Strangers taking pictures of your kids??

Sarah - posted on 03/13/2013

This just happened to me in the pharmacy but it was a woman who was taking the picture. I saw her take her camera out and I was glaring at her waiting for her to look up at me for permission but she never did. Just click...digitized my baby. I was so fuming mad then mad at myself for not saying something to her. I was in the middle of checkout so I couldn't get in her face just then and the when I was done she was checking out, Then I waited for her to come out but she didn't come out til I was driving away. I listened for her name at the pharmacy counter and I've been looking for her on fb to tell her off with no luck. I am ashamed at myself for not standing up for my baby when I should have. I just feel icky. Even though it was a woman.

Bill - posted on 10/03/2012

Yes, this a thorny issue, agree with the first photographers post.We should also be aware that you can"t really delete a photo posted on FB, it says ". Delete" but in reality , FB gets backed up o FB servers, so even tho that picture was taken off the FB page, it is digitally memorialized... Not a happy thought.

JoLee - posted on 06/28/2012

No! I would havr taken hos phone or camera, called the police and informed the dr office. Creepy ass man!

Veronica - posted on 06/27/2012

I am a photographer, and will sometimes ask permission to photograph other peoples children if I see a particularly good shot, or if I don't have a chance to ask before the shot disappears I will show the parent afterwards (and usually offer to send it to them for their own use as well) and if it is not ok with them I will delete it. And I never ever put anyone else's children's pictures online without their explicit permission. Most of my pictures are of my own kids unless I am hired to do portraits etc. But I think the key is asking permission, and having samples of other work to show what the end result is. Taking pictures of other people's kids is definitely on the weird side, and although 99% of the time the picture taker is likely harmless but clueless, I think in this day in age people should be aware of how it looks because we only hear about the bad outcomes of stories like these and it has made most parents very vigilant. In a legal sense if you are in a public place where you have a reasonable expectations of being seen by the general public, it is not illegal for anyone to take whatever photographs they want although depending on the manner in which they do it it could be very rude. I don't think a doctor's office is considered public property though.

Caryn - posted on 06/25/2012

I would have brought attention to it and questioned him. He should have been put on notice. For all you know, he may have over heard your name and can look you up. People are creeps. You wouldn't want to look up and see him outside your home waiting for the chance to take your child.

MeMe - Raises Her Hand (-_-) (Mommy Of A Toddler And Teen) - posted on 06/16/2012

People take pictures of my SUV all the time. I have a saying on my rear view mirror with 5 stick type figure people.



It says "Ass Family" for the title and then underneath is a Dad, Mom, teen girl, baby and dog figurine. Under the Dad it says "Harry", under the Mom it says "Smart", under the teen it says "Kiss", under the baby it says "Dirty" and under the dog it says "Bad". A lot of people laugh their asses off when they read it and they often snap a pic of it with their phones. I see them in my rear view mirror. I have actually tried to stay stopped longer (at a light that just turned green), so that they can get their pic....



I don't think it is cool for a person to be knowingly taking pictures of kids or anyone (I would say something, if it were my kids), for that matter but I don't see an issue with other things, like a cab...

[peggy - posted on 06/16/2012

I would h ave been scared too but hate it cause the mother used such nasty words. I think she could have not been so potty mouthed. Sorry but I hate the word f--- it is just not a word I like anyone to say.

Kira - posted on 06/10/2012

i would of delt with the problem there and then grabbed that phone ran into the toilet and deleted them lol... but thats just me !!!!!!!

Erin - posted on 06/06/2012

I'm not real nice to people I don't like so I'd probaly tell him if he took one more pic he'd loose the phone and eye.

West - posted on 05/22/2012

Yesterday this lady thought I took a picture of her cab but my iPhone make that sound when I lock my phone for some reason.hought about this post as soon as the situation occured lol.

Laura Zoey - posted on 05/21/2012

It could have also been a screen capture. Or the noise was set for a different thing. Or even he did take a picture because your girl looked like someone he knew and wanted to show his wife what he saw.
There's a ton of innocent reasons how it could have not been a picture or other reasons why the picture could have been totally innocent" either way I think the best thing to do is say, "did you just take a picture of my girl?" and based on his response take it from there

Karen - posted on 05/21/2012

Sure, but it wasn't like that!

Usually people ask. Smart, respectful people anyway. Most people know its not OK to do that without first asking the parent. It just comes off as creepy when an adult man is snapping shots of a kid, when he hasn't even said a word to the parent.

