Photography

That “No Photography Allowed” Policy

Abe Olandres Editor-in-chief July 14, 2010 · 2 min read

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This has happened to me and friends on many occasions and I know a lot of you have experienced this too but what’s with the “No Photography Allowed” policy in a lot of malls, parks and streets nowadays?

You can’t go around GreenBelt and shoot pictures without being confronted by security. We used to walk the streets of The Fort and take pictures but immediately be stopped by roaming guards asking for permit. Stroll around Salcedo park and taking photos is also a no-no.

Early today, we went around the Mall of Asia open grounds to take pictures of debris and fallen trees and we were stopped by roving guards asking us to delete all the photos we took.

I know it’s private property and they got all the right what they want visitors to do or not do. Besides, most of the time, it’s the huge dSLR-type of cameras they don’t normally allow.

Nevertheless, I kinda think Metro Manila is not very photographer-friendly (or tourist-friendly, for that matter) city.

So aside from getting that customary permit, others resort to some sort of guerrilla tactics:

Bringing sub-compact cameras that are not as conspicuous as dSLRs but take almost the same photo quality.
Bring a second empty flash/SD card and swap it with the original just before the security comes up to you and ask you to delete the photos. You can always tell them you’re shooting blanks.
Hit and run. Take photos as fast as you can and move around the area to avoid being spotted.

What do you usually do when you’re in this situation?

Why do malls and parks in Metro Manila often prohibit photography?

The article states it is private property, so owners have the right to set rules for visitors.

What type of cameras do security guards usually target?

Security guards normally disallow huge dSLR-type cameras.

What guerrilla tactic does the article suggest for taking photos without being caught?

Bring a second empty flash or SD card and swap it before security asks you to delete photos.

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Abe Olandres

Editor-in-chief

Abe is the founder and Editor-in-Chief of YugaTech with over 20 years of experience in the technology industry. He is one of the pioneers of blogging in the country and is considered by many as the Father of Tech Blogging in the Philippines.

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138 Comments

Maye · 16 years ago

Hit and run! Works all the time. :) hehehe

jason · 16 years ago

The Petronas Tower base shopping mall prohibits taking pictures inside.

lolipown · 16 years ago

@MarkAnt
How about a 4/3rd?

MarkAnt · 16 years ago

You could used GoPro HD Hero for taking great photos without sacrificing quality but not DSLR like form factor! :)

lolipown · 16 years ago

@nexusboy
The Philippines isn’t the only nation that’s hostile to SLR owners. The UK and some US states are quite hostile (in the UK it’s illegal to take a picture of cops).
For some hindsight, check out Photography is Not a Crime: http://carlosmiller.com/

As for MOA, yeah it’s really the most unfriendliest place for an SLR owner.

@BungeeJack
“They are instructed to do so.” While I agree, most of the time, they’re just asshats.

nexusboy · 16 years ago

Ayala properties have roaming security guards apprehending PEOPLE using DSLR in taking photos of the buildings and landscape. They approached us and ask if we have PERMIT from the admin. they said TAKING PHOTOS of the buildings is prohibited for this simple reason: PRIVATE PROPERTY. watdafreak?!?! we have to secure permit daw, it only takes a few minutes, and for FREE.

i’m inside a private property, Ayala Business Park in this case, if they don’t want their buildings shot with DSLR, they should’ve just covered it with CLOTH! only in the Philippines talaga!

Joshua · 16 years ago

This is another minus on tourism…

alex · 16 years ago

i’ve experienced that a lot of times, once i was in trinoma i asked the guard why it’s prohibited to take pics and he said, “baka kasi gayahin yung design ng mall.”

i was like wtf??

spycampinoy · 16 years ago

hahaha ……pag foreigner di nila sinisita…. mga tol bili na lang kayo spycam….spypen etc. spy gadgets kung gusto nyo mag photo shoot or video shoot sa mga malls…. as far as i know walang laws na nagbabawal mag photo shoot …. praning lang ang mga nag-uutos sa mga guards ng malls Xd

roan carl · 16 years ago

just shoot the guards with sig p229 hehehe..
kidding aside I even used videocam inside moa,megamall,festivall,glorietta suprisingly no guard bothered me..maybe because im with my wife & 2 young kids..

Alwin · 16 years ago

I remember seeing Korean-looking guys trying to take a picture along Ayala Ave with the RCBC Tower in the background. The guard from GT Tower approached them and prohibited them from doing so. I’m assuming they are tourists, poor guys :(

I use phone camera to take pictures. That’s why I opted to have one with higher res.

Herce · 16 years ago

2007 glorietta explosion was due to Ayala negligence. That’s a fact proven by the investigation. NOT terrorism!

Stupidity is in blindly following the US on these things. Have you been to Taipei, KL, any city in China? They don’t have such stupidity since they are not US lapdogs.

