Don’t shoot! Don’t shoot! New rules for a world full of photographers

Everyone’s got a camera now. Any place, any time can turn into a photo shoot. Here’s how to stay classy on both sides of the lens

Seen Mona Lisa? No, not the painting in the Louvre – the flower-seller at the Maha Kumbh who unwillingly found herself in the public eye because hundreds of devotees decided to capture her “amber-eyed, dusky beauty”. Were you at the Coldplay concert? Even if you weren’t, clips of that couple having a cute moment there probably showed up on your feed. Last year, Moo Deng videos became so popular, the pygmy hippo began to be harassed by tourists at her Thailand zoo. See where we’re going with this? In a world where everyone has a camera, it’s getting hard to draw boundaries on what’s OK to shoot and share. Experts offer advice on setting boundaries on both sides of the camera.

Be polite and ask for permission before you take someone’s picture. They are doing you a favour. (ADOBE STOCK)

Don’t just shove a camera into a person’s face. (ADOBE STOCK)

Paul Halliday says it helps to maintain physical and emotional distance from one’s subject. (ADOBE STOCK)

Just because someone snapped your picture or video, doesn’t mean they can use it for any purpose. (ADOBE STOCK)

You can’t escape being papped all the time, in places such as gyms, salons, and concerts. (ADOBE STOCK)