[Organizers] Re: photography policy?

I have one anecdote to share that may be instructive. I was teaching a photography course at a dance week titled, “How to Take Dance Photos That Don’t Suck.” It was one woman’s bad luck to also be at the dance week, as she was adamantly and vociferously opposed to being photographed, under any circumstance. She was profoundly protective of her privacy, and felt violated that all these people with cameras were lurking about. This became a great learning opportunity in my class to explore issues of permission, implied and explicit, and how to be conscientious and ethical when you photograph a public event. At a dance week, it’s a manageable situation. You get to know everyone in the camp. We all knew who not to photograph, and to delete photos that she was inadvertently in. I can’t say she was completely satisfied, but we did what we could. The porous, public events are more challenging. Back when I was doing the Contradance Calendar I would generally connect with the organizer before showing up at a dance. If there were children in a dance line, I always found a parent to get an OK before I shot. I tracked down anyone who was going to be prominently shown in the calendar to get their permission and their address, so I could send them one. But my situation is unique. I was often invited to photograph at dance events. I’m not casually shooting the way most people are. I remember being startled in the early aughts, at a dance in New Hampshire, and seeing so many people with high end DSLRs taking photos. This was a photographic subject I had had to myself for decades. No longer. I feel my survey of the scene is complete, and I don’t shoot much at dances anymore. I’ll be interested to see where the collective consensus ends up on this subject. Doug Plummer