Harassment

Harassment means repeated, unwanted communication or contact with someone that is likely to cause distress or fear. A single sharp word or one accidental photo of someone in the background is not harassment; the important words are repeated and unwanted. In media production the unwanted attention often comes through a camera rather than directly from a person.

When a camera becomes harassment

Persistent, aggressive or intimidating photography or filming can amount to harassment, even in a public place. Standing on a public pavement gives you the right to be there, but it does not give you the right to pursue someone with a lens. Imagine you are filming at a beach and one swimmer says "stop filming me" and walks away. Following them along the promenade and keeping the camera on them for several minutes is repeated unwanted attention. So is holding a reflector board across someone's path so they cannot step away while you keep filming.

Purpose and circumstances

Whether behaviour counts as harassment depends on the purpose and the circumstances, and a court decides each case. Filming a stranger twice for two seconds in a busy crowd is very different from following them for an hour, and filming a burst water main to warn people away may justify more intrusion than filming a stranger's startled reaction to a prank. Because every case is judged on its own facts, there is no simple list of shots that are always allowed.

As a media producer you should avoid persistent or intimidating behaviour when photographing or filming people. Plan your recording so that people are treated respectfully: shoot from a fixed position instead of chasing people, stop when someone clearly asks you to, and never block a person's path. Being in public does not mean a person should have to put up with repeated unwanted attention from a camera or a crew.