The US is ruining itself with all the trumped up fear, it is sad that GMA followed Bush so blindly. Hopefully our new President will take a different path.

IC DeaDPiPoL · 16 years ago

@MSDS

Are there any proofs that a group of evil cameras caused that explosion?

marvin · 16 years ago

Photos should be allowed . Its just photos anyway!

MSDS · 16 years ago

maybe for security purposes…
Remember the 2007 Glorietta explosion…

http://en.wikipedia.org/wiki/2007_Glorietta_explosion

John Ray Cabrera · 16 years ago

i noticed two things:

when i bring DSL: sita kaagad, Legaspi garden palang facing Greeenbelt 1.

when i bring digicam: baliwala lang when taking pictures near the giant wristwatch area.

when i bring camphone: balewala lang din even inside the mall

ergo, bring a non-DSL and they won’t give you a damn.

JayEsguerra · 16 years ago

Tingin ko ayaw lang ng Ayala management ang mga “paparazzi” to protect their privacy conscious clients, especially the VIPs. I have this experience before wherein a guard politely asked me to just shoot people who belongs to our group and not to take photos of their other customers.

lawrence · 16 years ago

@abe

open grounds ng MOA dun sa likod na may view ng manila bay? that sucks. un panmn lage destination namin pra mgpcture after roaming around the mall.

I think depende din yan sa place/establishment o sa orientation ng management. callcenters have this practice since then, na kht applicant kplng ipapaiwan sa guard lht ng gadget mo (even USB drives)sa reception area palang. I was hesitant to leave my iphone back then, kaso no choice eh. but to impose this to a more public friendly places like malls is a little off. no its BS!!

Boo · 16 years ago

I usually feign a foreign accent and say “I don’t undah-stand you!” but kidding aside, they seem to go after folks with a dSLR. I’ve shot numerous times at Ayala malls using a point and shoot (Sony w300) and have never been harassed or stopped by guards. I’ve even shot at MoA earlier too.

IC DeaDPiPoL · 16 years ago

wait till someone mods a dslr camera to carry a hybrid taser/chloroform mist sprayer just to keep security at bay. XD

Winziph · 16 years ago

point shoot and run lol, maybe if photography are not allowed policy is implemented for security purposes in preventing terrorist attacks eh di okay lang siguro kung magpakuha na lang ng picture kay manong guard para siguradong picture picture lang yung habol mo hehe.

Christian Cabuay · 16 years ago

I was shooting a documentary around Manila malls in May. I was taking shots with my video camera and SLR while getting the evil eye from the guards. I assume they didn’t step up to me because they could tell I was a “tourist”. For some shots where it’s obvious I shouldn’t be taking video, I used my Kodak Zi8 and held it like a cellphone.

winner · 16 years ago

This is plain paranoia.

on a related incident, a security guard asked me to leave my iPad or any computer that i might have inside my bag because it is prohibited daw. i almost lost my bladder control upon hearing this weird rule. i argued and persisted that he allow me or else he will pay for it if somebody steal it then pumayag din. di ba karamihan ng cellphone ngayon may video capability na din? e yun hindi naman pinagbabawal dalhin sa sinehan, ang daming praning!

Teknisyan · 16 years ago

Yeah.. I see no point in prohibiting photography on malls and other public places. But say… the Senate building or the Malacanang… we all know why they apprehend people from taking pictures of those place.

I usually shoot and run mode… and just ignore them. If they apprehend you… just tell them… “Di naman yang building nyo pinipicturan ko ah!” since they cannot take the camera from you, it can be considered as thief/robbery and even a harassment. :)

btw… how the heck do you get a permit from the building owner/city hall?

Alex · 16 years ago

same topic here http://bit.ly/dAmXcG

Jose · 16 years ago

I have yet to hear about a DSLR owner being apprehended by a guard here in Baguio. Heck, people are free to roam around the malls with cameras of all sizes (as long as you’re not taking pictures of merchandise, I suppose; I was only stopped once for taking an up-close shot of a t-shirt, and even then, was asked politely by the salesperson). Guards even have the smarts to stay their poking sticks off photography equipment when inspecting my camera bag.

Cliff Rosario · 16 years ago

What a shame.. but still.. Point..Shoot..Run.. always works right.. but some of the peeps already said that other countries do allow such thing.. wonder what makes manila or other part of our country that special.. are we like N. Korea? haha.. lol…

Andre · 16 years ago

Is this even legal?

Iyan Sommerset · 16 years ago

re: no photography for “security” reasons

“Those who sacrifice liberty for security deserve neither.”

– Benjamin Franklin

10g · 16 years ago

Kawawa naman yung gwardya, naging “escape goat”
Kawawa naman yung litratista na may hawak na kamera, nawalan na ng interes sa sining na ito
Ito ba ay dahil sa uso lamang ang DSLR? or dahil mahirap nang magtiwala sa mga di mo kilala?
Sining laban sa seguridad laban sa pansariling kalayaan …whatdaf*ctory?

