Photography laws in CH
 

Today in a cafe I noticed this exchange in between a foriegner and an old Swiss woman. The young guy was making a video/taking a picture of the food being cooked on the grill (#grillinstagram, I am guessing), then the old woman tells him off in German not to make a video or take a picture as it is forbidden. She was not working there. And she asked him to delete it and leave.

I stood nearby and found that exchange quite odd and it got me thinking. How many times I have seen people take pictures in bars, restaurants, myself included; and no one made an issue. And then I noticed this. Is it forbidden or was that just an old woman nagging for no reason? And if it is forbidden, did everyone else not get the memo?

Re: Photography laws in CH
 

First link is from the EF:

http://lmgtfy.com/?q=photography+laws+in+switzerland

Re: Photography laws in CH
 

There's this little story also... https://www.thelocal.ch/20170531/swi...-taking-photos

Re: Photography laws in CH
 

If she is not on the pictures she is just an annoying old woman.

Re: Photography laws in CH
 

Actually the reddit link is better since it has an English translation as well as linking to the official site.

https://www.reddit.com/r/photography...n_switzerland/

https://www.edoeb.admin.ch/datenschu...x.html?lang=de

https://www.edoeb.admin.ch/datenschu...x.html?lang=fr

https://www.edoeb.admin.ch/datenschu...x.html?lang=it

Re: Photography laws in CH
 

What a load of BS. (Bergün, not you blueangel :))

I agree with the law of not taking pictures of people though. To me it was always also a matter of politeness (long before there was such a law) to ask people.

A few weeks ago I went to the doctors, he's in a very quiet, boring street. A woman from accross the street took (several) pictures for obviously no touristic reasons. It was weird, I guess that's why I took notice of her. I almost told her off but decided to just turn away instead. So all she got was hair, lots of hair. ROFL.

You know what the Africans say, taking pictures is stealing a little bit of your soul (and interestingly enough healers and clairvoyants claim they can work with photos :rolleyes:). So yes, I want to decide who's handy bits of my sould moves into :msnsarcastic:

Re: Photography laws in CH
 

I confirmed with another Swiss friend. She said there is no such issue. The problem only arises if you are specifically taking a picture of a stranger and they then ask you to remove it. So, that tourist taking a picture of food being grilled was perfectly within his rights. And that old woman had nothing to complain about, as she was not even in the picture. Typical old woman just nagging.

Re: Photography laws in CH
 

If it's the only time it happened, it isn't a typical thing for an old woman to do. ;)

Re: Photography laws in CH
 

yes
no

Re: Photography laws in CH
 

If you check out photography forums, whether UK or CH, what you may or may not photograph is an eternal subject of discussions and rants.

The topic has even been before the ECJ, and lawyers on both sides of the debate are al the time trying to carve their own thing. So be careful of any advice you get from armchair experts. The topic is a minefield and what may have been true a year or two ago is no longer necessarily true now.

But that said, just following the rules of common courtesy can get you a long way. There is a difference between making somebody the topic of your picture and capturing somebody somewhere in the far background. Try to see things from the othe person's side. It's creepy to be photographed by somebody you don't know for a reason you don't know. So if at all feasible try and explain yourself and ask for permission beforehand.

Re: Photography laws in CH
 

A woman from accross the street took (several) pictures for obviously no touristic reasons.

Is "touristic reason" the only permitted reason to take pictures ?

Re: Photography laws in CH
 

I wonder how many threads about my photographic inventory sessions on future construction sites exist in the internet...

Re: Photography laws in CH
 

But.. but.. but... what if you are a private detective trying to caught some wife making an affair???? :rolleyes::D:rolleyes::D:rolleyes:

Some months ago I was at Zurich and the FLUFFIEST CORGI THAT YOU COULD IMAGINE pop out of a store to play with another dog, and while was playing I was filming it because it was amazingly fluffy, seconds later the owner of the store came out to separate the dogs and ask me if I could stop filming, thing that off course I did... but... why? :rolleyes: If I had the fluffiest Corgi on earth i would be more than glad that people film it and take some pictures :D

Re: Photography laws in CH
 

As far as I understand the laws in Switzerland, even taking photos of a specific person, in public, is no problem as long as you don't publish it (on facebook, instagram, in a book), in a way that the person is recognizable, without their permission.
Unless it's a public event, like a demonstration, or a football match, etc.
If you're on private property (for example a train station, a shop) you need the permission of the property owner.

And a fun fact, you need to pay royalties if you publish a photo of Paris at night, because of the lights on the eiffel tower.:msnsarcastic:

Re: Photography laws in CH
 

No but to me there was no reason to take photos of me and my car outside a doctor's office?

All the more reason I wouldn't want to be photographed :msnsarcastic:

The best way to find out why would have been to ask. As there were no people on the film.

That's correct.
As I'm not on FB etc. etc. I would never find out though, would I?

I don't know about Paris. The city belongs to the (French) public, so whom would I have to pay?!

To me it's a matter of circumstances. My example further up bothered me. In general I'm not extremly strict.
But: I'm also not photogenic, I think, so that's an other reason I don't like it :D

Re: Photography laws in CH
 

Well, maybe you were just in the way :P and they'll edit you out of the photo later on.

Re: Photography laws in CH
 

There will be nothing left :rofl:

Re: Photography laws in CH
 

Some places do forbid photography but there is usually a sign up to that effect so, unless the lady had seen a sign the OP had missed, there is likely no reason why he shouldn't be taking pictures.

Re: Photography laws in CH
 

I have quite a few photos of "Photographieren strengstens verboten" signs I shot in the 1960s at the border between Austria and Hungary, back then known as the Iron Curtain.

Since the barbed wire stuff was several meters east of the actual boundary line, we were also able to gleefully pee across the border, right under the periscope binoculars of the guards on the nearby watchtower.

Re: Photography laws in CH
 

you're such a man :D:rolleyes: