trillian

Yeah that's my understanding as well. It's a Vespa and not really in the greatest shape, nothing special. But if it was my scooter and I saw someone taking a pic I would just assume they liked the look of it, or they're a Vespa fan etc. I wouldn't assume they MUST have some motive. So I was not too receptive to being questioned, especially because she was aggressive about it, as if to be implying I did something wrong, which I find a bit offensive. Incidentally, I looked to see if Google's street view had the scooter in their image but the one currently up is from 2012 and I think someone else was living in that house at the time.

That's what I thought, thanks I am not aware of thefts recently but to play devil's advocate, it's illogical to get all paranoid about someone taking a pic in plain sight during the day because if they were 'casing the joint' they wouldn't be so casual, they'd be descrete about it. Plus, there's no need to take a pic. If she is worried about it being stolen she shouldn't leave it outside. If it was my scooter I certainly wouldn't leave it out in the rain, I also (and I am being totally honest here) couldn't care less if people photographed it.

(should have read 'I didn't have the right to take the photo without a model release )

I have read online a couple of these 'guides to the UK law on photography' but just need to clarify one particular point. (well, two points actually) If I am on a public footpath it is my understanding that I can take a photo of pretty much anything I can see. In this case I was walking up my street in London and from the footpath took a photo of someone's scooter which was in their front garden next to the wheelie bins. A woman in the house saw me and began that sort of miming thing you do from a distance, about why did I take a pic of the scooter, after a while I got fed up with this little charade and left. Then I was walking to the post office yesterday and she confronted me and began an interrogation repeatedly asking me 'why' I took a pic of the scooter. I tried to be polite and told her truthfully that I didn't really have a 'reason'. She kept on and on and wouldn't accept my answer and started saying it was private property and I didn't have the right to take a photo with a model release etc. I told her she was mistaken about the law and that I was on public property. She called me a 'weirdo' and to stay away from her house - basically she went on a total paranoid delusional rant. So to bottom line it there are two points; 1. Am I in the right to take a picture of someone's scooter on their property if I am on a public footpath ? 2. If, hypothetically speaking, I wanted to publish or sell the photo (which I don't) would I need a model release for an inanimate object?

Hi all, I am Sheryl, graphic / web designer / video producer in London. At present I am mainly dabbling in photograhy to create raw images to be used as web elements and stock images.