BungeeJack · 16 years ago

It is for security reasons. It gets intensified after 911 tragedy. Terrorists take high detailed pictures of places then plan on the attack of where to put bombs, blind spots, escape points, where guards usually situated, faces of guards (later bride for special access to places, )etc etc. Actually this precaution act of not allow people to take photos in business buildings or malls were also encouraged by the Police Force even in other countries.

For other countries, the police force is usually the one taking care of the security. They are trained to determine if they are only taking pictures for fun or have other intention (suspicious). Usually taking A LOT of wide angle pictures is an alert point to the security. but a flower pot, a few friends, a few tree won’t trigger a threat.

In philippines, the guards are the front end security everywhere we go, they are not highly trained and would really tends to be so generalize and just by saying taking pictures is not allowed or ask you to delete everything etc. As one of the comment stated. They are only instructed to do so. The true dumb ass is the one instructed them without giving enough training. =)

cris · 16 years ago

Wow, didn’t know these ah.

So maybe that adds up the “cons” of having a DSLR, that is, you’re likely to be apprehended by mall guards.

That sucks pare…

Ardz · 16 years ago

Maybe the guards think that those who have DSLRs are professional photographers, thus the need for permits. Foreigners taking pictures in malls are often tourists so the guards don’t mind them. Just bring a P&S and you’ll be fine.

Iyan Sommerset · 16 years ago

*note*

I take all/most of my photos from the street as much as possible. Aside from the nice street-level/passerby vantage point, public ground = I pay my taxes, keep your grubby hands off my pictures.

Iyan Sommerset · 16 years ago

Ayala. Was walking around just taking photos for my blog. Usual dumbfuck “bawal” guards. From that point on, I made it a point to take pictures of that building *every* time I pass it. I don’t know what the point is, these people have no logic.

If anyone wanted to, anyone could just bribe the right people and get the blueprints to their precious buildings…so what’s their point again?

frogprince28 · 16 years ago

@abeolandres Syet! As in? Akala ko sa cabanatuan lang yan. D2 nga camera phone binabawal e. Pag group pix. Hayy. Wat happend 2 pinas?

deuts · 16 years ago

Well, this is one thing maybe that I lost interest in photography–aside from the fact that maybe more and more people are lugging those big dslr’s around.

daddy joey · 16 years ago

use small but powerful micro four thirds camera or practice more your guerilla photography skills

Jojo · 16 years ago

@Francis… matagal na to. They are tolerant of the occasional “picture-picture” touristy shots and pictures where people are the main subject… but they seem to frown on people intentionally taking pictures of the mall. Especially, as described here, those with big-ass DSLRs.

Francis · 16 years ago

This is news to me since I still see some people walking around High Street and Greenbelt taking pictures at the scenic areas. Maybe something is going on behind the scenes that made Ayala implement such a thing? I don’t know but if they keep doing that then it would make it harder for food bloggers, travel bloggers, and even just people who want to keep memories in general to have a remembrance of where they’ve been…

Jojo · 16 years ago

Thing is. This policy is across several that I am aware off. Particularly Ayala Malls. I didn;t know that SM had the same thing.

Be that as it may, there must be a reason or precedent for this. So again, I ask… why?

braindead · 16 years ago

it sucks.. unlike in other cities like singapore where your free to take pictures anywhere.. how do they expect to lure in the tourists if they keep on doing this?

Migs · 16 years ago

Complain to management. Whether mall, park, whatever. If I don’t want to take the hassle during that particular day, I give them a call when I’m free. If I don’t remember, it’s no skin off of my nose. If I remember, someones nose is going to get skinned. I do it nicely of course, but firmly enough to get my point across.

A Restriction like this puts more of a burden on honest people than it does for anyone who might be doing something illicit.

asero · 16 years ago

It’s really not logical. If they allow the public to roam around the area, then everyone have the right to take photos if they want.

nexus3g · 16 years ago

we also got apprehended taking photos in Cebu Business Park (Ayala center), Asiatown IT Park and SM Cebu Mall. and the sad thing is, security personnel wont bother foreigners taking shots. DISCRIMINATION

Jojo · 16 years ago

what i want to know is… what is the logic behind the policy? Security?

sol · 16 years ago

only happened to me once when i was using my dSLR camera; what i did was ignore them and keep going, haha. i even pointed out other people that were taking pictures that they weren’t pestering, and guess what wala na silang mahirit dun.

manilamommy · 16 years ago

shoot and run! or i feign ignorance when caught, it works naman and the guards are just doing their jobs anyway so there’s no use arguing with them.

rommel · 16 years ago

there was this one time that we are shooting vids and photos for our xmas party presentation. what we did is one of my team member talked to the guard and we continue shooting. hehe after we finished shooting we just said to the guard we will go.. hhehhehe