[luftfluss]

My immediate, knee-jerk reaction was to consider that this co-worker fellow was some kind of latent pedophile. But then it occurred to me that if a woman had expressed the same opinion, would I also consider her to have some kind of issue like that... and the answer was "no".

So it could simply be a case of a guy being a bit paranoid, or overly protective (does he have a daughter?) or perhaps even a religious issue.

[VisualDarkness]

Back to the dark age, when young womens bodies where concidered indecent in every way possible. In our massmedia world filled with sexualising and chase for the ideal body pushed by capitalism, non-sexualised shots of everyday teens is a nice change.

Would he react the same if it was boys on the pics? If not I'll argue that it's a form of sexism where teen girls are seen as objects that shouldn't be shown in any kind of setting. The ideal of the young innocent girl might still be very much alive.

[BrianR]

Did you explain the context to your coworker? I mean it's not like you just showed up uninvited to a school you had no affiliation with and started discreetly snapping pictures of teenage girls. What you did sounds totally above board. Nothing to worry about.

[wombat2go]

The 2 schools and the university summer school my sons attend here in Michigan sent home photographic release forms with the enrollments. The parent can permit or deny the posting of the student photos on the internet.
I always denied with the option to permit upon request. So far there was one request which I denied.

However I think it is probably impossible for the school to enforce, or even be aware of what goes up on internet.

I take photos of the sports, concerts, graduations etc but try to follow self imposed rule not to pass them on to others or put them on public internet.

Last year one school asked me to make a collage of the kids forming words with their bodies.
I did that, on the basis that we made the complete collage with prints and framed it, and it was sold at auction to a parent. I did not release the files.

I rarely have put sample photos of kids up. Actually one or 2 times here on PF with long group shots when there were news and TV photographers taking the same scenes, during the famous annual Crim races here in Flint.

Perhaps I am too cautious....

[ivanvernon]

In a related sort of incident, I recently took photos of my step-daughter's breakfast ceremony at the highschool in which she was inducted into a service organization of the school called Huddle. The objective of the Huddle group is to serve as role models to younger students in order to steer them away from the use of drugs and alcohol.

There was no problem inside during the picture taking. I took photos of each speaker, a photo of each breakfast table of attendees, a photo of the ample and attractive breakfast buffet table, and wide-angle shots of the entire room during the course of the proceedings.

I told the young woman who was the faculty advisor that I was taking the photos, and promised to send a copy of the photos for their use.
I later burned a rewriteable DVD with the photos and delivered them as promised.

After the ceremony, on the way back to my automobile, I took a wide angle shot of the school, and then departed to return home.

Hardly more than 30 minutes after arriving back home, I was visited by a policeman from our municipality, who asked me why I was taking photos, presumably having tracked me via my auto license tag number. I explained the entire context, and he seemed quite satisfied. He informed me that one of the school's bus drivers had reported a strange man taking photos, and was concerned about terrorism. I think some people simply do not have enough drama in their own lives, and need to create more drama to make life interesting!

The point of this story, if indeed there is a point, is that schools nowadays are hypersensitive about many things, including photo taking. I would not let this fact dismay you, but rather simply recognize the fact and be prepared to deal with over-zealous individuals when situations inevitably arise.

[btnapa]

Thanks to everyone for their replies! I feel a lot better now. Let me add a little more context to the shots.

I was one of least five other people taking pictures in some capacity. Teachers, local newspaper photographers, and volunteers were using smartphones and stand alone cameras. Someone had a Canon 40D.

I signed in at the school office as a visitor and wore a 1" x 3" school visitor sticker.

I did not receive formal permission, like a signed document. The PTO board was asking who would take pictures to be used in newsletters and the yearbook. My wife, who is PTO president, said that between me and another mom we should have plenty of photos. Everyone was happy to know I would be there.

