Photography
Overview
Photography in LRP is a compromise: on the one hand are the rights of attendees who do not wish to be photographed coupled with the impact on immersion for all players by the photographer's presence. On the other hand many players wish to enjoy a photographic record of their character and the events they attended and photographs can help to publicize, promote and improve a game. These guidelines are intended to set a balance between these compromises which we feel is appropriate for Profound Decisions events.
Rules for Photographers
These rules apply to all photographers, players and crew at our events. Tom Garnett is in charge of photography at our events. Please use photography@profounddecisions.co.uk for all inquiries about photography at our events.
Minimizing the Damage to Immersion
- Wear costume whenever you are in an IC area
- No flash photography on the IC field
- Avoid standing in player's line of sight when shooting
- If possible cover your camera to make it as unobtrusive as possible
- Do not stage shots with players on the IC field
Everyone who is taking photographs at events needs to take all possible steps to minimize the damage to immersion that their OOC presence causes. In line with the normal PD event rules, you must wear costume when you are in the IC area. In addition you should try to cover your camera if possible. Flash photography isn't permitted in the IC areas, nor is staging shots with players. If you need to use a flash or stage a shot then please do so from the OOC field.
The most important thing is to try and remain "outside the focus" of the game. If a verbal clash is occurring, then you should not be between the participants and other players; if a battle is occurring then you should be well away from the lines of combatants. This will limit the range of photographs that you can take at the event, but is a compromise that we require all photographers to make to ensure that you avoid being in the line of sight of players who are trying to roleplay while you are taking photographs.
Sale of Photographs
- Do not sell photographs outside the LRP community without the express permission of the people in the photo
Photographing at PD events is undertaken on the understanding that while you may freely sell your work within the larp community - and to their friends and family - you shall not sell photographs more widely without the explicit permission of the identifiable major subjects.
This is intended to balance the interests of photographers against the ability of participants to control how they are portrayed to the wider world. Any questions about this policy, or how it applies to specific situations, should be addressed to PD by email.
Take-down Requests
- All photographers must take reasonable steps to respect player's privacy
- You must take down any photograph that you are asked to remove by a subject in the photo
Not all participants at an LRP event are fortunate enough to be unconcerned about images of themselves dressed in costume appearing on the internet. Given the size of the game it is impossible to maintain an effective list of individuals who do not wish to be photographed, but all photographers should take reasonable steps to try to avoid photographing players they know do not wish images of them live-roleplaying to be made public.
In particular photographers must remove any image that they have published, if they are requested to do so by a participant who is identifiable in the photograph, as quickly as practical. Any photographers who do not remove photographs when requested will have their right to attend future PD events permanently revoked.
Filming
- We do not allow filming by players or outside organizations in the IC area during the hours of time-in
TV production outfits, whether commercial, student or hobby based - are not permitted to film in our IC area during time-in under any circumstances. All requests for permission to film live-roleplaying at our events will be refused.
We ask all players to refrain from filming in the IC area once the event has begun. Taking photographs can be intrusive, but It is even harder to use any form of camera to film live roleplaying without damaging the immersion for other players. Crucially it is also much harder for players to be confident that they will not be caught on film by anyone filming the event. We appreciate that some players enjoy recording portions of the event, but our primary focus is to make the event accessible to everyone who wants to roleplay.
As a result of this update, it is no longer permissible to use a go-pro camera or similar "hidden" camera at any Profound Decisions events.
Character Portraits
- All characters need to be photographed at GOD
We take photographs of characters for use in the game system. This includes allowing NPCs to more effectively locate characters they should know, allowing players to use ritual magic to identify characters and more rarely allowing us to identify players. Our photographers take these character portraits at GOD at set hours. Please look out for the times and come to GOD when you have all your costume and make-up on so you can be photographed. We will not use these photographs for any publicity purposes without your explicit permission.
Crew Photographers
- There are two crew photographers at our events
- Our crew photography department allocates photography slots for battles and skirmishes
Beth Dooner and Tom Garnett attend our events as part of our crew to take photographs. Their goal is to produce photographs of the event to help promote and improve the game. We do not require any further crew photographers at this time.
If you wish to take photographs on a battle or skirmish then you must email the crew photographers to see if a slot is free.
Player Photographers
- All other photographers attending the event must purchase a ticket
Everyone who has purchased a ticket to attend the event is welcome to take photographs in the main IC area if they wish to do so, provided that they follow the rules for photographers at our events.
Battle and Skirmish Photography
- Slots to photograph the battles and skirmishes are allocated by our crew photographers
- Photographing a battle is not an alternative to monstering
We have chosen to limit the number of slots available for players taking to the battlefield to take photographs in an attempt to ensure that the battles and skirmishes remain as immersive as possible. If you wish to take photographs on the battlefield then please email us to request access.
Two slots will be used on most battles by our crew photographers - if they are not photographing a battle or skirmish then additional slots will become free.
Photographing a battle is not considered an alternative to monstering. If players wish to fight in a battle as their character they will still need to monster a battle as well.