I don't typically like public conflict, and I think I would of let the first picture slide... You said he made it more obvious the second time. If my scowl doesn't scare, then I would most likely start off with "Excuse me... mind telling me what the hell you are doing, or planning to do with those pictures I just saw you take?"

It's rude, even if it wasn't a man. I am not always looking my best when I am in a doctor's office, and honestly, that's probably the last place ANYONE wants their picture taken. Ya know??

Laura Zoey - posted on 05/20/2012

Wow that's creepy Jackie! And Jaime too. I'd likely send my husband to check what they took a picture of. But I know that my husbands iPhone makes that photo capture click when he does posher things, like sometimes he had it set for that noise as his send text noise so maybe it was a coincidence.
I know I've taken video of my kids a lot in public and gotten other kids in the shots and not done anythging to delete them.
Also, some little girls in my complex took pictures of Fierna a few weeks ago. They were about 8 years old and kept whispering about how adorable she is.
I didn't see it as anything more then innocent but if it were a grown man I'd be much more concerned.

West - posted on 05/16/2012

really scary, people are just so bold these days in harming children. I would have taken that as a threat as well.

**Jackie** - posted on 05/16/2012

I forgot to mention the best part...so I'm talking to the cops and they were getting my statement and the older one looked disturbed and the younger one (who had already asked if maybe he didn't mean it "like that") asked if we were leaving. I said yeah because if I see him again and he says something to us I'm macing him. He stopped and said something like "that's illegal" and I said yea so is kidnapping.



My friend ushered me away before I could continue to observe my tax dollars hard at work.

MeMe - Raises Her Hand (-_-) (Mommy Of A Toddler And Teen) - posted on 05/15/2012

Jackie, I would have asked him if he wanted to be the next one on the carton! Then told him, I can make it happen!

What a weirdo. Sorry but I too, would not have taken that lightly, even if he was being innocent. The fact is, that is NOT funny shit! You just don't say crap like that to anyone.

Stifler's - posted on 05/15/2012

what a fucking freak

**Jackie** - posted on 05/15/2012

I just got chills while reading this.

Just last week I was on the boardwalk with my best friend and her 7 month old. My daughter is very pretty as well. She was born with a full head of hair and now it is strawberry blonde and full of curls (to me she is absolutely stunning). Anyway, we are strolling along and I am pushing the stroller with one hand and holding my daughter's with the other and this older man (maybe 60ish) on a bike comes very close to us and he circles us. He says to me "she's gorgeous". I said thank you and then what he said next made me lose it. He said "careful now, she might end up on a milk carton". My friend froze and I lost it. I mean we are on a crowded boardwalk with tons of families and he says that?

I didn't hesitate, I told him to get away from us or I'll make him wish he was never born. I have never felt that much rage in my life. Thank the Lord we saw cops on the way back to our cars (let's face it, we wanted to be as far away from there as possible) and we described him and told them what happened. The one cop actually said "maybe he just meant don't lose her because she can get lost up here". I couldn't believe that! I hope they got him. I mean he didn't break the law but there was something not right with him.

West - posted on 05/15/2012

The same thing happend to me. My family was at a burger king and a guy came up and said "your baby is so pretty"! I didn't think anything of it at first then he pulled out his phone and snapped pictures, I asked him what is he doing and he replied that he was sending the pic to his girlfriend. I felt very violated.

Jennifer - posted on 05/15/2012

While it does seem creepy, and I defintly would have said something, it may not be as bad as you think. I mean, my step-mom has 16 grandkids and two great grands, but still has pics of random kids hanging on her wall. None she took herself mind you, but if she could snap a good pic, she probably would! Kids are popular as art subjects, look at that Anne Gedes(?) and the naked babies laying around in flowers........My daughter has one of those on her wall. Again- I would NOT allow a stranger to take pics of my kids knowingly, but it may have been innocent.

Toni - posted on 05/15/2012

I haven't had this happen to my knowledge, but I agree with all the other ladies I would have said something (if i really thought he was photographing my kid)I first would have asked him if he'd took a photo of my child and if he had I'd ask him to please delete it and not to take any others, I'd also ask why he took it. If he said no I'd ask to see the photo he took and if it wasn't of my child i'd apologise if it was I'd report him to the staff and I'd be very tempted to call the police, he took a photo of my child then denied it, there is something very wrong with that.