I walked with the kids in the open. There was no secret of my presence. Kids, of both genders, would shout out to me and ask me if I could take their picture. I obliged and indulged them even if the lighting was bad. They wanted the experience of getting the picture taken and I did not want to deprive them of the excitement. Some of the shots came out good, actually. One of the volunteers working at a snack station is on the yearbook committee. She asked me to take a group shot of four sixth grade ladies that dressed up with ribbons in their hair, crazy face paint, tutus, and wacky knee high socks. Do a Google Image Search for "color run tutu" and you'll know what I mean. They were thrilled to know I was going to photograph them.

After the event, I stayed to help clean up. The principal, who participated, gave me a hearty slap on the back and asked if I got any good shots. "300!" I told him and he said he cant wait to see them.

My coworker pointed out the shots that were of upper grade ladies. The ladies in the tutus were noticed along with a different upper grade lady in a tank top, running but turned 3/4 to face me, arm outstretched, waving a peace sign.

I was going to deliver the album to a secretary at the school office and ask her to deliver it to the principal.

As my psychology major ex-wife would say, your coworker has "issues." What you did is innocent and good willed. Unfortunately, all you need is someone with a twisted mind to make something out of nothing.

You always have the option of editing the images and delivering what you want. They had no requirements or expectations. So anything you give them would be a gift anyway.

If you must deliver, just to cover yourself, make sure you deliver the prints officially to the school and get a confirmation of its receipt. To further cover yourself, if possible, it is not a bad idea to backtrack and get an agreement letter or a note that you were asked to do this on behalf of the PTO or the school or someone in an official capacity with the school.

They did not pay you or officially ask you to do it so you have no obligation to deliver anything. The last thing you need is a headache you did not ask for.

So deliver as is, edit... or dump the whole thing in the trash and forget about it! You pick the option you are comfortable with.

[monochrome]

Never once, never ever ever has anyone intimated anything such as you just experienced in my 30 years of youth coaching and leadership development service.

---

Last edited by monochrome; 10-24-2014 at 04:07 PM.

[6BQ5]

I asked another coworker to take a look at my photos. This time it's a she - a mother of two adult children, one male and one female. We're good friends here at work and I explained my dilemma to her as I did here in my opening post. Before looking at the shots she ask me some basic questions.

Did people know you were there taking pictures? Were you out in the open or hiding? Answer: They knew and I was very out in the open doing it.

Do your pictures show kids smiling, laughing, and having a good time? Answer: Yes, the kids look like they're having a hysterically good time.

Do your pictures show any exposed body parts that would normally be covered up in public? Answer: No, everyone is well clothed and upright. In some cases they look like they came out of a carnival.

Did you post the pictures online for the public to see? Answer: No!

Then I showed her the shots and she said that they make her miss having kids. She thought the shots of the tutu girls was really cute. The 8x12 portraits were nice.

It offered more relief.

Wow, what a stressful day!

[cali92rs]

It's that old saying...no good deed goes unpunished

[dakight]

I think I would just write a cover letter to go along with the album, making mention of the occasion and circumstances of the photos; a narrative, if you will, including the date and time, who was there and how you came to be photographing the event. Place it at the front of the album and keep a copy of it in the folder or folders where the pictures are stored.


People get a little crazy these days when it comes to children and child safety so it can't hurt to be a little extra cautious.

[johnyates]

I wonder if the OP's friend is the person who inspired the joke about the guy who went to a psychiatrist and was given a Rorschach's test. He made some sort of sexual reference to every inkblot he was shown. The psychiatrist said "Clearly, you're obsessed with sex". The guy said "What do you mean I'm obsessed with sex? You're the one with the dirty pictures."

This.

Your co-worker is a nutbar.

[jadedrakerider]

I've wanted to talk about this kind of thing for years, thanks for posting.

Once, after my grandmother's funeral, we had a family get together at her old house. My little cousin was there, all the way from halfway across the country. She LOVED being photographed. So much. I remember I was happily taking photos of her, and commenting about what a great model she was and her dad say, "Over my dead body". I was kind of shocked, because I didn't mean glamor modeling. Hell, the girl was only 5 years old! I was thinking about modeling for something like a play set or playing with dolls.

