My family and I have been fairly regular attendees at the National Zoo and Aquarium over the years. Being in Canberra, it is our local zoo. The kids (at least when younger!) loved looking at the animals, and Zoo excursions were a regular thing. We even had a family membership for a couple of years. The youngest is still in that phase, while the older one is developing some of my fascination with photographing them.

Most zoos (in Australia, at least) include restrictive entry permissions that prevent you selling products using photos taken at their Zoo. I presume they want to stop photographers getting pushy around other people at the zoo trying to get good photographs, and to preserve their ability to make money from selling images from their Zoo. I respect that – I would expect a zoo to be a phenomenally expensive operation to run. Making sure the experience isn’t spoilt for other users, and preserving their ability to generate some money from their operations is good business sense. I must confess, I am not convinced on the legal enforceability of that restriction, but I am very happy to comply with it nevertheless, out of respect for their efforts. Modern zoos do fantastic work in the conservation and preservation of species and they need to be supported. I strongly encourage you to respect that too, if you are in a position to make money from your photos.

They don’t restrict you taking photos and sharing them amongst friends and family. Indeed, they tend to encourage it. Free advertising is good! I think I can probably share my images on here (and Pinterest, Instagram, etc.) freely under that provision, as I am not making money on this arrangement. However, if I want to produce products with my images on them, I can only do so if I get permission from the zoo.

So, stay tuned for a release of a set of photos from the National Zoo and Aquarium very soon.

But wait, there’s more…

I have exchanged emails with the National Zoo and Aquarium, and I believe I have permission to produced a range of products bearing those images. Assuming this all pans out, I have started planning to release a range of products featuring animals from the National Zoo and Aquarium. In keeping with my desire to support the zoo, $1 from each sale will be donated to the Zoo. I’m designing these now, and hope to make them available in May. Stay tuned!