| Lonely Planet™ · Thorn Tree Forum · 2020 | |
Photographing in Iran.Country forums / Middle East / Iran | ||
Hi, my name is Vic, I’m an Icelandic male. I will be spending a month in Iran late this summer. I'm an amateur photographer. I don't take the usual turist photo's and during my time I will be snapping a lot of pictures so I'm wondering how to avoid trouble. I have a few questions, but any tips, doe's & dont´s and general advice is much appreciated!
I know these are a lot of questions, but any advice would be deeply appreciated!! p.s. I’m a white male with long hair. Is that going to be a problem? The hair I mean? Would everything I mentioned above be more easy for me if I had short hair? Thanks a lot! | ||
I understand that you want to get 'natural' photos but I think it's rude to take photos of people without asking them. They are not animals in a zoo. | 1 | |
Dear Kali737 So people are not animals in a zoo! Ok, it's a good thing you confirmed that for me because I wasn't quite sure. I always mix those two together. Vic | 2 | |
Dear my friend: As you want to know about all your questions coz I am a tour guide I will answer all of them: 1) Taking pictures of people is ok but whenever they are in public or I mean in outdoors but anyway it is ok if we speak with them so it is ok all the time. 3) taking pic of a military base is not allowed but from a governmental building is ok no matter, but for entering the military bases you must provide the necessary authorizations from the Iranian government, 4) Taking photo from the demonstrations or even protests is free for all domestic or even foreign photographers but remember you must tell them that you are not going work for CNN or FOX NEWS or U.S. news networks. 5) Taking photos from a private property is not allowed or you should speak with them and satisfy them to make film or take some photos. And about the religious ceremonies is ok but again that ceremony must be in or for public .but as a whole is ok. 6) As about the pilgrim is ok but again you have to satisfy or tell him the reason or the purpose of your action. But if you satisfy and make friends with them can be ok. 7) As you said about the expensive camera in rural areas it is ok but when you go to a rural or far place you must know the area well because there are a lot of places in Iran that are far from cities as you know Kavir Desert & Lut Desert are the most famous of them. 8) As for the long hair, in my opinion, you’d better to shorten them, to tell you the truth it is not bad in public you are free but is better to shorten them. At the end I hope that you will have a safe / secure and great trip to Iran by the way, I have sent you a private message for you pls check. | 3 | |
As any real photographer knows, authorities and sometimes even non-authorities often interfere with photography even when the law does not support their position. I have run into more problems taking photographs in the US than in Iran and so have many other photographers (see sites such as PhotoPermit.org for examples of this sort of thing) I was once temporarily prevented from taking photographs in a park on a mountain hiking trail. After some debate, the man in charge said that the real reason was that often, boys and girls would come to meet each other at the park in secret, and he didn't want their photos to be seen in the news since their families may not approve! I swear this is true! I had to promise him that I would not take photos of people, just nature. So when I arrived there, everyone had cameras and was busy taking photos of everyone else. In fact a number if couples gave me their camera and asked me to take their photos together. (I saw some interesting cameras - usual digital stuff, and a Zenit!) A lot of people take a lot of photographs in Iran (See Flickr for examples) however Iran (as with other countries) requires news and professional photographers to be licensed and have the proper news person visas and permits from the righ ministries. If you raise suspicions that you're a professional or news photographer, then you will be required to abide by the laws. In my experiences in Europe, this suspicion can be created simply by using a fancy camera. Legally in Iran you can photograph everything that is in public unless it is specifically prohibited. Embassies and consulates usually have signs that ban photography. Shopping malls often ban photography due to the fear of burglary. Military bases and airports, as you can expect. Cameras are also not permitted in some religious sites which is unfortunate because I have seen beautiful scenes in some mosques. Mosques which are open to tourists, however, like the mosques in isfahan - no problem. Women? legally, yes if she's in public. In practice, she and possibly others will object seriously if you shove a camera into someone's face without her approval. In many cases, people will be happy to allow you to take photos, and will appreciate it too. You have to understand that Iranians have very detailed and formal rituals of "politeness" and you should respect them. I remember a man who sat in front of me on a bus, who turned around and apologized for having his back towards me! (But, if you drive in Tehran, you're free to be a madman and a danger to everyone!) | 4 | |
A bazaar is usually not private property by the way. And in my experience, using a tripod attracts too much attention -- too many people show up and want to pose! Police don't mind as long as you're not interfering with traffic. Just smile and be polite. Learning a few farsi phrases may help to - Salam (hello) Merci (thank you) Aks? (Photo?) As an LF and MF photographer, I have often left with many rolls of film. I often beg and plead the airport authorities not to scan the film in the x-ray machine (Never had a problem but why risk it?) One time, I was able to convince them to only scan a few randomly chosen rolls instead of all of them. | 5 | |
Oh, and one thing that WILL look "suspicious" is if you take pictures surreptiously or in a hidden manner! So, let your cameras hang out, make it obvious that you're a photographer. Edited by: hassani1387 | 6 | |
Vic there is no need for sarcasm. At times when I've had cameras stuck in my face by strangers in the street i found it offensive and treating me like a zoo animal, hence my comment. Therefore I don't think it's acceptable behaviour. | 7 | |
hi, | 8 | |
Dear Muhammad110, Hassani1387, Amiriniran & Kali737 Thank's very much for great advice, I think I will cut my hair if that'll make things easier. Vic | 9 | |
I can't add too much more than what has been said already, but women especially don't like to be photographed, even after speaking to a young woman and her boyfriend for 5 minutes in Esfahan, only the male would let me photo him. If you want to photo people best is to scan around a park/public place with your camera, quickly clicking when you are at the right angle you want (as opposed to setting up a tripod or zooming in and out of your subject for a minute, making it obvious what you're photoing). Travelling with long hair is annoying, in the iranian summer you will need to wash it and dry it every day, which will almost become the whole point of your evenings/mornings, so you might as well get it cut and make it easier. Up to you though yu will probably still have no problems | 10 | |
When it comes to taking photos in Iran, the best rule to follow is 'when in doubt, ask'. As the previous posts mention, the same rules apply in Iran as anywhere else. It's generally OK to photograph a larger group of people in a public place, but proper to ask permission for individuals, couples, small groups. I've photographed a demonstration in Iran and not been hassled. Most 'demonstrations' in Iran are government sanctioned and peaceful. They WANT you to take pictures. That's one of the reasons they're demonstrating. You'd probably be wise to steer clear of the infrequent demonstrations against the government. It's hit and miss with shopkeepers but whenever I buy something in a shop in Iran (water, fruit, bread, etc), I ask to take a picture of the shopkeeper. They always say yes. My experience in rural areas of Iran that don't see many tourists is that people are quite suspicious and would likely take a dim view of a stranger snapping photos. It's always best to get to know people and explain yourself. Generally government buildings (like the Majlis in Tehran) are off limits for photographing. Sometimes its hard to tell, though, and on a few occasions I've been waved away by policemen. Nothing more. In my experience, Iran is as safe or safer than many other countries, as long as you use common sense. | 11 | |
On a recent trip to Iran my partner and I were in a small restaurant in Shiraz. We were both concentrating on preparing and eating our dizi and didn't pay any attention to the flashes until we realized the camera was on us. An Iranian family seated on the other side of the room were rather amused watching us eat dizi the wrong way and were snapping pictures. When I realized what was happening I picked up my camera and took pictures of them. We all had a good laugh then. it was quite funny but at that point I decided I did not have to be so careful about photographing people. Seriously though, I usually did ask and found that people did not pose. Just carried on what they were doing. | 12 | |
Some advise: If people are posing for the camera, just take the photo then pretend to be finished. People will relax, looking away from the camera and then you make quickly a second photo. This photo will be more spontaneous then the first one. If people seems to be reluctant to take their picture, just promise them to send them the photo. You can use an example print with a stamp and address on the backside, to explain your meaning. Ask them to write their address down. Of course you have to keep your promise.... I even took once a mini photo printer with me so I could instantly print the photo's from my digital camera. Good luck, | 13 | |
As I know how difficult is sometimes for a photographer to make more than just snapshots, let me add some comments on this thread: Not only in Iran, you are supposed to ask people before taking their photo everywhere in the world. Unless you are on a mission for NG. That's politeness. Especially for portraits. Somewhere is understood to pay a small fee for it, even to children. In public places in Iran, like streets or squares, where people form only a fraction of your frame, is shouldn't really be any problem. If you notice you are annoying too many people, like seeing them changing their direction of walking, or women covering their faces, just wait a while or simply move to another location. Do not get pushy in situations where they can't avoid being in front of your camera, and they give obvious signs showing they don't want be photographed. Lower your camera and show that you respect their will, apologize even if it is not necessary to people concerned passing by. However, there is a difference in cultures. Islamic culture considers photographing women wothout prior agreement inpolite, inappropriate and rude. In some places like Yemen you might get a stone in your head or camera. Iran is tolerant country, acting like this would in worst case result in shouting at you, either by woman or man. Many times you might get away with quick snap - they nitice you but pretend not to. Take into consideration that it is a big difference between major cities, which are more liberal, pakced with domestic tourists with digital cameras or videos, or rural areas, whre is better always to ask. Note that sometimes it's better to ask a man first for photographing his wife or daughter. Take a shot of him too, so he won't feel ignored. A few hints I consider useful: It's well remembering also that being religious is more respected than being ateist, so you don't have to pretend to avoid religious debates. In Quran there is a chapter consacrated to Virgin Mary (Miryam), and many great personalities from Old Testament are being highly respected in religious schools, like Salomon (Suleyman). Like Europe using latin letters in many different languages, Iranians use arab letters, but their language is farsi and they are Persians (not Arabs). Keep that in mind! As for demonstrations and religious public events, I can't think of a good advice. Grab a guide or ask a policeman! And yes, long hair, many would consider it messy and untidy, so get rid of it, it'll grow again. This is from my experience, the world is turning all the time - I hope those friendly, trustful and tactful Iranians will never change. | 14 | |
This post has been removed because it may not have met our community guidelines. | 15 | |
learn a few persian phrases | 16 | |
Hello Vic, Cheers | 17 | |