All-ages concerts and younger audience members

A concert for all ages feels different. Parents are present, children are excited and the audience is as much a family outing as a show. A photographer's approach has to match.

This page is part of our guide to concert and live-music photography. It is not legal advice, and safeguarding questions should be reviewed by people qualified to do so.

What is different about an all-ages audience?

At an adult show, the main questions are about the artist and the crowd's mood. At an all-ages show, there is another layer: children cannot decide for themselves how their image is used. Parents or guardians decide, and the producer has a duty of care in how it runs the event.

That means the plan should start from the producer's process, not from the photographer's preference. A calm, protective approach also builds trust with families, who are often wary of cameras near children.

Who decides what is photographed?

Think in four steps.

1. The producer decides whether photographs of the audience are taken at all, and for what.
2. Parents or guardians decide about their children.
3. The venue sets its own rules.
4. The photographer follows the process agreed.

We do not set the consent process for the producer. We ask what it is, plan around it and record it in the quotation. Our guide to children's event photographs and the questions authorised adults must resolve is a good starting point.

What images are safer to plan?

Some images raise fewer questions than others.

Lower concern	Higher concern
Wide crowd views, no one identifiable	Close portraits of a child
The artist on stage	Children at the front, singled out
Hands, banners, balloons	A child's reaction in close-up
The venue and stage design	Children at the toilets, changing or resting

The producer decides what is suitable. If publication is planned, only use images that match the permissions that were given.

How should families be informed?

Tell families before they arrive. Place a clear note in ticket terms, on the event page and at the entrance. Say that photography is happening, how images may be used and how to opt out or raise a concern. Our guest photography communication builder helps with the wording, and the photo sharing and privacy plan helps decide where images go.

Malaysia's Personal Data Protection Act 2010 governs how personal data is handled in commercial transactions, per the Personal Data Protection Department. How it applies to images of children at your event is a question for a qualified adviser.

What if a child does not want to be photographed?

Respect it. A child who turns away or hides is giving a clear signal, and the photographer should move on. Our guide to when a child does not want to be photographed explains how we handle this calmly.

An example scenario

For example, imagine a family-friendly concert at a community hall. The producer wants atmosphere images for its next newsletter. It places a notice at the entrance, and parents who do not wish their children to be photographed are asked to tell the staff.

The photographer takes wide views of the stage and crowd, and avoids close portraits of children. When a parent asks that their child not appear, the producer tells the photographer, and that area is avoided. Only images that fit the producer's notice go into the newsletter. Where the producer wants to use a close image of a child, it seeks permission first.

What to tell us before the show

• The age range of the audience.
• The producer's notice and consent approach.
• Which images the producer wants, and for what use.
• Who is the contact for opt-outs and concerns.
• How images will be stored and shared.

Your quotation records the agreed process, and we do not use identifiable images of children in our own materials without the permission of the authorised adults.