Museum photo policies

Patrick Robert James said:

Museums have every right to tell you what you can and can't do. You are priveleged to even be able to see the art in them. If it wasn't for them where would you see a Van Gogh? Got friends that have them hanging in their living room? Didn't think so. I'm amazed that I an even walk up to a Van Gogh or any of the many great artists in history and really look at it. Sometimes I think they have to be out of their minds to put some things on display.

Very rarely I've made photographs in museums when it was allowed. I don't make photographs when it isn't. It isn't up to my ego to determine what I can and can't do in someone else's place. By the logic of "I should be able to", I can walk around your house with muddy shoes because I think I can. What's the problem?

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Frankly as a young man I photographed paintings. Now if I want a copy of a painting, I will willingly pay full fair for a quality print and let them make money and provide me with a quality print.

I was stopped years ago in the Luxembourg gardens in Paris by uniformed guards who told me that professional photography was not allowed. I may have been carrying two cameras, but there was no indication that I was shooting "professionally". Perhaps they had nothing better to do.

Arthurwg said:

I was stopped years ago in the Luxembourg gardens in Paris by uniformed guards who told me that professional photography was not allowed. I may have been carrying two cameras, but there was no indication that I was shooting "professionally". Perhaps they had nothing better to do.

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Back in 1966 I was in the Luxembourg Gardens and every time I tried to photograph the guards with machine guns they turned away for me. I made it a game, but they were definitely not interested in playing it.

I usually ask upon entry if photos are allowed. If so, I’ll take a photo of a piece from artist that is new to me AND a photo of the label next to it so I can look the artist up later. If photos are not allowed, then I record the information in my sketchbook. AFAIK, sketchbooks are always allowed.

Patrick Robert James said:

Museums have every right to tell you what you can and can't do. You are priveleged to even be able to see the art in them. If it wasn't for them where would you see a Van Gogh? Got friends that have them hanging in their living room? Didn't think so. I'm amazed that I an even walk up to a Van Gogh or any of the many great artists in history and really look at it. Sometimes I think they have to be out of their minds to put some things on display.

Very rarely I've made photographs in museums when it was allowed. I don't make photographs when it isn't. It isn't up to my ego to determine what I can and can't do in someone else's place. By the logic of "I should be able to", I can walk around your house with muddy shoes because I think I can. What's the problem?

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+1 !

There are a few problems/issues.

Firstly, the staff at museums and art galleries are usually not into photography themselves. They need to be given a simple set of rules to enforce. The aim of the rules will be to protect the artwork, prevent other visitors from being inconvenienced and to prevent photographers from commercially exploiting the photos they take while at the museum. All perfectly reasonable, but try telling a security guard that he or she has to learn the difference between a Rolleiflex, a nikon F5, Pentax K1000 and a professional full frame DSLR. That's asking too much.

Banning of tripods, monopods and flashes make sense. As discussed already, paintings can be damaged by flashes and the accessories can get in the way of people. If you want to use a tripod, pay for a period of arranged pro photography and you'll probably also be greeted with a gallery empty of tourists.

it is also likely that a lot of these policies haven't kept up with technology. And it is not always recognised that a skilled practitioner can get a great photo with simple equipment, while a bungling beginner with over confidence can shoot hundreds of duds with the greatest cameras ever made. Most flagship smartphones of the last 5 years or so have truly decent cameras, if you know how to use them. There are plenty of compact digital cameras that, with care, can take great photos in low light at museums. But it is not the job of a security guard to know all this. Once again, they need to be given a simple set of rules to remember, and to explain to visitors. Those rules are probably made with the intention of Trevor Tourist creating memories of his visit and Peter Professional not getting a free gig.

That said, I've been to the louvre with a DSLR and film SLR both around my neck and had them admired by the staff. And I've declined to enter establishments where the policy seems to be to ban photography and "encourage" you to buy overly expensive souvenir official photos, postcards, books etc. I've also pointed out, "I might well have bought your book if you'd let me in". I've been to places with the "no changeable lenses" rule which really is out of date considering a good compact digital has greater zoom range than most of us have ever used with any film system.

Backpacks are getting banned in a lot of places, and I don't think it's just because someone can forget and bump into people. It's also concern about bombs. Though one friend certainly does have a backpack wherever he goes with his wife because inside it he keeps her collapsible crutches, medication, medical devices and other items that could literally save her life.

Often when I shoot in museums it's not to own a high quality copy of the artwork or exhibits. It's to look them up later. It's to create nice memories of a day out. It's to share in online reviews "Look at the amazing exhibits here, you should visit too".

