Course rules
Every lesson points here instead of repeating itself. These are the few things we ask of you whatever you photograph. They keep people comfortable, you safe and your pictures honest.
People
- Ask first. A clear yes (a nod, a word, a message) comes before a portrait or a close frame of a person.
- A no is the end of it. If someone looks unhappy, lower the camera, say thank you and move on.
- Delete a picture if the person asks you to.
- Leave out anyone who is asleep, unwell, drunk or distressed, and anyone behind a private window. Let them pass.
- Children: photograph your own, or other children only with a parent or guardian’s clear yes. Where a lesson says adults only, it means the people you photograph for that exercise.
Places
- Stay on public paths and ask before you enter private land, shops, workplaces or someone’s home.
- Leave a place as you found it. Do not move, stage or take things that are not yours.
- Let traffic, trains and other people pass before you press the shutter.
Safety
- Tell someone your route and when you expect to be back.
- Start with daylight to spare, check the forecast, and carry water and a warm layer.
- Keep away from cliff edges, river banks, deep water and roads. No frame is worth the step.
- At dusk or after dark, scout the place in daylight first, carry a head torch and stay where others know you are.
- If a lesson asks for a long wait or a long walk, a companion or a phone call at the start and the end is part of the exercise.
Your pictures
- Your photographs stay on your own device. Only the file you choose to send goes to the critic, as the privacy notice explains.
- Nothing you make is shown to anyone else without your clear yes.