Photography & the Police: Italy Edition
Be sure to check the rules
Before moving to Italy in 2019, while I didn’t do a lot of street photography, I did do some. I was never an in-your-face, paparazzi-style photographer, but did make some photos without the subjects of my images knowing I had done so. More often than not, however, I would ask a person for permission to make a photo of them. These were more street portraits, if you will.
I was up on the laws regarding photography and privacy. In the US it’s pretty simple, legally. People who are in a public space have no (legal) expectation of privacy. So, again legally, one can make photos of anyone who can be seen in that public space — whether you are in a public or private space. One can even photograph into a private space (a store, for example) if what is being photographed can be seen from a public space. Basically, if your eyes can see it, you can photograph it.
Several years ago, I was in a publicly owned art museum that allowed photography (no flash or tripods) — it was part of the State University system. There was also a temporary installation of a rare collection — I forget whose collection it was — in the museum at…
