Rights.....

" A picture of love, hope and sunshine ", by Lill and Liza, aged 4 and 5

....and wrongs

A subject much discussed in most countries of the world has been that of the clients' rights if photographed and filmed, especially children's rights, and the need for their informed consent.

The other evening I was Google-alerted to a short video that had just gone up on the Internet, a conductor and a young adult, or a teenager maybe, working together. I recognised the conductor at once and emailed her to say " Well done. What lovely clips of you on YouTube. And what an amazing room you have to work in too." She wrote back, saying "That's really funny that you saw me on YouTube, because I didn't tape anything. How very bizarre.... Thanks anyways!"

It seems that this video was probably made and posted on the net without her permission, pPerhaps posted by a carer or parent who was present in the session or by the client herself. The conductor didn't even know!

No harm done here, and no bad feelings, but it set me asking, like I have done so many times over the years, "Don't we conductors have any rights. Can't our feelings be taken into consideration?"

I have worked in a lot of centres around the world, and with families and there have been a lot of photographs and films taken as I work. Not one person ever asked my permission to use them publicly, although subsequently I too have been surprised once or twice while surfing the Net to come across myself on the websites of centres .

I have written about the use of photographss in CE documentation before. Not only is it important to have the permission of the client, it is also important to ask the conductor concerned whether the photograph or video in question is a true representation of what the article or website is describing., and then request formal permission for its use.