Camera Ethical Question

[bogeyguy]

Let's not jump the gun here. First of all, the OP indicates he/she is from Malta, so US copyright law does not apply. Maltese law may be similar, it may not be... HOWEVER, even under US law, I don't think the situation is quite so clear cut. There are situations where the photographer does NOT automatically own the copyright to an image; such as certain work for hire arrangements. In this case, I suspect that since the members of the group knew that it was not their camera, and since they had been requested to take a picture, it would not be reasonable to expect that in that setting, under those circumstances, just because you pushed the button, you owned the rights to the image.

I think what happened had nothing to do with law, either here or in Malta. This subject is being over analyzed.

 

[480sparky]

Next time, just grab the camera, pull out the card and put it in your pocket. Put another card in the camera and tell the person, "Nice try, but I can run a recovery routine on my computer to get the image back......."

 

[Gavjenks]

This isn't porn we're talking about, or a picture of her holding a political abortion sign, or a once-in-a-lifetime portrait that was going to win you a pullitzer or whatever.

It's a random picture of herself around a campfire taken by a complete amateur.... Why do you even care? WAS it a superb photo? If so, maybe discuss with her about getting into photography herself if she isn't currently. Or do you have a thing for her or something? If so, ask her to do an entire photoshoot sometime, and you'll get a lot more cute photos and also some great bonding time. I'm not sure I understand what other motivations there are for getting upset.

And incidentally, aside from whatever the law is in Malta, I think that "morally," if you hand your camera to somebody, and they make all the framing decisions and other artistic choices, and there's no contract or agreement, then they seem obviously to be the artist, and it's perfectly reasonable for them to delete their own photos, no matter what the subject.

 

[slow231]

this doesn't make sense. you say you would not have had a problem deleting it if asked, so just consider her deleting her way of letting you know that she wanted it deleted!

you say she was a friend, so there's really no reason for her to think that you would not have allowed her to delete a picture she was unhappy with. this is such a SMALL thing and a simple courtesy most people extend to their friends who sometimes end up as subjects of their photos. so who cares if she saved in step in not asking! when my friends come over i don't make them ask if it's ok to come inside, if it's ok to sit down, if it's ok to use the bathroom ...

just wondering, did you ask if it was ok if you take her picture? or have someone else take her picture with your camera? i think it's more reasonable to think that she would perhaps not want her picture taken, than it is to think that you wouldn't allow someone to delete a picture of themselves from your camera. so if there was a place where permission should have been asked (ethically not legally), that's probably where it should have happened.

 

[table1349]

One time I had a bit too much to drink at a party and nodded off on the couch in a rather embarrassing way. Somebody took a photo of it and posted it on Facebook, which made me furious. Ever since then, I take no chances; I have definitely grabbed friends’ cameras and deleted photos they had taken of me. I’m not saying it’s a very polite thing to do, but I don’t really care what anybody thinks of me for doing it. I’d rather be perceived as doing something a bit impolite and apologize for it later than to have a picture of myself posted on the internet alongside pictures of people who are acting like idiots. I’m not uptight in “real life”, so I usually don’t care how goofy people want to act in their private lives and I act goofy myself, but if you don’t proactively manage your online image, then it can reflect poorly on you if you’re a professional. I wish it weren’t so, but that’s the world we live in today.

Spoken like a true DIVA!

 

[Steve5D]

Honest to God, I don't really see a problem here.

The OP didn't take the photo. The person who should be offended is the person who took the photo of the woman who deleted it.

The only way this could be morally wrong is if we all shared the same morals about deleting photos we didn't take.

Fat freakin' chance, that...

 

[imagemaker46]

I hand my camera to people when I'm at parties with friends and they shoot all kinds of stuff, some of it is really nice, a lot is pretty funny, and in the mean time I'm having a good time, and so is everyone else. When I get it back I delete pictures that I are really crap. The pictures don't go anywhere and I certainly don't lose sleep over it. Enjoy life people and if other people don't, well, too bad for them. I don't see a problem with anyone deleting photos of themselves, they have reasons, and I don't care what they are.

 

[snerd]

One time I had a bit too much to drink at a party and nodded off on the couch in a rather embarrassing way. Somebody took a photo of it and posted it on Facebook, which made me furious. Ever since then, I take no chances; I have definitely grabbed friends’ cameras and deleted photos they had taken of me. I’m not saying it’s a very polite thing to do, but I don’t really care what anybody thinks of me for doing it. I’d rather be perceived as doing something a bit impolite and apologize for it later than to have a picture of myself posted on the internet alongside pictures of people who are acting like idiots. I’m not uptight in “real life”, so I usually don’t care how goofy people want to act in their private lives and I act goofy myself, but if you don’t proactively manage your online image, then it can reflect poorly on you if you’re a professional. I wish it weren’t so, but that’s the world we live in today.

Spoken like a true DIVA!

LOL! I was going to say it might pay to be a little more careful in grabbing peoples cameras and deleting photos. Beatdowns can hurt!!

 

[Gavjenks]

By way of analogy, would it be "unethical" for you to throw away a piece of furniture that you built with your own hands? Or would you need to get permission from Home Depot, where you were renting your table saw from when you made it?

 

[table1349]

Except the analogy doesn't fit the OP's situation. In the OP's situation the person that threw away the photo was neither the owner of the camera nor did they take the picture.

Since you like furniture lets try it a little closer to the OP's situation. Is it unethical if you have some friends come over to your house, you invite them to sit in you furniture, to use it and then have one of those people throw away one of those pieces of furniture just because they happen to work at the Textile plant that made the fabric on that particular piece of furniture and they don't like that particular pattern? Perhaps it is even a pattern that they designed but now they do not like it. Perhaps they don't even throw the chair away, they just rip the upholstery off and throw it away since it came from their Textile mill.

 

[Gavjenks]

Hm for some reason I thought I read she took the picturew. Fair enough. Although it also doesn't say she DIDNT take the picture. That sort of matters, but not in the way to OP is saying. The other random friend that took it would be the one to be annoyed if anyone, I think, if it wasn't herself.

 

[pixmedic]

Hm for some reason I thought I read she took the picturew. Fair enough. Although it also doesn't say she DIDNT take the picture. That sort of matters, but not in the way to OP is saying. The other random friend that took it would be the one to be annoyed if anyone, I think, if it wasn't herself.

I thought she deleted a photo that was taken OF her by someone else, that was NOT the OP. It was just the OP's camera.
thats how I read it anyway.

either way, if she didn't want her picture taken, or she just didnt like it, or whatever....i dont think it matters much. not to me anyway.
I think if she felt better, for whatever reason, with the photo deleted, then I think it is worth more to graciously allow her a free pass for deleting it, than getting upset over
her deleting a photo some else "technically" owned.
her feeling better that the picture was deleted is worth more to me than whatever candid photo someone snapped of her.
I honestly hope the day never comes where a picture is worth more to me than a persons feelings. It would be a sad day indeed.