Permits to shoot at parks -- Los Angeles

poker · March 10, 2009

When I got married years ago, some photographers told me that they had permits to shoot at parks. I was told there was some type of annual fee.

8 years later, I'm looking for this special permit and I'm being told it doesn't exist.

I was referred to an office that deals with photography and filming at city parks. I would make the reservation with them but have to pay the fees to FilmLA, http://www.eidc.com/.

It can cost $75 to $200 depeding on the project size.

Anyone have insight on this?

Thanks.

P.S. I'm referring to the situation of bringing a bride and groom to a park to take photos and sometimes with a wedding party, shooting for business.

Art Scott · March 10, 2009

poker wrote:

When I got married years ago, some photographers told me that they had permits to shoot at parks. I was told there was some type of annual fee.

8 years later, I'm looking for this special permit and I'm being told it doesn't exist.

I was referred to an office that deals with photography and filming at city parks. I would make the reservation with them but have to pay the fees to FilmLA, http://www.eidc.com/.

It can cost $75 to $200 depeding on the project size.

Anyone have insight on this?

Thanks.

P.S. I'm referring to the situation of bringing a bride and groom to a park to take photos and sometimes with a wedding party, shooting for business.

After nearly 30yrs of dong just what you describe i have yet to have a police officer tell me I needed a permit.....however if you go to your cities permit office you will more than likely find that you need a permit to mow your lawn or wash your car in your driveway or have a cookout in your back yard and you may find you need at least $1m woth of liability insurance.........the Insurance is not a joke andit is really cheap for a day or even a week.......in relation to an accident..................

20DNoob · March 10, 2009

From what I've been able to glean from a few other forums is so long as your not breaking out any light stands and soft boxes you should be ok. Maybe a assistant with a reflector would be about as far as I'd push it. For the other stuff someone might come along and trip over some cords, that's were you'd get hosed.

These days it seems all of the municipalities/state gov. are strapped and will do damn near anything to get more scratch out of us. If they say no, get it in writing from them and carry a copy in case anyone does give you static.

poker · March 10, 2009

With the power of Goolge and the right search terms, I have located the 1 year permit for L.A. parks and beaches.

http://parks.lacounty.gov/Parkinfo.asp?URL=cms1_033457.asp&Title=For%20the%20Wedding%20Planner

It really depends on who you speak doesn't it? I spoke to three different city offices and none of them knew of this.

Yes, liability insurance is very important. You never know when you are going to trip and destroy a wedding cake worth more than your camera

Cygnus Studios · March 10, 2009

This is often one of the most talked about things on internet forums. If you are going to involve quite a bit of equipment and people, yes you need a permit. Almost every county in the country has a permit form, although the vast majority will have no clue what you are talking about when you ask for it.
If they do find it, they will be more than happy to charge you for it. Private parks on the other hand are very good at finding the permit forms and enforce them very well.
I shoot in state parks and national parks every month, and have yet to file a permit form. This was not for a lack of discussing it with the State of California and the counties of Los Angeles, Marin, Sonoma, and several others.
Most were not aware of the permit process for photographers. They all have forms ready for the film crews as these take place every day. In each case, the permits were for large film shoots involving a group of people and equipment that requires effort on the part of the park staff, C.H.P., or park rangers.
If you are not delaying the activities of park visitors, the park staff, or interrupting any traffic, you will be paying for a form that you do not need.
The wedding photographers who obtain these permits are those who use the parks and beaches on a regular basis, and these are often large and require a lot of time for the shoot.
If you are planning on sectioning off a section of Redondo or Manhattan Beach for a few hours, yes you need a permit. If you are heading off to shoot an engagement photo at Macarthur park, don't bother.

Nikolai · March 10, 2009

Really depends on what location you're taling about. Some are free, some are not. And yes, there is no such palce a a central location to get photo permits for anything, so you gotta do some legwork.
EDIT: what Steve and others said about the amount of equipment is very true...
And yes, you can get fined!

aktse · March 10, 2009

This link has some good info.

In general, the enforcement of the rules is completely subjective and the definition of "pro" varies. There are some who see the a dSLR and think "pro" and give you a ticket with a heavy fine.

And there is at least one person on dgrin who was heavily fined for shooting without a permit on the beach or a similar location within the past few months. The police (ranger, lifeguard, some official looking person in charge of the region) gave that individual a ticket and said the the fine won't be more than a few thousand. I never asked what happened and the final amount of the fine.

Do you need a permit?

If the shoot is on public ground, then the answer is mostly likely yes. However, the permit might not be easily be found, the definition of "pro" and "commerical" varies from person to person, and the chances of you getting caught might be slim...

California State Parks and various local agencies in state require permits for photography with commercial intent. If money is exchanging hands, then it's definitely commercial. If you're doing a TF (trade for -- e.g. trade for files, trade for photos) and no money is exchanged, the person in charge can (and may) fine your for shooting without a permit if they come across you.

