School Permissions

Since I’ve been getting back into the photo thing, I’ve had a hankering to return to my primary area of photographic expertise: sports. I’m not planning on going pro again (my body wouldn’t take it), but I thought it would be a fun activity. Since I have a high school close-by, I inquired as to what the hoops were that I’d need to jump through.

I first tried getting in touch with the athletic director. (I know! A high school with an athletic director!) After two weeks without a response, I bumped it up a notch and contacted the principal, who was kind enough to get back to me the next day. Seems that I need the A.D.’s permission (assuming I could ever get in touch with him), the permission of the coaches, and permission slips from the parents using school board approved slips.

Whoa.

Don’t get me wrong. I knew that since many activities take place on school grounds and that these activities largely involve minors that there would necessarily be some paperwork…but this was a little more than I was hoping for (not that it was entirely unexpected). I understand the need to safeguard our kids from strangers not aligned with the school, but I’m thinking the parent permission slips has the potential to be one heck of a hassle.

Let’s suppose a team has 15 players on its roster. If only 11 parents agree, what am I to do? If it’s a team sport, will I need to recognize and remove (or not photograph at all) the non-permissioned players? Would the permission have to be unanimous for a team sport? What about the opposing team? Surely their rights are about the same as the home team, do I need permission slips from them?

Personally, it’s more than I want to deal with for something that is just for fun. I think I’m going to stick with colleges and adult leagues. Getting credentialed usually isn’t nearly as big a hassle, and many times credentials aren’t necessary at all. I lose a little locational convenience, but otherwise my participation remains the same. Personally, I think it’s more of a loss for the school…they’d have gotten access to a lot of pictures from someone who learned the tricks of how to take them.