Ludicrous camera policy

[Potatojunkie]

Apparently my camera tripped some sort of quality threshhold, as tonight I was told that it wasn't allowed in the club and I'd have to leave it in the cloakroom. No "professional cameras"[1] to be admitted, said the man on the door.

Maybe there's a sound point behind this that I'm just not seeing. Maybe folk taking photos of their mates at your nightclub and posting then on the Internet is going to be somehow damaging to your business rather than, y'know, free promotion. Maybe the world isn't being run by incompetents. Seems unlikely, though.





[1]Guessing this means SLRs, or any camera the bouncer happens to think looks a bit large.

[CHUCK LIDELOL]

Edgy, Scapey will insinuate you're a dick for this thread.

[Potatojunkie]

So long as he doesn't set me on fire.

[CHUCK LIDELOL]

Are you a prankster from the fringes of the east end of Glasgow?

[Potatojunkie]

I don't even have a fringe.

[Charlicat]

Do you have an east end.

Show us.

[djtoast]

Originally Posted by Potatojunkie

No "professional cameras"[1] to be admitted, said the man on the door.

that has to be someone somewhere confusing requirements for gigs with general club entry.

[Potatojunkie]

Originally Posted by Charlicat

Do you have an east end.

Show us.

Which do you choose, a hard or soft option?

Originally Posted by djtoast

that has to be someone somewhere confusing requirements for gigs with general club entry.

One can but hope.

[Woolies]

This has been common policy in (all) nightclubs since nineteen oatcake. Same as gigs, festivals and other related events.

"Professional camera" used to be an easy-ish way to identify folks who may be planning on exploiting (commercially or otherwise) the club and/or their punters.
These days not so useful but I've never heard of anywhere to have succesfully updated the policy.

[Potatojunkie]

That camera's been on many a nightclub tour. Maybe Cathouse is simply extra-vigilant.

[Posh]

Requiem.

[Charlicat]

Originally Posted by Potatojunkie

Which do you choose, a hard or soft option?

One can but hope.

You spoil me.

Like, actual, just ruin my life.

[Woolies]

Originally much of the thinking was to maintain an expectation of privacy for the punters. Only professionals were capable of photographing more than two feet of smoky darkness in clubs and only professionals had the wherewithal to distribute photos farther than showing to a few mates.

That expectation (of anything resembling privacy in nightclubs) is pretty much dead for those of us who live or are aware of the digital age and, as I said earlier, basing such decisions on camera appearance is long out dated. As is the disctinction between what pros & amatuers are capable of in regards to photos.

Of course stewards take lots of other stuff into consideration to apply their discretion so I assume you just failed tonight to convince them to give you the benefit of the doubt. Often politely asking for a manager and explaining why you'd rather not leave the camera in an uninsured cloakroom works wonders, they'll usually just seek assurances that you won't use the camera or if you do you'll keep it to non-commercial snaps of mates without intruding on any other folks' night out.

[Posh]

Mwezzi's been taking pics of Bamboo folk again?

Wee Laura's gonna get raj.

[Semprini]

What's the policy for taking in sensible cameras?