A few minutes later, I was still shooting because she was having a good time and her dad didn't seem irate. I thought it couldn't get any more awkward. Then this enthusiastic ball of energy spread her legs and fell backward just as my flash popped, and there I was with an upskirt photo of my little relative's chonies.

I have never felt so awkward in all my life.

So I handed her dad the camera and told him, "Just take this and delete anything you want off of this." I was aghast when I noticed him delete many more photos than I expected. But it was his daughter.

So yeah, people are sensitive about this kind of thing. And really, I think it's better to be safe than sorry. Our eyes are trained to analyze composition and it can be easy to be blind to the subtle implications. Since this was a school function, I'd try to get a member of the faculty to go through them with you and take out the ones that might seem a bit skeevy.

But your coworker was just trying to alert you to a possible problem, and his nonchalance really indicates that he understands where you are coming from, it seems. He's not calling you a pervert, right?

[btnapa]

I've wanted to talk about this kind of thing for years, thanks for posting.

Once, after my grandmother's funeral, we had a family get together at her old house. My little cousin was there, all the way from halfway across the country. She LOVED being photographed. So much. I remember I was happily taking photos of her, and commenting about what a great model she was and her dad say, "Over my dead body". I was kind of shocked, because I didn't mean glamor modeling. Hell, the girl was only 5 years old! I was thinking about modeling for something like a play set or playing with dolls.

A few minutes later, I was still shooting because she was having a good time and her dad didn't seem irate. I thought it couldn't get any more awkward. Then this enthusiastic ball of energy spread her legs and fell backward just as my flash popped, and there I was with an upskirt photo of my little relative's chonies.

I have never felt so awkward in all my life.

So I handed her dad the camera and told him, "Just take this and delete anything you want off of this." I was aghast when I noticed him delete many more photos than I expected. But it was his daughter.

So yeah, people are sensitive about this kind of thing. And really, I think it's better to be safe than sorry. Our eyes are trained to analyze composition and it can be easy to be blind to the subtle implications. Since this was a school function, I'd try to get a member of the faculty to go through them with you and take out the ones that might seem a bit skeevy.

But your coworker was just trying to alert you to a possible problem, and his nonchalance really indicates that he understands where you are coming from, it seems. He's not calling you a pervert, right?

That is one of the reasons I am not bringing my camera to family or any other functions much anymore. People are on the edge regarding stuff like this. Imagined or real it is there and we have to be careful.

[MRRiley]

Have to agree with most everyone else. Your co-worker has personal issues if he is seeing these photos as generally "provocative" simply because they are of females. If he is getting aroused by them and thus feels they are "provocative" he needs to seek professional counseling.

I may have missed it, but have you delivered the images yet? I would do so and not worry about your co-worker's assessment.

Mike

[normhead]

I'm going with everyone else here. Tell your co-worker to get help.

But really there is no help. Once a person has developed the mind set where they can look at this type of image and interpret them as provocative there is no known therapy that can reverse that, at least as far as I know. The best response is to control stimulus, so what your co-worker is trying to do is reduce the stimulus with a level to which he's comfortable. Most people who make such statements are having a really hard time keeping their own impulses under control... those who are most homophobic are often latent homosexuals. So the response is in proportion with the perceived need to restrain oneself. The lower your response threshold, the more perceived need to restrain oneself.

The ability to read sexual meaning into non-sexual situations is by definition a perversion, in that it's an inappropriate response generated by the mind of the pervert, that wouldn't be present in a "normal" person.

There are countries where it's always the woman's fault if a man finds her attractive. It's always the woman's job to make sure she attracts no attention from the opposite sex, leaving men free to be whatever kind of uncontrolled pervert he chooses to be. After all, if there were no females he would't have this problem would he? This man would obviously fit right in in one of those countries.