Hi Gail,
I just struggled through this issue a few weeks ago. My first suggestion
is that if you or your museum is a member of AAM, contact their
Information Center and ask them for help and resources. Wanting to know
what their standards or advice might be, I contacted them and received
an unbelievable wealth of information from them in response. 

My research concluded that the flashes from flash photography are really
not as much of a conservation concern as they were once thought to be.
Seems like many of the "no flash photography" policies in museums
stemmed from the time when flash bulbs were still the norm - the ones
that had a tendency to explode. You can see how that situation would
pose a threat to the collections on exhibit. Certainly, though, it
should still be a consideration for especially fragile items or if you
have zillions of visitors each year. 

The biggest issue I came across that might suggest a photography ban is
that of copyright.  If you have items on exhibit that your museum does
not own copyright or reproduction rights to, you may not want to allow
anyone to take photos of them.  Plus, I understand that technically, if
a visitor takes a photo in a gallery, the photo can actually be
copyrighted. They are "original" works created by the visitor. (though
the number of visitors who would realize or pursue this must be
negligible)  Remember to consider how many of the items/exhibits you
have are on loan. If they do not belong to the museum, the museum most
likely does not have reproduction rights. 

Another thought is that some people might actually take photos in the
galleries, then turn around and sell these images to travel guides or as
postcards. Although it doesn't happen often, it has happened. At that
point, there are issues of potential misrepresentation of the museum,
and you risk losing control of how your museum is represented. 

Yet another consideration might be security. It's also possible that
"regular" visitors could be scoping out the museum and taking photos to
plan for a future theft or other devious act. Sounds cynical, but again,
it has been known to happen.

Can you tell this topic is fresh on my mind? :) 

Here's what our Collections Committee (the photo policy is part of our
overall collections policy) and Board decided. We will allow photography
without flash, but no flash photography, no tripods, and no videotaping
at all. But, we will post signs near the doors of each exhibit gallery
that say photos taken at the museum may not be used for commercial
purposes. We also enforce no photography at all for special exhibits
where copyright is a major concern. For example, we have a small
temporary gallery where currently we have an exhibit of a local artist's
watercolors. We're more stringent about no photography there, and have
appropriate signage posted. I admit, though, that having different
policies in different galleries is difficult to enforce. 

Of course, commercial photographers are a whole other ball game.

Hope my ramblings have helped some. Contact me off list if I can be of
further help!
Cristin J. Waterbury
Registrar/Collections Manager
Wisconsin Maritime Museum


-----Original Message-----
From: Museum discussion list [mailto:[log in to unmask]] On
Behalf Of Gail Kana Anderson
Sent: Wednesday, January 26, 2005 4:35 PM
To: [log in to unmask]
Subject: Photographs in Galleries

Hello,

I would like some feedback on whether cameras should be allowed in
museum
galleries.  In a day where flashes are no longer required, have museum's
relaxed their policy of not allowing photographs (since the flash is no
longer a conservation threat) or do most museums maintain a "no
photographs
allowed" policy?  

Could you please share with me your experiences and policy at your
museum?

Gail 


Gail Kana Anderson
Assistant Director/Curator of Collections
Fred Jones Jr. Museum of Art
The University of Oklahoma
410 W. Boyd St.
Norman, OK 73019
t. 405.325.3272; f. 405.325.7696

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