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I recently attended my British Citizenship ceremony in Cambridge. Everything went well, but the photographer (xxxxxxxxx) stopped my wife from taking a photo of me and asked her to delete it. There was no 'No Photography' sign in the room.

After the ceremony, we found out why. "Xxxxxxxxx" Photography charges £50 for two soft copies of British Citizenship ceremony photos. These people are scammers and extortionists, holding your citizenship ceremony photos hostage. Be sure to take your own photo during the ceremony.

Do NOT name companies on the forum.

You were in the wrong if it clearly said no photogrpahs. Imagine if 30 people attend and every guest is trying to take photos on their mobile phones, it would be disorderly!

Complain to your council if you feel so aggrieved. The photos are not compulsory to buy either.

As I said there was NO 'No Photography' sign in the room.
£50 for 2 soft copy is clear EXTORTION.

We weren't allowed to take photos at a private ceremony after the ceremony the registrar took a photo of us.

Every council is different, but usually people are allowed to take photographs after the ceremony. There might be others that don't.

The photos taken by the photographer are optional, there is no obligation to buy their photos.

In my council we were told that photos during the ceremony were not allowed - I took a picture afterwards. It is (perhaps sadly) customary that at official events there is an official photographer that will try to sell you a highly priced photo, exactly for the reason they are the only one allowed to take them. The solution is not to buy the picture.

Council staff were fine with people taking their own photos and did not stop anyone from doing so. The private photographer (who was not a member of the council staff) was the one policing people's phones and has now taken the photos hostage, charging extortion of £50 for two soft copies.

As advised above, you can fill a formal complain to the council. There is nothing else you can do at this stage.

maxfactorx wrote: ↑

Mon Sep 30, 2024 1:05 pm

Council staff were fine with people taking their own photos and did not stop anyone from doing so. The private photographer (who was not a member of the council staff) was the one policing people's phones and has now taken the photos hostage, charging extortion of £50 for two soft copies.

£25 per photograph still seems quite excessive. We got charged £10 per photo, and the photographer present at my ceremony was lovely. We took pictures after the ceremony too, no issues whatsoever.

My council didn’t allow to take photos during the ceremony. There was a photographer, and they charged £25 for photos of a new citizen alone, and £35 if there were additional photos taken with the guest. I received 4 digital photos the next day (2 photos of me, and 2 of me and my guest). It was a bit disappointing that we couldn’t take our own photos.