Where local school teams play sports, is this considered public grounds or private (school) grounds?

Question:

I am a photographer. I need to know if I got to a local school sporting event. Can I legally photograph the teams playing, and solicit my buisness cards with an event password to a secure site (password protected), and having them online without a contract beacause and if its public ground, can I be punished by the law?

Thanks in advance.
Josh

Answer:
taking pictures of minor children is much safer if you have permission from a school official, either principal or coach, to do so. privacy issues will over-ride any copyright considerations in this case. A school official has "in locus parentis" authority and that will save you from getting permits from each parent.

if you offer a couple of publicity shots for the school's use that would go a long way toward getting a permanent written permit slip.

All you need to do is ask the administration for permission to photograph the sporting events and later sell images to interested parties.

I have colleagues that do this at many schools, both private and public.

My coverage of the games is as a journalist, so no post game marketing is involved

Where local school teams play sports, is this considered public grounds or private (school) grounds?

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