Legalities of public display

[chris_raney1]

<p>I have a question that no doubt several of you wiser heads can answer. I'm a middle school teacher, and this past year I'm been lending my talents in capturing images of the kids for our school's website. All parents are required to sign a media release form at the beginning of each school year in order for their child's image to appear in school publications, newspapers, or even on television.</p>

<p>Now that school is over for the year, I'm still scanning my negatives and Photoshopping the images. I've emailed a number of the pictures to some of my students, those whose email address I have.</p>

<p>To get to my question: Would it be legally permissible for me to create a folder in either Myspace or on Flickr and post other students' pictures? (I don't have log-in access to the school's website). For those students who will receive word-of-mouth that their images are floating out there in the Cloud...could there be a backlash on me, legally? Or since I'm not benefiting financially from this (not even being reimbursed for film) am I allowed to post whatever tasteful images I wish?</p>

[thomas_sullivan]

<p>I'm not a lawyer, nor have I any actual experience with a situation like this....but my gut tells me that it depends on exactly how the media release form from the school is worded...and how your contract with the school is worded regarding work such as this. You were actually doing work for the school, the way you worded the above, so all conditions regarding the school and the release form have to be met. If you didn't give away your copyright to the pictures in any of those papers, then you can do as you please with the pics.</p>

<p>That's just my opinion though.....I'd personally contact a lawyer if I were you. </p>

[jyoungman]

<p>Why are you asking a question about the law without even stating the country your school is in?</p>

[tim_ludwig2]

<p>Chris,</p>

<p>Your school system is bound to be represented by a law firm. Seems to me that this would be you proper source of information on such an important issue. It may even be free to you since it would likely come under part of their retainer/fee structure to the school district.</p>

<p>Tim</p>

[chris_raney1]

<p>Oh, sorry, James. I'm in the U. S. of A.</p>

[bob_sunley]

<p>First off talk to the admin at the school or division. The release form is bound to be to the school, not you.</p>

<p> </p>

[charlesheckel]

<p>Yes, there can be a backlash. Sites like Myspace and Facebook have been used for cyberbullying, and some parents are very sensitive to the issue. If your middle school has its own web site, it's possible you could post the pictures there, but they can be copied by anyone to more questionable sites, and you're right back where you started.<br>

Personally, I wouldn't do it, and I wouldn't give any students pictures without parental permission in the first place. Your district office should have specific policies in this regard, your principal should know about them, and your union rep should be able to keep you out of trouble. </p>

[mark_starr]

<p>I would decide how much your job at the school is worth to you - they really frown on any teacher putting any child's image anywhere other than where you have permission to do so at my wife's school - schools are very sensitive to that, so I would be quite careful before doing anything like that - just my two cents worth-<br>

Mark</p>

[dave_wilson1]

<p>Chris, I teach middle school too and take some pics for them. I have a few thoughts here. First I would only upload pics over to a disk and hand to the administrator. I post absolutely nothing, and think you should do the same. I shoot, dump my pics onto a laptop, save to a folder, transfer to disk and hand to the principal to handle. Second, NO kids ever will have access to my email, facebook (as I have none) or any of the like. Also whatever legal mumbo-jumbo has to go on, let the person with the images, like the administrator, figure it out and deal with it, that's what they get paid the big-bucks for. Just my 2 cents, keep it hands off. Also, as for summer editing, make a disk and drop it at the school.</p>

[chris_raney1]

<p>Good advice from everyone, thank you. And yes, the way I'm doing it now is handing a flash drive to an administrator who then edits out whatever she thinks is inappropriate (mostly of kids she doesn't like!). From there the drive is handed off to the tech-guy who uploads them to the school's flickr account. So yeah, the things wind up in the public domain anyway.</p>

<p>Technically my fingerprints have been washed clean, though by my request the tech guy has listed my name on those various files where the pictures reside. Be damned if I'll allow anyone else to claim credit for my work! Other than this I have never displayed any student image on my personal site.</p>

<p>I only wish the kids could get to my named files without having to wade through dozens of files containing hundreds of unedited, pedestrian uploads from my colleagues. Why should I be humble, here?</p>

[john_h.1]

<blockquote>

<p>To get to my question: Would it be legally permissible for me to create a folder in either Myspace or on Flickr and post other students' pictures?</p>

</blockquote>

<p>The answer, as to your own private showings, depends on whether you are acting within the scope of employment or independently and whether you are using the images in a way that amounts to misappropriating their likenesses. You do not provide enough information to analyze those situations. It doesn't matter in the sense that you should really be asking yourself if you should do so even if it is legal.</p>

<blockquote>

<p>Be damned if I'll allow anyone else to claim credit for my work!... ...I only wish the kids could get to my named files without having to wade through dozens of files containing hundreds of unedited, pedestrian uploads from my colleagues. Why should I be humble, here?</p>

