For the vast majority of its new, minute-long advertisement, Apple, in its classic, minimalist style, refuses to include any dialogue, merely cycling through moving images of people taking photographs with their iPhones. Only towards the end—literally the last three seconds of the ad—are we, as the audience aurally addressed.
“Every day, more photos are taken with the iPhone than any other camera.”
Regardless of the truth of Apple’s statement (which, to be fair, may very well be true), it does reflect a very significant shift in the field of photography. The advertisement’s statement in itself, as well as Apple’s conscious decision to focus an entire advertising campaign on the iPhone’s camera, shows just how important camera phones have become to consumers. Granted, the popularity and pervasiveness of camera phones are not new—camera phones have been in widespread existence since the early-to-mid 2000s—however, there have been huge strides in the quality of phones’ camera over the last few years, giving some phones detachable lenses, and megapixel qualities rivaling those of DSLR cameras (digital single-lens reflex), which are often used by professional photographers.
In short, there are vastly more high quality cameras on the streets than there has ever been before, which means the laws and rules around photography—particularly photos taken with cell phones—are not only becoming more relevant, but they are evolving faster than ever.
For example, airlines have started to ban photography on board planes and some sporting events have restricted cell phone cameras. There have been recent cases, too, regarding the constitutionality of cell phone photo use—for example, in a case in Florida earlier this month, a judge deemed that police officers needed a warrant to look through an arrested person’s phone for photographs.
Even some unexpected problems have arisen from this proliferation of cameras—for example, the presence of camera phones in courtrooms have left jurors feeling threatened for their safety, and could potentially skew their abilities to make impartial decisions.
Despite these increasing complexities, however, the rules a casual photographer should follow can boil down to one generality—to use common sense. While on private property, what you can or cannot photograph is determined by the property owner, in public spaces, generally, all types of photography are allowed, and no one can force you to delete a photograph already taken. That said, ask permission before snapping a photo of someone’s child, and try not to partake in any voyeuristic activities. For now, it may be technically legal, but that shouldn’t be an excuse to be creepy.
Check out this article by the ACLU for more of the basic rights of a photographer.