actions cause them alarm or distress and amount to a course of conduct, not a single incident (for example, on at least two occasions).
Trespass. The laws around trespass control access to private property for the purposes of taking photographs.
Prevention of terrorism and protection of national security. This applies to taking photos around sensitive locations such as airports or government buildings.
http://webarchive.nationalarchives.gov.uk/20100405140515/asb.homeoffice.gov.uk/article.aspx?id=12624
Relevant areas of the law, described in more detail below, are:
Child protection legislation to prevent the taking, possession, distribution or publishing of indecent photographs of children under 16
Invasion of privacy (the same law applies to adults and children)
Harassment of a person by taking their photograph. It is only considered harassment if your actions cause them alarm or distress and amount to a course of conduct, not a single incident (for example, on at least two occasions).
Trespass. The laws around trespass control access to private property for the purposes of taking photographs.
Prevention of terrorism and protection of national security. This applies to taking photos around sensitive locations such as airports or government buildings.