With digital cameras at their lowest prices and highest quality in history, it’s easy to get into photography. Whether photos are your artistic medium or you just shoot while you’re out with your friends, it’s becoming cheaper, easier and more fun than ever to go out and take pictures.

But the more we shoot, the more important it becomes to know about our rights as photographers. You don’t have to be a professional to know your rights, or to exercise them.

About a week ago, one of our photojournalists headed to an event in Witherspoon Student Center to shoot a few photos. But when an event coordinator became worried that the subjects could be portrayed in a bad light, the photographer was forbidden to shoot certain people.

Intimidated, and not yet a veteran shooter, our photographer didn’t argue, but just gave up on those photos. He gave up his right — not specifically as a newspaper photographer, but the right that any photographer has to shoot in any public place.

The rule of thumb for taking pictures is this: if it’s in public view, and your subject has no “reasonable expectation of privacy,” you can take a picture of it.

And what’s a reasonable expectation of privacy? Don’t take pictures of people in the bathroom and you should be fine under the law. But you should ask permission to take pictures if you’re not in a public place (such as restaurants, bars and workplaces). Also, try to avoid military bases.

Here are some common myths about street photography:• You can’t take pictures of someone without his/her permission. False. You can take a picture of anyone, provided he or she is in public view. The only time you need an individual’s permission is if you want to use the photo commercially.• You can’t take pictures of children without their parents’ permission.Definitely false. Cute kids make fantastic pictures. But again, you need written permission for commercial use.• The police can confiscate your film (or memory card, or camera) at any time.Wrong again. No one, including law enforcement, has the right to seize your photographic equipment without a subpoena or warrant. In fact, most news outlets refuse to give any images to police without legal action as a way of staying neutral.

The world of photography and liabilities is a complicated one. The best way to avoid confrontation is to be courteous and to educate yourself about your rights.

If you want to learn more, check out books like Bert Krages’ Legal Handbook for Photographers. Krages is an attorney who specializes in intellectual property laws and is an advocate for photographers’ rights.

And if you ever find that your rights are being infringed upon, you can call a Technician photographer any time. This is a battle we love to fight.