Photography and filming in Informatics

In this section, you can find information about legal requirements and guidelines regarding photographing and filming of events organised in the School of Informatics venues or by the School of Informatics staff/students.
Please note that if you plan to take photographs or film in the School of Informatics buildings, you might need permission to do so.

Data Protection

First, ensure that you have a legal basis for taking photos/filming. This may not apply to crowd photos, where you can’t identify individuals or photos taken by individuals for private use, which are not part of the University business.

Data Protection: photography guidelines

Privacy statement and consent

In order to comply with Data Protection guidelines, you are required to inform the individuals you are photographing/filming how and where their image will be used. You also need to secure their content to do so. Event organisers can use the School of Informatics privacy statement and consent form templates, and adapt them for their own use.

The School of Informatics photo/film privacy statement (101.27 KB / DOCX)

The School of Informatics photo/film consent form (117.45 KB / DOCX)

Permissions for taking photos/filming

Please submit the photo/filming request form in the first instance if you wish to take photos/film in any of the Informatics buildings. Please note that if you plan to take photos/film in your own office, and the activity will not be disruptive in any way to the users of the buildings, you will not need permission. The link to the request form is at the bottom of this page.

A named person (usually a member of the School of Informatics staff, located in one of the Informatics buildings) needs to be responsible for the activity. The organisers are responsible for identifying such a person.

Available space for filming and photography

All Informatics buildings are primarily used for research and teaching. The occupants expect privacy while they work and so we are generally unable to offer space for filming and photography where it would be disruptive for our building users. It may be possible to use some of the open spaces (e.g., The Atrium, Mini Forums in the Informatics Forum) in exceptional circumstances, but this would be considered on a case-by-case basis.

For the safety of all occupants, filming and photography cannot take place in areas where it will block staircases or exits.

Space for filming or photography can be booked in the meeting rooms, including the Turing Room, in the Informatics Forum. The rooms must be booked in advance.

Filming and photography requests

Informatics students and staff who would like to carry out any research or student-related photography and filming in any of the Informatics buildings should:

Fill in the booking form (bottom of this page)
Ensure that the activity is not disruptive to the building users
Ensure they have booked the space where the activity is to take place or agreed with its users (e.g. occupants of an office) that the activity will take place
Secure consent of anyone in the photo/video before the activity (consent form at the bottom of this page)
Ensure photo-ops and filming sessions are timely
Ensure the building users should be informed of one taking place in advance by e-mail to inf-people@inf.ed.ac.uk
Ensure that the risk assessment has been carried out if required.

Please note that the photography/filming must be conducted by the Informatics staff members, or on their behalf. A named member of the School staff must be identified as a person responsible for the safety of anyone they bring in to take part in the activity. They are also responsible for informing all staff if there is any risk that they could be caught in the frame.

The photos/videos can feature the building itself, and objects in the building (unless third-party permission is required e.g. with regards to equipment belonging to third parties) but it can only feature members of staff if their consent was secured before the activity. Please check our GDPR guidelines regarding photography.

Colleagues from the University of Edinburgh seeking permission to photograph or film any non-Informatics-related material should send a request using the form below.

The proposals will be reviewed on an individual basis and permissions will only be granted if the photography/filming is not disruptive to staff in the building and provided that GDPR guidance is complied with.

We require a minimum of 10 working days' notice for filming and photography. Where the request will involve out-of-hours working (outside Monday to Friday 9 am to 5 pm) we require a minimum of 15 working days' notice.

We are unable to offer our spaces to parties external to the University of Edinburgh seeking permission to photograph or film any non-Informatics-related material as a matter of course.

You are still welcome to fill in the request form - the proposals will be reviewed on individual basis and permission will only be granted if the filming is not disruptive to staff in buildings and provided that GDPR guidance is complied with.

Charges may apply.

Reviewing requests

Please note that until written confirmation has been received you should not progress plans.

Filming by parties external to the School of Informatics must be overseen by an appropriate member of the School of Informatics staff. If an appropriate person is not available on the days requested, permission will not be granted.

Before filming or photography, a risk assessment must be completed at least 5 days before the filming or photography date. Where a sufficient Risk Assessment has not been received, filming or photography cannot proceed.

Charges may apply for filming or photography, especially where access is required out of hours, or requires extra resources to accommodate.