The picturesque fishing village on the Amalfi coast is built on a slope, filled with pastel-hued houses, which seem to flow gently down to pure blue waters of the Tyrrhenian Sea. It seems perpetually ready for its close-up. But if you want to photograph this world-famous, lovely locale, as of Mid-November you now will have to fork over big bucks: a $1,160 “tax,” to be precise, to point and shoot in Positano, Italy.
In an article in the Times, Mayor Michele De Lucia says that if you intend to use the photos for advertising or commercial purposes, you’ll have to apply for a permit of 1,000 Euros (2,000 for commercial video).
“We are also doing it to control the territory,” claims De Lucia. “Improvised film sets were blocking the passage of pedestrians in the town’s key arteries.”
The article claims the fees are for professional photographers only; tourists can happily snap away. However, what if it’s a wedding party doing a destination wedding? Or what if you’re shooting casually but end up using a shot commercially? Does the photographer have to add this to the cost of the shoot? Where does the town rail the line? And what if you’re caught? According to La Republica, you’ll be made to pay the tax, and you’ll also be slapped with a 50% surcharge.
The issue of destinations charging fees for photographers and video crews is a growing one, and you don’t have to stray far from home. Rutgers Gardens, in New Brunswick, NJ, for instance, charges $200 for commercial photography (but you can photograph the flowers for free); some national parks charge fees of $25-100. In Chesapeake Bay, the colonial London Town and Gardens charges from $25-175 per 2-hour block for professional photography use. Professional photographers are faced with a choice: Built the cost into their fees, or find other locations that don’t charge.
But Positano’s photography tax is the biggest fee for photos that we’ve seen so far.
Would you pay a hefty fee to photograph a photogenic location?
