Can I put my horse pictures on facebook when somebody else's kid is in the picture?

[greysandbays]

I some pictures of my horses I want to put on my facebook page, but there are kids in some of the pictures with the horse[s]. They aren't my kids, but most of the kids are no longer minors.

Do I have to not put these pictures up at all, or do I have to blank out the kids' heads, or can I put them up as is?

Many of them have gone one with their lives and I don't know where they are, so I can't easily track them down and ask if it's ok with them...

[Chenalie]

I think it'd be perfectly fine. You aren't publishing and selling these photos, and I don't think people stare into the back of pictures, looking at all the kids.
You should be fine. (:

[RainyDayRide]

Blank out the heads ... not nice to post photos on Facebook without permission.

[tangledweb]

Just post them. There is no legal problem with doing so. If the people in the pictures see them and don't like them they can always politely ask you to take them down, and you can abide by their wishes or ignore them

[arabhorse2]

G&B, if you took the pictures they belong to you.

You may do with them what you wish. It's not like you're selling them.

[citydog]

I'd blur out the kids' faces.

While there might not be a legal problem, it's better to have permission before posting someone's pic. It's easy enough to blur it out.

[greysandbays]

Some are pictures I took, some were taken by the kids' parents/relatives and given to me. None are from professional photographers.

Some I don't remember who took them.

I'm trying to do a Memories Album of my horses who have passed on. Since most of those horses served as lesson horses, there's a lot of pictures with students in them.

[poltroon]

I wouldn't consider it a problem, especially if the kids aren't identified, and super-especially if the photos are several years old. The issue with kids on facebook is mostly not wanting strangers to match a name and face.

[dressagetraks]

Hot off the presses from an actual judge. :D

I was just on a 30-minute break eating dinner. Turned on the TV to get the weather and see if it's going to stop raining this decade, ran across Judge Judy and got distracted. I hardly ever have time to watch, but I love hearing her cut people down to size. :yes::cool:

The case today involved a person who was in a photo that was on the internet. Somebody else grabbed it, as it was a free photo on the internet, dressed it up (made her a pole stripper), and used it for their commercial flyer without asking her. :no::eek: Bad, bad, bad. Person in photo awarded $5,000. Sleazy people who used it without asking for their commercial flyer shrugged at end and said ah well, it made them more than $5,000.

However, Judge Judy gave an illustration of what you can and cannot do without permission with your photos.

If you take a photo in public (like a street or a barn) and you post it free on a site, with no commercial intent, no money gained, that is fine even if the person in the photo has not given written consent. They were out there in public, available to have their picture taken, and you made no money.

If you take a photo and use it for commercial purposes and intend to gain money from it, you'd better have written authorization from the subjects.

I think by her analysis, you're safe.

[Alagirl]

Some are pictures I took, some were taken by the kids' parents/relatives and given to me. None are from professional photographers.

Some I don't remember who took them.

I'm trying to do a Memories Album of my horses who have passed on. Since most of those horses served as lesson horses, there's a lot of pictures with students in them.


While I am normally in the 'blank out the face' camp, I think in this case the students are an important part of the picture. Some of them might look you up on facebook, and might get a kick out of seeing themselves with their charges.

[Jaegermonster]

I think if they were still children it would be inappropriate unless the parents give permission. But since they are adults I can't imagine it would be an issue.
You can always crop the photo so just the horse shows.

[LarkspurCO]

Do the responsible, mature thing and draw mustaches on them before posting.

[TheJenners]

Do the responsible, mature thing and draw mustaches on them before posting.
<applaudes>

[LexInVA]

You can simply put them up as is. There are no legalities or rules involved. Unless the photos are tagged with people's names, nobody can identify them except from their own memories. If you don't want anyone other than your friends to see them, just make the album private or customize it so only certain individuals can look at it. Not a problem at all.

[saultgirl]

If you own the pictures and especially if the pictures were taken in a public place, you should be fine.

You could always take them down if someone asked you to.

