Is this true?

I'll start by saying that I don't believe it is.

My son performed in a youth concert at a local theatre tonight.
Now, I know, their premises, their rules and I'm perfectly willing to accept that, but I don't like being lied to.

I was told that I could not photograph him as it was "Illegal". Not, company policy, not policy of the event organiser, but, no, it was against the law.

Before the event started, they announced "No video or flash photography. So, I approached a member of staff to clarify if it was flash which was banned, as stated. Again, I was told that photographing was illegal as there were children performing.
It was noticeable, though, that they had an outside company videoing and photographing the children. Presumably the police will seize the footage as evidence? Sorry....being flippant!

right this is a very grey area
you as a person cannot film or photograph children in a school
if there was some one filming in the school did you sign a disclamer to say that they could film your child if you did not then you can complaine to the school as they have broken the law
it is all so complicated with what can and cant be done

So it is actually illegal to photograph a child in a public place? This wasn't a school concert it was at a theater.
No, I didn't sign any disclaimers, but I'm not overly bothered by that. Let's face it: If I didn't want people to see my kids, I wouldn't let them join a band and perform on stage.

I'm not even bothered too much by the fact that I couldn't take photos. Their building their rules.
But is it really against the law? Surely, if it were against the law, then the pros wouldn't be allowed to either.

I am unaware of any law that would prevent you photographing your son inside a school or other premise to which the public are admitted. The school can, of course, have any rules it likes about what parents or other members of the public can do whilst on school property and you will be deemed to have accepted those rules when you enter the property. If you breach the rules whilst inside the school, then I think that in law you are guilty of trespass and can be asked to leave - but that is a civil matter not a criminal one.

Just noticed this after my original post: http://www.telegraph.co.uk/comment/personal-view/3559975/There-is-no-law-against...

Andrew

Not against the law, but a theatre is not a public place so they can impose their own restrictions on use of photographic or audio recording equipment.

There is no specific law prohibiting photography of children, but in some instances there might be a specific prohibition in a school involving individual children where they are the subject of a child protection order.

The issue is most schools, theatres etc, don't understand the law, but you are on their property so they can invoke any rules they wish, no matter how misguided or ill-informed.

It has become urban myth that it is generally illegal to photograph children. No matter that the law might be on your side, when faced with a situation you have to have to make the judgement call, especially if the situation involves people who insist they are right and outnumber you.

its all to do with a crb check (criminal background check)
as i said a grey area

CRB checks are for people working with children or vulnerable adults.

Like misinterpretation of current law, many institutions insist on them believing they will somehow protect children, etc. Unfortunately this blind faith misses the point that it is a check against historical records. If the individual being checked has no adverse record at the time of the check, they pass.

Saville would probably have passed CRB checks before his activities became public, and for all we know may well have done.

asi said a grey area no one wants to say yes then a few months down the line some one complains and then all hell lets lose with acusationflying about
and if it was in a theater then there is also the copywright stuff

It's not unexpected that theatre staff would misunderstand the distinctions here. They're likely to be paid at or near minimum wage, and hardly likely to have been sent on a legalities course, so frankly what can we expect ... ?

Most outfits are run now with the minimal staff costs, so you end up with no more than Joe Public in a uniform...
The attitudes and beliefs will reflect the pool of people in the community. Has the manager bothered to discuss the matter with his/her staff and invest in them greater knowledge? Or does he/she not care enough....

Hindsight suggest you should have taken the statement on video and flash photography at face value! I hear your flippant remark and it sounds like some protectionism going on to make you buy the professionally filmed product. I can't imagine its actually illegal.

No way it's illegal, they're just misinformed. However if you break their rule then you're technically trespassing, which I guess is illegal.

It's a sad state of affairs that I actually don't like taking my camera to the park to take pictures of my children if there are lots of other children about and in fact I just recently left it in the bag because the park was packed and I don't want some crazy parent accusing me of anything

It's funny, I wouldn't think twice about taking out my iPhone though, but the thought of pointing a K3ii in the direction of other peoples kids (unintentionally) makes me worry about the reaction I might get!

Well of course, all paedophiles use large professional looking cameras in parks packed with kids, obviously .....

Not every school imposes such rules and one grandaughter's actually have a photo call at the end of a performance.

It's not illegal to photograph children anywhere, or anyone else for that matter, but common sense should always prevail.

It might be a breach of copyright to film a performance where the school have paid a fee to use a play, for example.

The common sense I apply to every public place situation is to try and avoid annoying and bothering other people unless they are the ones being difficult. If the annoying and bothering involves someone's kids then I'm not going to push things. If its just a little tussle for some space when I have equal right to it then I'll happily be more assertive.

I too think twice about taking the K7 with grip and flash into places with other kids, even though other parents are happily snapping with their phones.