The only person who can prevent you from publishing (notice I said publishing...if you can view it from the street...it is legal to shoot it...after photgraphing two architecture books....the legal dept of the publishing house informed me of this....it is not heresy) a photograph of a building ....is the architect or his/her estate AND only if the building was built and designed in the last 75 years. Ownership of the building...does not give you the "veto" power. But it does give you the power to not allow the photographer to be on your property.
There is a law on the books.....yet as of this writing no law suit has been filed in the USA (similar laws exist in other parts of the world) that grants architects similar rights as photographers....copyright.
In fact....the way the law is written....the architect actually has the right to sue the owner of the building if the owner alters the design of the building without permission. This I would love to see in court....
I have gotten around "attitudes" in several ways....
If your on the street in a major city....get a tripod permit.
If you are on the street with your permit and a "rent a cop" still gives you problems....invite him/her to call the police....and let them explain to the police why they are calling them....usually this scares them....cops don't like "rent a cops" and imagine calling the police to tell them that somebody is standing on public property WITH a permit taking a photograph....if they do show up....it will an hour later and you will be finished.
The permit is a wonderful thing....nobody can stop you. I was shooting a job in NYC a few years ago...and the Secret Service tried to get me to stop.....because the president was a block away. After seeing the permit....they stood around for five minutes scratching their heads....and then left.
Another method....is to bring someone with you. Since almost nobody understands how a view camera works....you have your friend do the talking to Mr. Rubber Gun....while you finish your shot. Devious....but it works. Than you say "Sorry...we didn't know." and leave.
If the person isn't acting like an a-hole....be nice. I once took shot...and the guard told me to leave in the most amusing way. He asked if he could be my assistant. He asked....because he informed me that if he got caught letting me take the photo....he would be out of a job. I asked for 5 minutes....and he pretended to be telling me to leave....and let me get my shot.
Police have acted the same way....asked me to leave. I asked for 5 minutes to finish....and they said "we will take a twenty minute walk....if your still here when we get back....."
Just be nice.
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