Rules are Rules .... or are they?

I was told off Sunday afternoon for taking a photo at Saffron Hall. Now to be fair I am sure there is something in the T’s C’s about no photography or recording equipment in the auditorium and ok slapped wrist. The photo was particularly silly

and given that the auditorium was virtually empty and no performance was taking place I didn’t think it mattered. But rules are rules and I would ordinarily have treated it as "come on Pete you should know better".

However as the orchestra came on stage someone was standing to the side and took a photo and nipped back to their seat (they may been the local press) but on twitter later someone posted a non-professional snap of the orchestra earning a well earned applause and the Hall twitter feed liked it.

Now this happens a lot. At Wigmore Hall (an excellent venue I might add) I was reviewing pictures I had taken in Hyde park when an official came up to me and said no photography (and I wasn’t taking photos) and yet their twitter feed regularly retweets photos taken by audience members and this frankly p!sses me off! If you have rules enforce them or don’t bother.

Now don’t get me wrong I would be particularly miffed if someone was taking photos during a performance (as has happened at Wigmore Hall, I was sat next to the irritating person) but if I’m honest I don’t see the problem of a picture of the auditorium or of the orchestra or band milking the applause (as an aside many venues ban photography but are happy for you to take photos on a tour) but I can understand that a blanket no photography ban is way easier to enforce than being specific about the performance. And as I say given I don’t approve of people taking pictures during a performance a blanket ban makes some sense.

The point of this post is that it is a little irritating to get your wrist slapped to find the venue retweeting or liking someone else doing the same thing.