In the end it's up to us to check the photography policy before we go, and sometimes ask for clarification by email....if photography in museums is our thing. Mostly, while I think such policies are far from perfect, they are there for valid reasons.....to protect the exhibits, to prevent inconvenience for patrons and to prevent people making money while not providing any revenue for the establishment.

thinking further to movie cameras, not so long ago I took a Beaulieu 1008XL super 8 camera to the Science museum in London, armed with three rolls of Kodak Vision 500T film. That aroused no suspicions at all. Just this year I was in a small local museum in Dorset with an Elmo Super 110 (another large super 8 movie camera) and the staff there were more amused than anything.

But, I suspect if I had taken a 16mm camera with a matte box they'd have all taken interest.

koraks said:

Sure? In Dutch, "film camera" means the same as "movie camera" in English. There's an 80% chance the person you talked to misunderstood if you mentioned something like "it's a film camera" or "it's film", or if they said something like "film cameras are expressly forbidden".

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Before the advent of digital cameras, the term "film camera" was also used in England to denote a cine/movie camera. Today it has a different meaning.

There is also the German word "filmkamera" which means cine/movie camera.

There might well have been confusion in this instance and I would have asked someone for clarification, perhaps using Google translate if necessary.

Wasn't there an incident in Europe yesterday where visitors attacked a painting with sharp instruments. Fortunately for the painting, there was a protective glass cover over it. Museums have more to worry about than cameras.

More to Aguliver’s observation about museum staff disinterest in photography, with my ZI Super Ikonta B folder museum staff do not take camera as seriously as a 35mm or professional digital camera and usually never bother me.

I visited the Flight 93 Memorial in Pennsylvania last week. Upon entry to the inside visitor center it's posted "No photographs." It is such a sad and solemn memorial, I couldn't be distracted by wanting to take photos and didn't even see anyone else doing do. Outside and down to the crash site and the wall of names, even though not posted, no one was taking photos when I was there.

Alan Edward Klein said:

Wasn't there an incident in Europe yesterday where visitors attacked a painting with sharp instruments. Fortunately for the painting, there was a protective glass cover over it. Museums have more to worry about than cameras.

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You may be thinking of the woefully misguided "just stop oil" protestors who threw paint at some famous paintings. Thankfully there was, as you say, some sort of protective glass and no damage was done. The protestors claimed they were not vandals because they personally decided to recognise no value in the paintings.

Agulliver said:

You may be thinking of the woefully misguided "just stop oil" protestors who threw paint at some famous paintings. Thankfully there was, as you say, some sort of protective glass and no damage was done. The protestors claimed they were not vandals because they personally decided to recognise no value in the paintings.

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Wait until they get the bill for repairs.

Although I have seen the real Mona Lisa, I prefer the Maddy Lisa ( my granddaughter )

VinceInMT said:

I visited the Flight 93 Memorial in Pennsylvania last week. Upon entry to the inside visitor center it's posted "No photographs." It is such a sad and solemn memorial, I couldn't be distracted by wanting to take photos and didn't even see anyone else doing do. Outside and down to the crash site and the wall of names, even though not posted, no one was taking photos when I was there.

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No photographs in the museum or no photographs at the Memorial site? Does that include cell phones?

Most museums and gallery's allow photos. Only a very small number of times no photos allowed. Sure, some have no backpack rule. If so, I take a vest and load it up max with gear...if that is what I need. Other times it is just one camera.

When you visit shows and galleries...document the show. Then upload to the Internet Archive for posterity. Shows are only up for a few weeks / months then they go poof! You are already there...so why not? You can shoot the show then walk through again to just enjoy it.

I used a vest at the Araki show in NYC. No backpacks and needed some infrared flash, camera bodies and a circular fisheye. Vest was loaded to bursting! Flash was not allowed, but snuck some infrared flash. It did an excellent job with the show entrance ropework. Thing is, you can't take your time or be relaxed. Guards see a flash on top of the camera, and it causes attention even with no visible light. I never thought to ask them if I could use invisible light flash. They may think you are crazy.





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Sirius Glass said:

No photographs in the museum or no photographs at the Memorial site? Does that include cell phones?

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Cameras are allowed at the Arizona Memorial in Hawaii.

slackercrurster said:

Most museums and gallery's allow photos. Only a very small number of times no photos allowed. Sure, some have no backpack rule. If so, I take a vest and load it up max with gear...if that is what I need. Other times it is just one camera.

When you visit shows and galleries...document the show. Then upload to the Internet Archive for posterity. Shows are only up for a few weeks / months then they go poof! You are already there...so why not? You can shoot the show then walk through again to just enjoy it.

I used a vest at the Araki show in NYC. No backpacks and needed some infrared flash, camera bodies and a circular fisheye. Vest was loaded to bursting! Flash was not allowed, but snuck some infrared flash. It did an excellent job with the show entrance ropework. Thing is, you can't take your time or be relaxed. Guards see a flash on top of the camera, and it causes attention even with no visible light. I never thought to ask them if I could use invisible light flash. They may think you are crazy.



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Don’t you think the artist or gallery has documented the show?