You can also take pics anywhere in public of children, but obviously you need to be mindful of parents wishes etc. Also if you're seen doing it a lot expect plod to pay you a visit and an article on you in the local paper!
Funny you should mention that as I've just had that problem in Gloucester Park of all places. Obviously it's carnival time, and the funfair, so the park is swarming with kids, including a group having their faces painted which is always a photogenic subject.
Being mindful etc., I got permission off the parents (even offered to email them copies) but that didn't prevent one of the rent-a-walkie-talkie mob from arriving, and "banning" me from taking pictures. I politely refused and continued snapping. Next one of the organisers arrived and told me that photography was forbidden! I enquired how, given that this was an event freely open to the public in a public place and that there were no notices indicating that photography was not allowed. The response was "it's because of the children" to which my response was "so?". I then reminded both of them what the law says about taking pictures of people in public places, and also pointed out that I'd obtained prior permission - even though there's no legal requirement to do so.
Clearly, they were unhappy with this as the security guard told me that he would escort me to his portacabin and confiscate my camera, whereupon he became unhappier still when I chuckled and told him he'd be breaking the law if he tried. He asked for ID and, although I didn't have to, I told him my name only - he then insisted that "photographers must carry ID to prove they're a photographer"...my response was simply "don't be silly, my camera demonstrates that I'm a photographer. Have you checked the ID of the hundred's of people snapping away with their smartphones?".
At this point two PCSO's arrived who were a little more switched on, to the extent that they agreed he couldn't touch my kit but that they thought taking pictures of people in a park without permission was "a grey area". I remarked that it might be "grey" to you, but it's perfectly black and white to me...there's no law prohibiting anyone from taking pictures in a public place and that no one - member of the public, "security" guard, or even a PCSO - does not have the right to stop me taking pictures, see the images, or make me delete them. Neither does a uniformed officer unless they have very specific grounds to do so.
By then even the watching parents were chortling away and lo, as if by magic, two of Gloucestershire's finest plods arrived and confirmed what I'd said. One did attempt to claim that I could be arrested for a breach of the peace as I might be inciting a riot if one of the parents got stroppy - I asked him if that's what he meant to say, or did he really mean that he'd arrest the stroppy parent for assault on a citizen going about a perfectly legitimate social activity?
Anyhow, enough ranting. It's just frustrating that people in the security industry, PCSO's, and even the police themselves, aren't fully aware of the law and that I have to go through this palaver almost every time I try to hone my street photography skills. And, even though I used common sense, the security guard could've done the same and stopped making an arse of himself just by checking if the parents were okay with what I was doing. He didn't really help his cause either when, after the coppers had gone, he told me he was "a professional photographer"!
Needless to say, that comment is still making laugh now.
So no article in the local paper, but I have got a letter ready to email to the Chief Constable asking her to ensure that the force are brought up to speed on the law.
