(Adapted and expanded from page 51 of the Policies and Procedures v. 15.1.)

First and foremost, Norwescon has been and continues to be a very photo-friendly convention. With very few exceptions, we place no restrictions upon when, where, or whom you can shoot. In fact, to make it easy, our photo policy is simply this:

  1. Please be respectful. We understand that with so many gorgeous outfits, it’s tempting to simply snap shots willy-nilly. However, it’s polite to make sure your subject knows that you are taking their picture and does not mind having their picture taken (and this is especially true in the evening hours, when costumes may begin to have fewer layers than during the day). A friendly smile and a quick “Do you mind?” will keep everyone happy.
  2. Keep hallways clear. Costumes are everywhere at Norwescon, and photo opportunities abound. When taking shots in the halls, please be sure to keep an eye out for traffic. If you’re in a particularly busy area, or if people are waiting to get through without interrupting your photo, please either pause to let people pass or consider finding another space for your shot. Once again, a little common courtesy goes a long way.

And really, that about sums it up.

Of course, there are a very few situations where we have to be a little more strict. Here’s what you need to know.

  1. No photography in the Art Show. Most, if not all, of the art on display at the Art Show is for sale — so it shouldn’t be much of a surprise that photography isn’t permitted here. Many of the artists will be more than happy to let you take their artwork home with you, they’d just prefer not to give it away for free.
  2. No photography during Friday’s 18+ Special Event. Due to the adult nature of the show and by request of the performers, we ask that you keep your camera off during the performance. The only photographers permitted have already been pre-approved by Norwescon. Thank you for your cooperation.
  3. No flash photography during Saturday’s Masquerade. Think of it this way: if you were all wrapped up in a fancy costume that you had worked weeks or months on, navigating your way along a stage in a large dark room, perhaps with your vision blocked or impaired in some way by your costume, would you want a sudden huge flash of light distracting you? There’s simply too much potential for accidents, so please — keep your flash turned off in the Masquerade.
  4. Let staff direct the post-Masquerade photo area. We will once again be setting up our post-Masquerade photo area in the hotel lobby on Saturday evening. All seats are reserved for Norwescon staff photographers; other photographers may make use of the area behind the staff photographers. We must keep the hallway open for people to pass through, so please follow the directions of any Norwescon security if you are asked to move.
    As the safety and comfort of Norwescon members is of the utmost importance, we have a strict policy that only Norwescon staff may direct the post-Masquerade photo area. While some of the people modeling their costumes may have some prior modeling experience, most do not. Please do not try to direct the models. Norwescon staff will be directing the models, and no other photographers will be allowed to provide direction to individuals in the photo area during the post-masquerade photo session. Should a photographer other than a Norwescon photographer provide direction to photo area participants, one (1) warning will be given along with instructions to stop directing the post-masquerade photography participants. Should the behavior continue after this warning, the non-staff photographer will be asked to leave the photo area for the remainder of the photo shoot.

Finally, one last request — please share your photos! What fun are photos if nobody gets to see them? We at Norwescon love to see the shots you take over the weekend. Not only that, but all those people who work so hard to create the costumes, panels, dances, and events that you’ll be shooting love to see themselves in the photos you take!

The easiest way to share your photos is by setting up an account at Flickr, Yahoo’s popular photo sharing site, uploading your photos, and adding them to the Norwescon group. We always look forward to seeing what you see over the convention weekend!

As long as you’re sharing your Norwescon photos, do you have any from prior years floating around on your hard drive (or ready to be scanned)? We have set up Flickr groups for every Norwescon ever held — unfortunately, many of those groups have few photos or no photos at all (especially for years prior to Norwescon 28). We would be absolutely thrilled if you had any shots of Norwescons past that you could contribute to any one or more of those groups!

And that wraps it up. Thanks very much!