[stryder]

Hot off the presses from an actual judge. :D

I was just on a 30-minute break eating dinner. Turned on the TV to get the weather and see if it's going to stop raining this decade, ran across Judge Judy and got distracted. I hardly ever have time to watch, but I love hearing her cut people down to size. :yes::cool:

The case today involved a person who was in a photo that was on the internet. Somebody else grabbed it, as it was a free photo on the internet, dressed it up (made her a pole stripper), and used it for their commercial flyer without asking her. :no::eek: Bad, bad, bad. Person in photo awarded $5,000. Sleazy people who used it without asking for their commercial flyer shrugged at end and said ah well, it made them more than $5,000.

However, Judge Judy gave an illustration of what you can and cannot do without permission with your photos.

If you take a photo in public (like a street or a barn) and you post it free on a site, with no commercial intent, no money gained, that is fine even if the person in the photo has not given written consent. They were out there in public, available to have their picture taken, and you made no money.

If you take a photo and use it for commercial purposes and intend to gain money from it, you'd better have written authorization from the subjects.

I think by her analysis, you're safe.

I don't know about Judge Judy, but I can verify that this information is correct. It's called "Fair Use" and is what newspapers and other news organizations rely on.

[greenwave]

Recently featured in The New York Times, may be of interest to you:
Is It Safe to Post Children's Images on Online Photo Sites? (http://www.nytimes.com/2009/10/25/fashion/25facebook.html?_r=1&hp)

I personally find it highly improbable that pedophiles are cruising photo sharing sites looking for children, then tracking them down by identifying landmarks in the photos, but then I don't have children.

My father recently received a news clipping from a colleague of some 20 years past (and 1,000s of miles removed) and, included in the envelope, was a picture of some college girlfriends and me dressed up for halloween several years past and the note, "Do you know any of these girls?" I do belong to one social networking site on which that photo resides but my privacy settings are set fairly high and I have no idea how this old man came across this photo or how he knew that one of the girls pictured was the daughter of an old colleague.

Probably innocuous, yes, but still unsettling.

[SarEQ]

As a former lesson kid who grew up riding many wonderful horses who have since passed on... I would LOVE to be poking around on facebook and stumble across a photo of myself riding an old friend. I'd probably laugh and cry and may print out the photo.

As a facebook addict, you can de-tag yourself if you are tagged in the photo, and if you aren't tagged in the photo, you can either ask the person to have it removed or simply ignore it. Since you're not tagged, no one searching your profile can find the photo and have it be associated with you.

They're no longer kids. I'd bet they're facebook addicts themselves, and that they'd be very happy if they did find these photos.

It's not like your posting photos with their names, addresses, and phone numbers. Post them, and I bet that there will be happy former lesson kids!

[dizzywriter]

You can simply put them up as is. There are no legalities or rules involved. Unless the photos are tagged with people's names, nobody can identify them except from their own memories. If you don't want anyone other than your friends to see them, just make the album private or customize it so only certain individuals can look at it. Not a problem at all.

Wow GAB, I actually agree with Lex, sort of.

Those who say the pics were of people in a public place are correct -- except I don't think that minors can implicitly consent to have their pics taken if they are in public. That's a parental issue which would apply to the time the pics were taken and not now, when they are no longer minors.

If the parents gave you the pics, that doesn't mean that they consented to having the pics put out in public.

But, as Lex said, if you control your privacy settings to limit viewing only to friends, I would imagine it would be like showing friends an old-fashioned photo album.

Don't tag the kids and there shouldn't be a problem.

GAB, Please be my Ideology Chief. You have such a good grasp of Communism (you don't have to agree to know what it is). It's almost OT day and the World Series is my version of a circle of hell, especially because I'm originally from NY and now live in PA. :)

[dghunter]

I would love to come across old pictures of past lesson horses and I. There are many that I still wonder about and it's always good to run into old friends and see if they lived out their lives in happiness :)

It's almost OT day and the World Series is my version of a circle of hell, especially because I'm originally from NY and now live in PA. :)

hijack:
Your version of a circle of hell?! I'm from Cleveland where we had our two best pitchers pitching in the world series... for other teams :sigh: The rest of my sports whining I will save for OT day.
/hijack

[BellaLuna]

I wish the girls at college parties with the cameras going non-stop would think to ask that question before taking and posting pictures of my underage son with a beer in his hand. **"um, I don't know whose beer that is, they were heading to the bathroom and asked me to hold it!"** :lol: