City of Bloomington Photo Policy

The City requires written waivers from the subjects of some photos.

Introduction
Standards
Questions

Introduction

The City of Bloomington strives to follow all Data Practice requirements, including the use of photos. Photos that identify a person are “personal information” under some Minnesota Data Practices Act provisions. Therefore, the City of Bloomington requires written waivers to be obtained from the subjects of some photographs. There are three different ways to obtain waivers. The first is a direct written waiver signed by the subject for the photo or series of photos. The second is to obtain the waiver at the time a participant signs up for a City activity. Finally, in some cases, photos may be taken at an event when the entrance to the event is posted with a warning that photos may be taken by the City. In every case, a photo should only be taken with the permission of the subject, or if the subject is a minor, the permission of their guardian.

The following standards apply to photos taken after this photo policy’s implementation date of January 1, 2011.

Standards

Written waiver at the time of the photograph
1. The City shall take no photos, and shall not allow photos by third parties to be taken, that may convey medical information about that that person, such as participation in flu clinics, distribution of drugs by the CDC or Bloomington Health Department, etc., without a signed written waiver of the medical subjects in the photograph (including all City employees, people in the background or crowd, and/or volunteers).
2. The City shall take no photos of Bloomington employees or its volunteers without a written waiver.
3. The written waiver must contain the following language: “I hereby give permission to the City of Bloomington to use my image to help promote the City of Bloomington now and in the future.”
4. Pictures that include images of people in a crowd or in the background - who are not looking into the camera - do not require signed waivers.
5. If the subject of a photo appears to be under 18 years old, a guardian must sign the waiver before a photo is taken. But when the subject of the photo is a Bloomington employee or volunteer and under 18 years old, the employee or volunteer may sign the waiver.
6. All photos that meet the requirements for a signed waiver as outlined in this policy must be stored in the City’s photo database accompanied by a signed waiver in electronic format. If a photo is stored without the attached waiver and one is required, the photo may not be used again by the City.
7. The City shall not take or keep any photographs that are: obscene or convey sexual content, harassing, threatening, defaming, promote illegal activity, promote commercial services or which violate any trademark or copyright laws.
Waiver at the time of signing up for a program
1. The City may alternatively ask a program participant to sign a waiver upon registering for a City activity. This approach is highly recommended for programs involving youth participants.
2. The registration form must include the following language: “City staff takes pictures of participants enjoying the activities for use in marketing and promotion of the programs. If I do not grant permission, I will send a letter to the City of Bloomington, _____________ Division expressing my wishes.”
3. The department taking the registration must have a way to store all written objections to photos.
4. Upon obtaining photos of the program, the department must edit the photos as soon as possible to ensure no photo of the person subject to the objection is released by the City. If the photo identifies the person subject to objection, it may not be uploaded to the City’s photo database unless it is edited.
5. Any photos obtained in this manner are subject to subparagraphs A7 above.
Photos at a social gathering or event
1. At any social event hosted by the City, where the City intends to take photographs or video, the City shall post a warning at all event entrances that photos may be taken at the event.
2. The postings, at a minimum, must state: “The City of Bloomington intends to take photographs and/or video of this event. If you object to having your picture taken, or having the picture of any minors accompanying you taken, please reconsider attending this event.”
3. These postings must be present at any event that is being photographed and hosted by the City, especially where children may be present.
4. A photo of the posting must be stored with any saved photos uploaded to the City’s photo database. If the posting is not stored with the photos taken at the event or social gathering, the photos may not be used by the City in the future.
5. Any photos obtained in this manner are subject to subparagraph A7 above.
Display of Photos of Elected Officials or Candidates
The City will not use photos to endorse one political candidate or one side of a ballot measure. The City will strive to give equal photo space to all sides of an election. But photos of elected officials carrying out duties for the City in their current capacity do not constitute a violation of this policy.

Questions

Questions related to this policy should be directed to the Communications Administrator or your direct supervisor.

For more information, contact:

Janine Hill, Communications Administrator
PH: 952-563-8819; TTY: 952-563-8740, FAX: 952-563-8715
E-mail: jhill@ci.bloomington.mn.us

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