The question becomes -- do you care if you're caught and can afford to pay the fine?

These days, especially in the LA area, there is no such thing as "free land" -- everything is owned by someone. The government owns the space or it's own by some private company/individual.

Nikolai · March 10, 2009

aktse wrote:

The question becomes -- do you care if you're caught and can afford to pay the fine?

April is a well of a good info, as always!

Just FYI: my one and only "shooting in the state park without a permit" fine was $175. I was told the second one would be steeper... but nothing more than a two-three grand...

That's LA... I heard SF is a bit tougher...

jdryan3 · March 11, 2009

Nikolai wrote:

Just FYI: my one and only "shooting in the state park without a permit" fine was $175. I was told the second one would be steeper... but nothing more than a two-three grand... That's LA... I heard SF is a bit tougher...

Nik-
Does your typical subject matter have any 'baring' on this fine for shooting in State Parks?

Nikolai · March 12, 2009

jdryan3 wrote:

Nik-
Does your typical subject matter have any 'baring' on this fine for shooting in State Parks?

Actually that one was not even hot..

What did matter is that I had two lights on the lightstands with umbrellas open and was weilding 50D with 70-200/2.8 IS attached...

Matt S · March 16, 2009

I have looked into permits here. For instance to shoot legally at Hatcher's Pass State Park (where many people do all the time for seniors and E sessions) the permit fees are pretty steep and require 1 million insurance (I think that is what I remember). I had a cover shoot for a calendar canceled because the client was not interested in paying the park system ~$500 to shoot for the day. Granted that was a little bigger event that involved an automobile. Still it was under the 3 people crew limit before you bump up to the major permit. I think most people are working on the "beg for forgiveness route". I don't know that I can, now that I have had several conversations and email contact with them about it. My biggest irk was there was a non-refundable fee just to submit the application (and not a cheap one) which they could still simply turn down.

As to going for it and just paying the fine. I would hate to have a shoot stopped with a paying client because I didn't do my homework.

Glad you found the yearly permit, I wish we had something similar. It would make life easier.

dogwood · March 16, 2009

Matt S wrote:

As to going for it and just paying the fine. I would hate to have a shoot stopped with a paying client because I didn't do my homework.

This should be your main concern. With big productions, of course you can get the client to pay the permit fee. For weddings or portraits, this isn't exactly practical. If you go the no permit route, make sure to let your client in on it just in case (something like, "My fee is affordable because we don't have a permit!"

)

We've all shot commercial jobs without permits. In some areas, the authorities don't seem to care. Obviously, in LA and parts of California, it's different.

Another gamble you could take is to not get a permit and save the fee you would have paid for the permit into a special bank account. Do this with every shoot. You may end up with enough saved to pay the fines and come out ahead. Then again, you might not.

poker · March 24, 2009

I spoke to FilmLA and this is what I was told:

The year round badge is $100 with proof of liability insurance of $500k. It is only good for COUNTY parks and beaches.

Permits for city parks and beaches must be be reserved and paid per use. It ranges from $75 to $150 for still photography permit. It can be processed in 3 working days. City contact phone number is 323-644-6220.

Here is a list of Los Angeles county beaches:
http://beaches.co.la.ca.us/bandh/Beaches/Main.htm

L.A. county Parks Website:
http://www.lacountyparks.org/default.asp

FilmLA webiste:
http://www.filmla.com/
Regina is the contact for the "photo badge"

Another informative site although the fee amounts seem out dated:
http://www.largeformatphotography.info/photo-permits/

Nikolai · March 24, 2009

poker wrote:

I spoke to FilmLA and this is what I was told:

The year round badge is $100 with proof of liability insurance of $500k. It is only good for COUNTY parks and beaches.

Permits for city parks and beaches must be be reserved and paid per use. It ranges from $75 to $150 for still photography permit. It can be processed in 3 working days. City contact phone number is 323-644-6220.

Nice piece of info, thanks for sharing!

Now if only STATE parks we so accomodating...:cry

poker · March 30, 2010

Nikolai wrote:

Nice piece of info, thanks for sharing!
Now if only STATE parks we so accomodating...:cry

Bump. I'm still interested in reading more about these matters. If anyone has more current info to share, it would be great.

Angelo · March 30, 2010

poker wrote:

With the power of Goolge and the right search terms, I have located the 1 year permit for L.A. parks and beaches.

http://parks.lacounty.gov/Parkinfo.asp?URL=cms1_033457.asp&Title=For%20the%20Wedding%20Planner

It really depends on who you speak doesn't it? I spoke to three different city offices and none of them knew of this.

one year anniversary bump?

make sure you're delineating the difference between LA COUNTY parks and various municipal parks.

my understanding is a basic permit is required as soon as you break out a tripod and / or more equipment, in many LA area parks.

.

Permits to shoot at parks -- Los Angeles

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