I dream of rain

Don't take pictures at talent shows.

On April 30th, the local elementary school held a talent show. I was begged to attend by one of the performers, and being very good friends with her family, I naturally agreed. My next door neighbor's daughter was also performing.

I attended, and being a general shutterbug, took tons of photos of everyone, handed out some business cards, and posted everything on my web site like I do with all of my non-commissioned work. All above-board.

So. Today (May 20th), I get a call from the principal of the school. Apparently a parent found my pictures and complained. Some back and forth later, I agreed to take down (but not delete) the photos while the principal seeks further guidance.

There are a few things I should state for the record:

• I was invited by the parents of one of the children performing. The same parent gave my business cards to the organizer of the event. It's though this card that the principal got my number.
• It was a public event, with no expectation of privacy, with tickets sold to the general public.
• I paid for a ticket. And refreshments.
• There was no notice of any sort of rules relating to photography.
• There were many, many, many cameras present.
• Someone was filming the event and was selling DVDs of the performances (and was announced by the Master of Ceremonies!).
• All names, etc posted alongside the photos were taken from the program guide given to everyone attending.
• I handed out business cards to several parents.
• As the photographer, these photographs are my property.

I will follow the law here -- But there's a pretty big difference between the law and what unhappy parents may think. If it was "illegal" to post them, I'll keep them taken down. If they were "illegal" to take to begin with, I'll erase them.