Photo & Video

Nowadays everyone has a 12 megapixel photo camera and 1080p HD video camera in their pockets. This is one reason to dress appropriately, but the focus of this guide is on camera etiquette.

Do NOT take photos or videos that can easily identify a protestor — especially if the activity being recorded could be considered “illegal” by the police. (Yes, this includes burning shit, but it also includes seemingly benign acts like “unlawful assembly” if the protest has been deemed as such, or breaking an imposed curfew.) Cops will try to use photos and videos to identify people and make arrests.

Do NOT post photos or videos on social media that identify protestors. Police search social media to identify and arrest protestors.

DO take photos and videos of police brutality. Document as many instances of police violence and misconduct as you can, and share your photos and videos as widely as possible. We must hold racist, violent police accountable.

Remove photo metadata, blur faces, THEN post on social media. BEFORE you post photos, use an app like Image Scrubber to remove image metadata and blur ALL protestors’ faces. iPhone users: you can also try this Blur Faces shortcut (Instructions). The Signal app can also blur faces in photos. Removing video metadata is also possible using ExifTool.

Avoid arrest. If you get arrested and your phone contains photos and videos from the protest, this puts you and your comrades at risk.