Re: Blog: Your Right to Take Photos of Federal Property

I happen to be writing this from San Diego where we start work tomorrow on 4 days of commercial shoots in various locations around town - many of them public parks, beaches, and other scenic areas. We've been working with the San Diego Film Commission folks for about two weeks in order to secure all the necessary permits, and while there are quite a few hoops to jump through, and even the MOST accommodating bureaucrats can be conditioned to say "NO" as a reflex (that BEACH, heck, that beach is controlled by the NAVY - you've got to call THEM for permission!) - in the end, if you decide you need to unfurl N 8X8 for bounce or want to go beyond a simple "run and gun" approach, having a binder full of permits and the knowledge that you've secured as much official permission as you could in advance is a VERY comforting thing.

Heck, we carry commercial insurance anyway - what are we paying those premiums for, if not to allow us to do our work OPENLY without looking over our shoulders as a business? That's the difference between amateur and professional in a lot of circumstances.

What's NOT OK is waiting around until the light is just right - then having someone walk up and tell you to stop shooting. With the binder of permits, I can shuffle them to my assistant - who I can GUARANTEE can keep them distracted with paperwork as long as I need to GET THE SHOT.

In essence, a permit puts the BURDEN OF PROOF on someone who wants to STOP me to prove that I can't - rather than the burden on ME to prove that I can.

And that's always the superior position.

FWIW.

"Before speaking out ask yourself whether your words are true, whether they are respectful and whether they are needed in our civil discussions."-Justice O'Conner