When are photos allowed?

Some recent discussions by AAEA members related to a situation we've all probably faced at one point or another: we're at a field day, lugging around our photo equipment, then told we're not allowed to take photos of the newest product. It can be frustrating, especially if you're looking for something other than the stock shot provided by the company.

So I asked one veteran PR person if there's a logic behind the no-photo requests:

"When we take reporters to test plots where we're providing access to crops with traits that are not yet approved through the U.S. regulatory system, we limit photography. We do not allow full freedom to take photos of crops with traits that are not yet approved. This is primarily for competitive reasons. We don't want our competitors to see photos of all our test plots before the trait is approved for the marketplace. These are tests, after all, and we're testing for successes and failures; some plants look great and others don't. Consequently, we provide photos to reporters in most cases that show limited number of plots."

"Also, there is prohibition by the regulatory agencies against promotion. We are required to only provide information. What's the difference you might ask - as it relates to promotion -- between giving reporters photos and allowing them to take photos? Not much."

I can see the company point; after all they are giving us a behind the scenes look at new technology, they are technically still in the test phase, and the companies are under some really strict, and really picky, government regulations.

It's been my experience that most company folks do a good job of telling you ahead of time what you can photograph and what you can't. And even if they don't, I usually ask ahead of time. They usually do as much as they can to work with your requests.