Recording Guidelines

Purpose

These guidelines set forth expectations regarding the photography, videography, and recording of classes, meetings, or other conversations at Reed; offsite at college-organized events; over the phone between members of our community; and photography, videography, and recording arranged by Reed College officials for promotional purposes.

These guidelines intend to inform the community that there are rights and laws regarding photography, videography, and recording. The guidelines are not intended as legal advice, nor is it intended to halt or reduce the community's communication or freedom of expression. Rather, they intend to strike a balance between the legitimate uses of audio and visual recordings and concerns, including compliance with the law, privacy, and the protection of intellectual property.

These guidelines are compatible with Oregon law (ORS 165.540).

Guidelines

In relation to photography, videography, and recording, it is expected that all community members will respect the privacy of individuals in the workplace and in educational settings.

The secret recording (audio or video) of classes, meetings, or other conversations, including telephone calls, is prohibited, as it does not respect the privacy of individuals, is not compatible with the law (ORS 165.540), and may inhibit an open exchange of ideas. In public areas and common spaces where there is usually no reasonable expectation of privacy, photographing or filming without audio is generally lawful. In other spaces, such as private offices, dorm rooms, dressing rooms, and restrooms, where people usually have a reasonable expectation of privacy, the consent of all parties must be obtained when recording, photographing, or filming.

At Reed, classes (and any lectures, labs, studios, or conference sections that are part of a class and to which the public is not explicitly invited) may be recorded by the instructor or by a student in the class for personal use with the prior written consent of only the instructor. In order to comply with Oregon law, either (a) all participants must be specifically informed that they are being recorded, or (b) the recording device must be unconcealed. Class recordings by students or instructors may not be shared with others or published without the further prior written consent of the instructor and all participants, with the exception that instructors may use recordings for confidential training purposes.

If a student receives an accommodation allowing them access to a recording of a class for learning purposes, the instructor will be notified by the office of Disability and Accessibility Resources that the student is eligible for this accommodation. The instructor may allow the student to make the recording, or themselves provide for such a recording. If the instructor elects to provide the recording, the instructor should consult with the office of Disability and Accessibility Resources to ensure that the recording will satisfy the terms of the student's accommodation. The instructor should inform all participants that they are being recorded, but should not disclose the identity of the student requesting the recording. Any class recordings made for accommodation purposes may not be shared with others or published without the prior written consent of the instructor and all participants.

Furthermore, distribution outside of the college of any classroom recording must comply with Reed's Intellectual Property Rights policy.

 Surveillance cameras/equipment and software may be placed on campus by authorized campus personnel to prevent or deter crimes, to protect public safety, and to facilitate official college investigations into criminal activities or violations of campus policy. 

All students and employees are advised that Reed College officials and others hired by the college take photography, videography, and recording for promotional purposes throughout the year of campus facilities and scenes, events, faculty, staff, students, and alumni for promotional purposes in all areas of campus or at any Reed College-sponsored event off campus where subjects do not have a normal and reasonable expectation of privacy. In doing so, Reed strives to have an honorable approach to obtaining and using the content for promotional purposes. The photography, videography, and recording content is the property of Reed College and may be used for Reed College promotional purposes (e.g., electronic and printed publications, websites, classroom use, event ads, etc.) without further permission of the subjects. As a general practice, there is no attempt to collect individual release forms unless there is a reasonable expectation of privacy. In cases where there is a reasonable expectation of privacy, the college will make a reasonable effort to contact every person in the photo and to obtain a signed release form allowing Reed to use the photo for promotional purposes.

The college asks that college photographers, videographers, and audio recorders make themselves visible and, when possible, verbally obtain consent when capturing content and that they inform subjects that photography, videography, and/or recording will be used by the college for promotional purposes. When a person enters an area where photography, audio, and video recording is occurring, the person consents to such recording media and its release, publication, exhibition, or reproduction for promotional purposes. It is expected that any individual not comfortable will excuse themselves from the area or inform the college photographer, videographer, and audio recorder that they do not wish to be included. When conducting photography, videography, and recording in classrooms or Reed educational events not open to the public, the college official will contact the instructor or organizer in advance, ask for their permission, and ask that they inform the participants of the photography, audio, and video recording. In addition, during the class or event, the college asks that those who wish not to be included either inform the photographer, videographer, and/or audio recorder at the time, or later email the public affairs department to advise them of their wishes.

While the college is not able to track, identify, and document each photograph that is taken and filed, public affairs takes reasonable steps to remove photos from the collection of those people who let us know they do not wish to be photographed.

Following professional standards, the public affairs office allows for post-production editing of images to serve the use, medium needs, and artistic direction of the communication materials. During the post-production process, public affairs is careful not to edit images in any way that misrepresents subjects. Examples of allowed post-production editing include zonal density adjustments, cropping, dodging and burning, conversion into grayscale, and normal toning and color adjustments. The final selection of images should authentically reflect the people and events at Reed.

Release form

In cases where photography, videography, and/or recording are taken when there is a reasonable expectation of privacy, Reed uses the following release form.
Download a release form

Hiring a photographer or videographer

Contact public affairs to hire a photographer or videographer for a campus event. Public Affairs has approved vendors who have signed the Reed College Photographer/Filming Agreement and are aware of Reed's guidelines.

Commercial photography and filming

All commercial photography and filming must be approved in writing by Conference & Events Planning. Please consult the guidelines regarding photography and filming on campus for commercial purposes.