Privacy Guidance for Photo/Video recordings of university sponsored events

The university reserves the right to photograph and/or video record university sponsored events and, include the respective photographs/videos in marketing and communications materials, university websites, social media, university publications, printed materials, etc. Photos and videos taken at university sponsored events may capture images of event attendees (students, staff, faculty, visitors, etc.).

The following guidance is addressed to university events organizers and includes privacy considerations with regards to the publication of photos and videos taken at university sponsored events.

Give Notice

Event organizers should notify event attendees  that photography or filming (video recording) is taking place ahead of or during the event. 

Ways to inform attendees include using notices at the venue, in the areas where photographs or video recorings will be taken, or including such notices in the event invitations and/or advertising materials. Notices should be prominent and in simple terms advise attendees that photography/video recording will be taking place, along with the contact information of the organizer.

Obtain Consent, when required

Generally, it is not necessary to obtain explicit consent (Photo & Video Recording Release) from individuals photographed or videotaped in public spaces and venues, or attending public events, for wide shots that are not focusing on specific individuals, for example shots of a crowd or large groups of people with no specific focus on any individual, and where no-one is clearly identifiable in the photograph or clip.

This includes images and videos taken of students, student athletes, musicians, artists, tour guides, and other situations in which students are performing or presenting in a public venue that is open and available for public viewing (games, matches, plays, concerts, performance art, tours, public speeches, debates, etc).

This also includes students who may be photographed or videotaped while participating in university-wide public events including (but not limited to) Orientation, Move-In, Buff and Bloom week, Midnight Breakfast or Commencement.

If, however, an individual is photographed and/or videoed and is easily recognizable in the photograph or video, the Office of Communications & Marketing or other unit involved in or responsible for the event or image capture, will attempt to obtain a Release, if the photograph or video will be distributed or published outside GW.

Explicit consent (release) should be obtained and retained if further information (for example; their name on a name badge, university logo, or any identifiable materials they may be holding) would be captured and made public, or if the photograph will be used along with a bio.

Written consents may also be sought and retained for the use of photos of individual students or a group of students in a small setting, where students are clearly identifiable. However, provided that a student has not requested that the University maintain the confidentiality of the student's directory information, the University is not prohibited by the Family Educational Rights and Privacy Act (FERPA) from using and publishing photographs of the student solely for University purposes.

Special considerations should be given to images of minors who are not enrolled at GW (e.g. university visitors, who are minors), where parental/legal guardian written release may be required, if the photo is only of one or a few children, as compared to a very large crowd.

Provide your contact information

If a GW community member (student, staff, faculty) is knowingly photographed while in a public space and prefers that their image not be used, it is the responsibility of the GW community member to inform the photographer or videographer of their preference, at the time the photograph or video is taken. Event organizers should include their contact information (email/phone number) in the event's invitation / promotional materials, so attendees can express their preferences with regards to the publication of their individual images.

GW community members who have concerns about the use of their image as outlined in this guidance, and in the university’s Statement of Privacy Practices, can contact the GW Privacy Office to express their concerns.

GW Community Members should contact the Office of Communications and Marketing if they wish to remove their image from university websites or university social media.