[360c]

That sucks,

But ask Scott about the time he had the F50 at a concourse in Perth and some dumb bitch comes along and starts opening the doors etc looking like she was about to take a seat in it, then when he tells her politely to 'f-off' she then starts with the barrage of perfectly acceptable questions like "what do you do for a living" etc.   If i hadnt seen it with my own eyes i wouldnt have believed it.

I remember it well. Sadly it happens far too often and I'm not sure what makes people act like that.
I was always taught to be polite and respectful of other peoples property and never ask a stranger personal questions. When did common manners get thrown out the window?

[360c]

Yes, a vehicle displayed in the public domain is fair game.  How far you wish to push it is up to you.  A photograph of the front and rear is probably reasonable. Macro close ups of the badge is probably a little presumptuous unless at a car show.  The registration plate technically doesn't belong to the owner, if you look at the contract you only have the "Rights to display the plate" but it's probably not a good idea to argue this point on the side of the road!  Photographing cars in a private area, such as in a garage is a big no no unless you have permission. Although you own the copyright to these images, you may not use them for commercial purposes even if photographed in the public domain without permission.  You could however add them to an on line album for personal use.

My question to you would be what purpose would the photographs serve?  If it is simply to keep a record or the car then photograph away. If its to actually build a folio of professional images then I would suggest you do a deal with the owner as others have suggested.  The Internet is littered with car sightings at shows and in the street and they all look the same.

Spot on and good advice for the young fella asking the original question.

[gsteiner]

Spot on and good advice for the young fella asking the original question.

Thanks everyone for the responses, helped a lot with getting a better view at it all, I guess as long as my intentions are not to make money from the images and the shots for personal use and a hobby thing then its fine.. becomes a different story when I use the images to promote or sell something. If i do have this intention Il be sure to ask the owner for permission prior to shooting

Thanks everyone once again

[mondi]

Yes, a vehicle displayed in the public domain is fair game.  How far you wish to push it is up to you.  A photograph of the front and rear is probably reasonable. Macro close ups of the badge is probably a little presumptuous unless at a car show.  The registration plate technically doesn't belong to the owner, if you look at the contract you only have the "Rights to display the plate" but it's probably not a good idea to argue this point on the side of the road!  Photographing cars in a private area, such as in a garage is a big no no unless you have permission. Although you own the copyright to these images, you may not use them for commercial purposes even if photographed in the public domain without permission.  You could however add them to an on line album for personal use.

My question to you would be what purpose would the photographs serve?  If it is simply to keep a record or the car then photograph away. If its to actually build a folio of professional images then I would suggest you do a deal with the owner as others have suggested.  The Internet is littered with car sightings at shows and in the street and they all look the same.

Who are you and what have you done with Carl!   

[dkabab]

I'm just confused about photographing cars on the street for a portfolio....

[gsteiner]

I'm just confused about photographing cars on the street for a portfolio....

Not to promote it, just a different section on the site to share with people what I've spotted around, kind of like a collection. Definitely not the main part of the portfolio

[andecorp]

If anyone would take photos of my cars in my garage I'd flip. Out on the street though, cars and number plates are fair game and I have no problem with it.

[mondi]

If anyone would take photos of my cars in my garage I'd flip. Out on the street though, cars and number plates are fair game and I have no problem with it.

Er, how would they get in your garage in the first place, they have to get past Grizzly Adams. 

[gsteiner]

If anyone would take photos of my cars in my garage I'd flip. Out on the street though, cars and number plates are fair game and I have no problem with it.

Would never go to that extreme of trying to photograph in private property, but if out on the street a shot of an exotic would look great as it's in its 'natural habitat' sort of thing.. I'd definitely ask the owner even on the street though and of course I'd be more than happy to tell him my intentions with the photos, but most of the time they aren't around

[Kuleo0z]

As someone who does this often as a hobby I don't tend to blank out plates since my photos only really go onto Perth Car Spotting, though these are some of the guidelines I go by:

If you happen to come across something on the street and the owner is getting in or out of the car or whatever, ask if you can get a photo of it, since that's the polite thing to do, they might ask you to blank out the plates for whatever reason and you should respect there wishes.

If a car is out on the street it is far game, like other people have said before, if you don't want it photographed, don't take it out. When it comes to cars parked at residences, if it's in the drive way, close to the road I guess it's fair game but if its parked behind a gate or in a open garage you should leave it alone. If you're doing a portfolio I would stay clear of private propriety unless you've got yourself a photo shoot.

After reading through this thread I'll make sure never to use a photo for business purposes without an owners consent, I never though about doing it and I don't plan on doing it in the future, you're in for some shit if the guy suing owns a ferrari/lambo etc.