However, just to show the flip side of the coin, he may have been completely innocent my hubby had a game on his last phone where he had to virtually photograph fish on his phone, it clicked like a camera and he often held it up in funny positions as if he was taking a real photo, I'm sure there were people who thought he was taking a photo when he wasn't. As a society we have become very quick to jump to the paedophile assumptions, most of the time wrongly.

Toni - posted on 05/15/2012

I haven't had this happen to my knowledge, but I agree with all the other ladies I would have said something (if i really thought he was photographing my kid)I first would have asked him if he'd took a photo of my child and if he had I'd ask him to please delete it and not to take any others, I'd also ask why he took it. If he said no I'd ask to see the photo he took and if it wasn't of my child i'd apologise if it was I'd report him to the staff and I'd be very tempted to call the police, he took a photo of my child then denied it, there is something very wrong with that.

However, just to show the flip side of the coin, he may have been completely innocent my hubby had a game on his last phone where he had to virtually photograph fish on his phone, it clicked like a camera and he often held it up in funny positions as if he was taking a real photo, I'm sure there were people who thought he was taking a photo when he wasn't. As a society we have become very quick to jump to the paedophile assumptions, most of the time wrongly.

Mary - posted on 05/15/2012

I would have said something to both him and the receptionist at the very first click. Even if you weren't 100% sure it was your kid he was snapping a pic of, it is completely unacceptable to be taking a pic of pretty much anything in a medical waiting room. The office staff would have to back you up on this - even the hint of someone doing this has to be addressed by them immediately. Just the mere mention of your presence at the doctor's office is a violation of HIPPA, and it is their responsibility to address any potential infractions they are made aware of.

Out in public, it's a bit harder. There is no "reasonable expectation" of privacy. If a random stranger is snapping pics of you or your kids, you can certainly say something to them, but they don't necessarily have to comply.

Tracey - posted on 05/15/2012

Legally - If he is on private property he cannot take photos of anyone or anything without permission from the property owner, and I doubt a doctor's surgery is going to allow that.

I would complain to the doctor - if his wife is pregnant he could attend many appointments with access to young children and he is acting inappropriately. There are hundreds of cute / attractive children but (a) why would a stranger want a picture of them - they are not animals in a zoo and (b) what is he going to do with the photo?

Complain, and if you see him again ask for a private waiting area

Stifler's - posted on 05/14/2012

No but I would have been like ARE YOU TAKING PICTURES OF MY KIDS!? Some people really don't understand how they come off to others he might have just thought she was cute.

Rachael - posted on 05/14/2012

No but if I did I woul have complained to the staff at the office and asked to have him removed. it's creepy and weird

Jodi - posted on 05/14/2012

Yes, I have had something like this happen...several times! I have twin girls, and when they were baby babies, we could fit them back to back in the infant bucket swings at the park. On a couple of occasions, people would take pics (mostly women). Everytime I saw this, I asked them to please delete them! I even found a picture of MY children on some strangers facebook page! (caption said something like "cutest thing we saw at the park today") One of those, it was a friend of a friend and she had commented on the pic...which showed up on my newsfeed type thing. I had my friend request she delete them. We also had this happen at the lake last summer, had the all dressed in the same swimsuit in infant floatie things and some lady snapped a shot of them. Again, I asked her to delete them. It's infuriating and creepy and RUDE! I always make sure to say it loud enough to make sure anyone around hears. If you're going to snap pics of my kids, you bet your ass I'll embarass the hell out of you if I can! I've never had a guy do ti though, I would probably report that to the authorities...seriously, creepy.

MeMe - Raises Her Hand (-_-) (Mommy Of A Toddler And Teen) - posted on 05/14/2012

Yeah, to me that would be very creepy. Me being me, I would have asked him what he was doing. I would have asked him if he just took a picture of my kid. If he said yes, well, there would have been an issue. It is illegal to take pictures of anyone without their consent (unless they just happen to end up in the picture, which was unintentional). When my daughter's school or my sons daycare, are doing things that may include pictures of them, I have to sign a waiver agreeing to it.

It's just wrong and it is not something people should be doing, it is not their kid nor did they know her. He did not ask. Maybe he is a freak and is why his wife/girlfriend wouldn't let him in the office with her.... :o/

Casey - posted on 05/14/2012

I would have asked him delete the pics, and said it loud enough to embarrass him. What a creepo.

Jaime - posted on 05/14/2012

Sure.

Lady Heather - posted on 05/14/2012

Maybe he had the camera reversed and he was taking a pic of himself? Although I have no idea why he'd do that either...