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Photographing in Cologne, Germany - any advice?


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Morning all!

 

Next week, I'm off to shoot some stock photography in Cologne, Germany.

 

I've never been to Germany at all and I'm looking forward to it. However, are there things you need to be aware of? Things you shouldn't do?

 

Oh, and if anyone could offer up some good tips/ viewpoints that would be great! My main one will be the cathedral. Done a million times but I'd still like to get it:)

 

Thanks!!!

 

Jools

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The main thing I am always aware of when photographing in Germany is not to photograph people in the street. It is against German law and you do risk getting verbal abuse. Larger groups of people are ok, people as part of the scene are ok, but not images concentrating on people.

Have a good trip!

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The main thing I am always aware of when photographing in Germany is not to photograph people in the street. It is against German law and you do risk getting verbal abuse. Larger groups of people are ok, people as part of the scene are ok, but not images concentrating on people.

Have a good trip!

It's no problem at parades and such and I believe Germany still has the concept of expectation of privacy, though of course if you say it's an offence you live there and I don't. I have many portraits of individuals at weinfests, no bother at all.

Only ever problem of the sort was last week, we were cheated by a server at a weinfest in Stuttgart, got nowhere with the cheat so I took her photograph, which she tried to hide from, as evidence for the Landesamt or wherever and we were upbraided by a couple nearby who insisted that  I had 'kein recht'. I hadn't taken their photograph and told them so. I would be concerned to know that I had risked arrest but I don't think it could apply to such a circumstance. On no other occasion have I been glared at, waved off or anything of the sort, bu then I'm not a street photograper as such.

Very out of character for Germans, nothing of the type has ever happened to us otherwise in many years of trips (apart from a stolen hat in Bad Durkheim) so don't worry about it.

 

'Cologne cathedral'- 4554 images. Just a thought.

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How about at railway stations? Are you allowed to photograph there? Could you take a photo of an ICE train awaiting departure?

 

Act like a tourist?

 

"Ice Train" - 3731 results.

 

Searches for "Ice Train" on 'All of Alamy' in the last 365 days = 1.

 

Stay at home and buy a lottery ticket, it makes more sense... ;)

 

 

J

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No chance!

 

I have work to do :D Will be getting what I can, when I can while being careful not to upset anyone.

 

And anyone relying on the "All of Alamy" as a guide to what sells is missing out on things. That can only ever be taken as a very rough indication. Just because something such as an ICE train hasn't been bought in the last year from Alamy doesn't mean it won't sell. In addition, it also depends on how good those images are in the first place.

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And anyone relying on the "All of Alamy" as a guide to what sells is missing out on things. That can only ever be taken as a very rough indication. Just because something such as an ICE train hasn't been bought in the last year from Alamy doesn't mean it won't sell. In addition, it also depends on how good those images are in the first place.

 

Quality of images is paramount, but not as important as what people want to buy. Compare 1 search (note: search, not sale) for "ICE Train" and 386 individual searches for "Dog"...

 

I'll leave you to draw your own conclusions from that! :)

 

J

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How about at railway stations? Are you allowed to photograph there? Could you take a photo of an ICE train awaiting departure?

.....or even a Thalys heading for Paris!

I have never had any hassle at railway stations or next to tracks, don't know how it is if you set up a tripod.

You will certainly experience a lot of activity at the main station, which is next to the cathedral.

 

Take a walk over the bridge and see the thousands of padlocks.

 

On the other side of the Rhine is an office tower ("Triangle" I think) with an observation deck on top, but with a glass screen.

 

If the weather is good you could photograph beer drinkers at "Früh", an institution in the centre of town.

 

Don't whatever you do ask for an Altbier, in Cologne one drinks "Kölsch".

 

Enough said, or there won't be anything left for me!

 

Enjoy your visit :)

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I've photographed at Berlin main station with a tripod and was never questioned. 

 

Spacecadet, I could give many accounts of being yelled at by people who didn't want their photos taken - but Berliners do tend to be more verbal than most Germans :)  Still, I prefer to respect the German law here, for me I also know my German agency won't take images of individuals taken in the street. The exceptions, I believe, are famous people, people taking part in parades (but probably not the audience) and people as part of the landscape. ie people before the Cologne Cathedral.

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