Museum Photography

That may well be the case in a lot of museums, but in regard to the exhibits it’s at odds with museums being accountable and accessible. A registered/accredited museum should be able to provide details on any item in their collection, including photographs. The only info that may be withheld pertains to the people it was acquired from, and if in store, its precise location and associated security measures. In short, avoiding people capturing the layout and security measures of galleries and stores is a valid reason, withholding information on exhibits and stored objects is most definitely not. Of course, staff time is another issue, which is why said museum can legitimately request notice and a good reason for providing access to normally inaccessible objects, including for photography purposes.

We have a policy of ‘no photography without prior permission’, which means that if you have a genuine good reason for needing a photo of a particular exhibit something can usually be arranged.

I think a lot has to do with not wanting to publicise the contents of the museum too much, which could lead to certain exhibits being targeted by thieves who might want to ‘collect’ items relevant to a particular well-known incident or airman.

There’s also the aim of preventing potential theives from recording the layout of the museum, exhibits, and the security system.

Geoff.

Flash photography can set off fire alarms – the London Underground has flash fire detectors installed (after the Kings Cross disaster) which don’t appreciate you trying to take pictures in gloomy underground locations. If the insurance company demanded it maybe museums would have to flollow suit…

Flood

Another reason not pointed out so far is copyright. Collections (for instance the National Gallery in London) own copyright on the artifacts in their own collection. A special loans exhibition, with items from other collections or private individuals are not owned by the host organisation, and thus they don’t have automatic copyright control over them. Therefore you’ll sometimes find that there’ll be a no photography rule for special exhibitions, though the permanant collection may be photographable. This variation also depends if the exhibition curator has been able to secure copyright on the artifacts in the exhibition.

Cheers!

I hear you, but it really shouldn’t be any more ‘special’ simply because of the connection with servicemen/women. If museums look after every last thing to the same standards, there can be no situation in which they are forced to prepare the guest room for Mr Cockup…

The National Trust thing is interesting, but with the concept of ‘access for all’ there’s only so much you can do. Even on a basic level people need to find their way to things, and even in the days of hardcopy museum catalogues (and nowt else) you have situations during/after the Middle East conflicts where thieves use the museum guide book to target the most valuable artefacts.

The Carpetbagger Museum at Harrington in Northants isn’t keen on photographs being taken – I was told it was due to security concerns (as mentioned above).

thats something i’d heard before, especially with small museums where items may’ve been lent or donated by families of airmen they probably feel a special responsibility for the exhibits..

The Carpetbagger Museum at Harrington in Northants isn’t keen on photographs being taken – I was told it was due to security concerns (as mentioned above).

What about museums that ban both flash and tripods? I however have a unipod, and so far haven’t been banned from using it.

I had this problem at Chicago Science Museum a few years ago “no tripods”
I tried to find out if a unipod/monopod was acceptable but couldn’t get an answer. I didn’t push my luck and managed without.

Roger Smith.

The National Trust has banned all photography at some of its properties because of security. Thieves have used it to identify, target items and security systems. (Alarms)
mmitch.

I can only speculate that tripods would cause visitor flow problems, trip hazards, things like that.

What about museums that ban both flash and tripods? I however have a unipod, and so far haven’t been banned from using it.

All the museums I have been to, avation related or otherwise have never minded me taking photos.

Still I’m sure museums that do have a no photos rule are doing it for the best, not to be akward.

That is certainly one of the reasons Dave. Also, these museums might just want to keep their hidden secrets. If a lot of the collection is photographed and these pics reach the net in numbers, a lot of visitors may choose to visit the museum ‘online’, rather than to go there. (just a thought)

J.V.

Just an edit to more directly answer this post. The idea that museums may lose visitors to online material is not only unlikely, but were a museum to think in this way they would be flying in the face of their moral, ethical (and registration/funding-based) obligations to provide access to their collections. Most museums indeed think the other way around, see the British Museum’s Compass website as well as IWM’s www.iwmcollections.org.uk. Though some currently lack photographs, the idea is to have a shot of everything. As you’ll see from Compass though, the BM like others, offers better quality images for a fee.

Both ‘normal’ and UV light damage any kind of object NOT just paintings, and clearly the older the object the more vulnerable to damage it is. Museum environments are supposed to be environmentally conditioned to certain specifications dependent upon the collections being housed, and lighting type, level and exposure are closely controlled and monitored. Therefore the idea is to keep as many outside variables out of the equation as possible. This includes such rules as no touching and no flash photography. The postcard reason may also be valid for reasons of income generation….

Aviation museums are usually less strict on photography and sometimes touching by virtue of most paint schemes etc being recently applied, among other reasons.

May detract from sales of postcards of the museum and museum guides with photos if everyone is taking pictures. Just a thought.

Obviously with some places, bans are to help conservation wise such as in art galleries.

That is certainly one of the reasons Dave. Also, these museums might just want to keep their hidden secrets. If a lot of the collection is photographed and these pics reach the net in numbers, a lot of visitors may choose to visit the museum ‘online’, rather than to go there. (just a thought)

J.V.

Flash photography is often banned in museums because the light is highly detrimental to artifacts.