Photography

These days it is not OK to photograph children of strangers without permission. Not in Italy, or anywhere else.

I think no matter where you are you have to be very cautious when photographing children. There is so much fear about the photos ending up on the wrong web site. I had an amusing encounter with a class of 10 year olds on Burano last year, and it would have been great to have some shots of them, but I left my camera in my backpack and did my best to understand their attempts at speaking English. It’s unfortunate that the fear of pedophiles has made people this paranoid, but it’s not surprising given some of the stories you see on the news these days.

Thank you for explaining, Anita. I was unable to think of a diplomatic way to say this, but you did it very well.

It is not illegal to photograph people (adult or child) if in a public space. However the creep factor of a man photographing children is high. Even in the US, if you were in a playground and taking pictures of kids, I wouldn't be surprised if you were similarly accosted. Again, not illegal; but the creep factor will be very high.

I was told by a Roman when I lived in Rome that Italian law prohibits photographing children without permission from their parents. I never looked for the specific citation but assumed this to be true. Italians are quite protective of children in general.

These days you just do not take pictures of children anywhere, anytime. Personally, I would not do it with permission for fear that someone doesn't know that I have permission. I would not worry about long distance but anything that would provide sharp detail would be forbidden. Wasn't true in the past but I have become reluctant to take any pictures that include recognizable people faces. Surprised you were not aware of that.

At one time I used to do a lot of street scenes with people -- you know the routine -- the old man with a cane on the bench, flea markets, etc. Don't do that any more. Even in a public place people are very cautious about having their picture taken.

richard,

I've never heard of this happening before, but of course it could have. Given the number of abuse cases in the news these days and the way images posted on social media can be misused, people are much more sensitive about protecting children. The fact that your intentions weren't malicious doesn't matter.

Thanks for posting as it may help other travellers avoid having the same problem.

It's not unique to children and/or Italy . I've noticed this in Germany and Austria with adults as well .

As a retired long-time stock agent and photographer who lives part-time in Italy, I've been following this for several years. The law in question specifies that photos of children cannot be published w/o permission; it does not prohibit taking photos of children. Unfortunately, the law is short on definitions of terms such as 'published' and there have not been precedent setting court cases. The result is that the public interprets the law as it will, and as other posters have suggested, it is wise to approach the mama bears with caution. Pre-pandemic, I had an incident where a mother went aggressive as I shot a street scene from 25 yards away, and I think the fact that I was using a real camera with a moderately prominent lens was a factor. When I use my Pixel, I show the parent the smartphone first and almost always get an approving nod.

In Italy is not illegal take photos of people in public, but if the person can be easily identified is not legal to publish and share the photos.
The request to delete the photos is not legal either, but usually is better do it.
I like taking photos and I understand your point of view, but (and others well explained) is important be careful when are taken photos of minors. I noted for example that my friend who work as teachers and professors when they share the photos with students they cover the faces of them.

On the other side is forbidden in Italy take photos of people in private places without permission, like at home or on a working place. In some visits (like car factories or food producers) you are not allowed to take photos: not because there are important secrets, but because they should ask an authorization from every worker.

Agree with others that it is best to steer clear of children as subjects. One example I've encountered a few times is carousels. I love carousels, and they can make for fantastic photography; however, if there are children present, I keep the camera in its bag.

The other point I was going to add is that if your camera was especially large or expensive-looking, they may have mistaken you for a professional photographer, and assumed you were taking pictures for publication/profit. That DOES require consent and permission across the EU. Maybe that was a nuance or assumption that got lost in translation...

I certainly agree with other posters about not taking photos of children anywhere these days. But I admit that once in a park in Rome a group of adorable school children dressed in costumes happened by. I asked the adult in charge if I could take a photo and received an emphatic 'no', so I thanked her and walked away, feeling rather embarrassed because I should have known better than to even ask. They were just so darn cute.

I should have known better than to even ask

No, you shouldn't. As an amateur photograph I would have done the same. You did nothing wrong.

@richard: The Italian Law is quite clear about what "publish without consent" means and it includes the Internet. Some teachers and parents seem to think that "take a pic in a public space" and "publish a pic" are the same thing, but they aren't.

The EU Law says that a minor can give such consent only when older than 14, so a teacher could act " in the role of a parent" and make clear no consent has been given. But nobody can force you to delete a pic taken in a public space. Refusing to delete those pics would have been risky these days, but totally legal.

Dario, Thank you. I should clarify…I spent 30+ years working with children myself. That's why I felt I should have known better. Protecting children is the priority.

Richard and Mary,
I get the feeling that you come from the same generation as me (I first visited Europe as a teenager in 1966). In the past, in the film days the chances of anybody seeing my vacation photos was limited to friends I bored with my slide shows. Technology has destroyed that age of innocence. I hate missing wonderful photographic moments, but I completely understand the concerns of others and strive to honor them.

BTW, I do not post photos of my grandchildren on the internet because of these concerns.

Some years ago, we were touring the Hungarian Parliament, and were taking the French-language tour. My wife speaks French, I do not. We were at the back of the tour group, and I took a picture of the guard. We were approached by the tour guide, and told that the picture needed to be deleted (in French). Finally we explained that our French was shaky, and she told me to delete the picture in English. The stated reason was that the guard was not properly dressed. I still have the picture, although I tried to delete it.

My thought from that is to take no pictures of people, save in our party of travelers.

My thought from that is to take no pictures of people, save in our party of travelers.

Definitely. We always ask permission. We don't post pictures of people on Facebook etc. Rarely post anything on those sites.

Even though my children have been out of school for ages, I had to sign a form of whether or not I allowed my daughter to be photographed on school activities or events. I always said 'no'. So particularly since this was a school outing, there are more levels of concern that some child walking the street holding Mom's hand.
I also have been asked by my son and DIL to not post any photos of their kids on my FB page. And have since learned that is becoming more common by parents to not allow kids photos on any social media.
It is not okay to photograph unknown kids particularly without adult permission, and I prefer to avoid photographs as well. If someone is doing crowd shots, I turn away or make myself unrecognizable. There is so little privacy or anonymity left on this world, just let me pretend I have some control of it when I can.