Taking a photo at the mall is against the rules....

On July 4th around 8am I was walking through the outdoor mall in my city with my Nikon D5100 when I was stopped by the shopping mall facilities manager who informed me that taking photos in the outdoor shopping center was not allowed. At the time I was stopped, I had the camera around my neck with the lens cap on. My LowePro camera bag was around my shoulder.  No photos were being taken at that moment.

That same day would be a parade and other holiday activities.  My plan was to take a few photos before the event and return later in the day to take more photos. Clearly this was not a welcome activity.

Below is an edited version of my email to the mall property manager and the reply they sent me regarding the photography policy. I removed the city name and the name of the shopping center:

I wanted to follow-up and find out if you are able to provide me with any more specific details about your photography policy. The shopping center has developed into a social hub within the City, almost like a 2nd downtown within the city. While I do understand the shopping center is private property, I would hope that the outdoor "community" spaces would be open to the same rules as you might find in any city center.

I had been a city home owner for over 10 years. I am not a professional photographer and I have never sold a photo but I do consider myself an advanced amateur photographer. I would hope noncommercial photography that highlights some of the park features or even the fountain would be encouraged and not discouraged. What better advertising can you have then members of the community wanting to share photos of your shopping center with friends or even other photographers? What I do is not much different from someone taking a photo with a camera phone and posting the picture to Facebook or Flickr.

My original plan on the 4th was to take photos of the play structures and maybe some of the "setup" for the big event and then return for the parade and take photos of the event itself. I was pretty disappointed that taking photos was against policy and decided not to return later in the day. 

If you can shed some light on what is allowed and not allowed, I would appreciate it. I would like to return again with my camera for future Shopping Mall community events, but not without a better understanding of your facility rules.

The official response:

John is correct telling you that we have a policy regarding photography on property without prior approval from Mall Management.  This is private property and we just ask people to let us know when they want to take pictures and for what purpose.  We typically never deny anyone but we just like to know in advance.

I am a little jaded over the entire thing, mostly because I was singled out at a time I wasn't even taking a photo. I was simply walking through the facility at the time I was stopped.

Going forward, I will be keeping my camera at home next time they hold a big BBQ contest or parade at the shopping center.

Sure I can get permission to take a photo before the event, but I am sure lots of people will show up with cameras phones and be left alone.

I suppose the right thing to do is always get a signed property release document, but honestly I wasn't planning to take photos I would post on anything outside of flickr.

What type of things have you experienced in situations like this?

Is it legal?

This post is inspired by a post over at the Phoblographer. When is a property release form required if you shoot places like a barn?

I am not a lawyer but I am thinking from a logic point of view. If you are standing on a public street, I think you should be able to legally take a photo of anything within your view without a property release form (assuming no people are in the shot).  My logic actually comes from Google. The Google street view camera has taken photos of almost every street, house, building and barn in America and no release forms have been signed. Clearly Google has deep pockets but some legal ground must exist in what they are doing.

So until I hear otherwise, I am taking the same approach. If I can see it from the street and I am not standing on private property then I should be able to safely take a photo of it. If a property owner asked me to stop, of course I would.

What are your thoughts?