</blockquote>

<p>You are a teacher and have a captive audience of children and your concern, in this instance, is not providing the school with content but self aggrandizement. The passages above make that abundantly clear and, quite frankly, its creepy. A school of children is not your own personal photographic playground and show and tell. While the parents may know you and enjoy receiving images of their children, their attitude may change quickly if it were known you are using children to pursue your own private gallery and publicity. The fact that you apparently haven't run this by the administration suggests that you are not oblivious to all of this.</p>

<p>If you want credit for your own work involving children brought to you... open a studio.</p>

<p> </p>

[chris_raney1]

<p>You're quite a harsh critic, John. My original interest was in providing an online gallery where the kids could have access to their pictures without having to dig through so many awful snapshots that clutter our site's photo stream. As it is now you have to click on a handful of links before you get to my work; the kids are getting lost in their attempts. I'll ask the tech-guy at school if he can add a specific link to take searchers directly to my galleries.</p>

<p>I'm obviously guilty of not being humble about my work, certainly compared to the unedited, often blurry and out-of-focus pictures that are uploaded to the school's site willy-nilly. My work has not only been appreciated by administration but enthusiastically embraced by them. For inner-city kids whose previous photographs have been only those snaps taken by throw-down, digital toys or by shopping mall hacks with their diffusion lenses my pictures are--quite honestly--remarkable by comparison.</p>

<p>As far as the <em>creepiness</em> goes? Gee, I don't know. My purpose isn't to market photos to anyone. Actually, it's for a rejuvenation in film photography after a many-year long hiatus and a radical switch from large-format, urban squalor work to small format, street-photography. I was very much involved in Houston's amateur photography scene years ago, and was both a supporter of and participant in FotoFest. I'm re-honing my skills to return to the fray.</p>

<p>As far as the studio idea? No thanks. Other than having sold the occasional print in the past--and perhaps will do so again in the future--the idea of hanging up a shingle and doing studio work would only put me off my beloved hobby. </p>

[Jerry_]

<p>For the sake of comparison, if you owned and operated a Pizza restaurant (and were not a teacher,) you would be most happy if a rich-man or woman came to a storefront next door and operated a 'free pizza' restaurant because they have a hobby (making pizza) and too much money in the bank?</p>

<p>By your hobby *giving away* photographs of your students, you are taking away someone's income in the neighborhood. That photographer someone is paying taxes on income and property, but having you *give away* what he or she is trying to sell in the course of doing business, is not going to make a living.<br>

Will they?</p>

<p>Inner-city kids that can afford a computer (to check the school's image pages) but can't afford a visit to a photographer, if a decent photo is needed, is a bit confusing on my part....</p>

<p> </p>

[john_h.1]

<p>I'm not sure how Jerry's comparison fits here and, even if it does, no one owes pro photographers or pizza restaurants any a living, but if the school is willing to give you a platform to fulfill your photographic ego with an appropriately managed school site, then that is much better that what you proposed.</p>

 

[craig_shearman1]

<p>Not a lawyer and haven't seen the release, but it most likely give the school permission to use photos of the students, not you. If I were you I would not post any pictures of your students anywhere except through the school.</p>

[chris_raney1]

<p>I agree, John and Craig. And thank <em>most</em> everyone for the sage advice. And again, yes, most of the responses here have only confirmed my original assumption that display rights would necessarily be retained by my school district.</p>

<p>As far as Jerry's somewhat incoherent comments go: if my hobby dissuades some of the kids from shelling out their precious few dollars to a mall hack for fuzzy, miserable-looking photographs, then I'm damned happy to put a small dent in his/her business.</p>

[Spearhead]

<blockquote>

<p>By your hobby *giving away* photographs of your students, you are taking away someone's income in the neighborhood.</p>

</blockquote>

<p>Why is it anybody's concern what someone else is making? When I climb on the roof and patch it, I'm not thinking about the roofer. When I print my own photos, I'm not thinking about mpix. If the photographer can't compete with what is being given away, then their service isn't worth it. That's the way life works.</p>

<p>On the other hand, if we had a traditional Marxist government, it would work that way. But we don't.</p>

[charlesheckel]

<p>I taught for over thirty years and in the days before creeping paranoia I gave students pictures of themselves which greatly enhanced their self-image and productivity, so I know exactly what you're doing, Chris--more power to you!</p>

[tompickering]

<p>"All parents are required to sign a media release form at the beginning of each school year in order for their child's image to appear in school publications, newspapers, or even on television."<br /> <br /> "Required" is an interesting word in this context. If I'm "required" to do something like sign away the right to privacy for my kids in order to avail myself of a public service (like school attendance) then I have to wonder how valid that "consent" actually is. Sounds like a lawyers dream come true arguing that one.</p>

<p>That being said I dont see what the teacher is doing as being either "self agrandisement" or "snatching bread from a starving photographers mouth". Guy want a website with pictures from his work on it. No big deal.</p>