Basketball England Photography and Filming Guidance

Updated December 2025

The following is to be taken as guidance for clubs and event organisers to support the practical implementation of Basketball England's photography policy.

It is recognised that:

• Sharing photographs and video footage of our activities can help us celebrate the successes and achievements of our children and young people, provide a record of our activities and raise awareness of our organisation
• The welfare of the children and young people taking part in our activities is paramount
• Children, their parents and carers have a right to decide whether their images are taken and how these may be used, regardless of age, disability, gender reassignment, race, religion or belief, sex or sexual orientation
• Consent to take images of children is only meaningful when children, their parents and carers understand how the images will be used and stored, and are fully aware of the potential risks associated with the use and distribution of these images
• Care should be taken to ensure that images are appropriate and not open to obvious misinterpretation or misuse and there are potential risks associated with sharing images of children online

Always ask for written consent from a child and their parents or carers before taking and using a child’s image.

Always explain what images will be used for, how they will be stored and what potential risks are associated with sharing images of children.

Make it clear that if a child or their family withdraw consent for an image to be shared, it may not be possible to delete images that have already been shared or published.

Do not include full names and other personal data alongside images of children and young people, unless considered necessary in the circumstances, for example, elite young athlete promotion.

Make sure children, their parents and carers understand how images of children will be securely stored and for how long (including how you will control access to the images and their associated information)

Reduce the risk of images being copied and used inappropriately by:

• Only using images of children in appropriate clothing (including safety wear if necessary)
• Use images that positively reflect young people’s involvement in the activity.
• Nude or partially clothed individuals

If consent is not given for a child to have their photograph or video taken, used, or shared, these wishes will be respected. Children will not be excluded from an activity if consent is not granted, instead, anyone filming or taking photographs should be made aware of anyone who has not given consent for their image to be used, eg. A child may be given a sticker or badge.

If you become aware of an abuse or misuse of images of children please report this via the Basketball England safeguarding reporting procedures.

Photographs and/or filming for Basketball England’s use

If we hire a photographer for one of our events, we seek to keep children and young people safe by:

• Requiring all media personal to undergo media accreditation prior to an event
• Providing the photographers with a clear brief about appropriate content and behaviour
• Ensuring the photographer wears identification at all times
• Informing children, their parents and carers that a photographer will be at the event
• Ensuring written consent is obtained for images to be taken during the course of an event and for any images taken on behalf of BE to be used via social media, web pages, and print
• Ensuring there is an opportunity to withhold/withdraw consent to images which feature a child being taken and shared
• Not allowing the photographer any unsupervised access to children or carry out sessions outside of the event or at a child’s home

Report any concerns regarding inappropriate or intrusive photography following our safeguarding reporting procedures

Report A Concern

If you would like to withdraw consent to the use of an image utilise the contacts at the end of this policy. Every endeavour will be undertaken to delete the image but please note if this has been posted online this may not always be possible.

If consent has been obtained but the existing photos or video are no longer going to be used for their original purpose, consent will need to be obtained for further use.

When any person (including children themselves, parents, carers, spectators) is taking photographs or filming at our events and the images are for personal use, the following applies:

• Basketball England need consent to use and take images of children. This will have been obtained prior to an event
• Be aware that some children will not have consented to having their photograph taken at an event and these will be identifiable
• Photographs taken during an event should not be posted on social media unless permission is granted explicitly by children and their parents and carers before the photographs and videos involving them are shared
• It is recommended that people check the privacy settings of their social media account to understand who else will view the images they share
• If you are concerned about images being taken or shared please talk to the event manager or safeguarding team

If people such as local journalists, professional photographers (not hired by Basketball England) or students wish to record one of our events and share the images professionally or in the wider world, they should seek permission in advance via the media accreditation route on the Basketball England website. All photographers who gain media accreditation must follow the Basketball England photography policy and guidance.

Photographs/filming at local events/fixtures   

The principles set out in the Basketball England Photography and Filming Policy and this guidance document should be followed during all BE activity and it will be the responsibility of local clubs/local event organisers to ensure that principles are adhered to.

• Clubs should include a section on photography in their safeguarding policy
• When confirming fixtures with the opposition, consent for taking images, including videoing the game, should be discussed
• Clubs can only give consent on behalf of the team after they have gained player and parental consent
• Parents/guardians should be made aware of the photography policy/this guidance document
• Parents/guardians should be aware that once images are in circulation or have been published it may not be possible to remove them
• If recruiting a photographer/videographer, organisations must ensure they have recruited them in line with safer recruitment guidance. The safeguarding principles and best practice principles that apply to those in Basketball working with children, would apply to any photographer working with children

When deciding what images to use:

• Choose images that present the activity in a positive light and focus on the activity rather than the child
• Choose images of children in appropriate clothing
• Avoid images that may be more prone to misinterpretation or misuse by others
• Do not include full names and other person data alongside images of children and young people, unless considered necessary in the circumstances

Storing content 

Photos and videos are classed as ‘personal data’ under the Data Protection Act 2018. Therefore, if your organisation stores photos or video recordings of children for official use, you must ensure you are complying with the requirements set out in the Data Protection Act 2018. 

We will store photographs and videos of children taken by or on behalf of BE securely, in accordance with our safeguarding policy and data protection law. Photograph and videos that are taken by or on behalf of BE will be kept for an unlimited period as historic records and for potential reuse for editorial reasons. 

We will keep hard copies of images in a locked drawer and electronic images in a protected folder with restricted access.

We will never store images of children on unencrypted portable equipment such as laptops, memory sticks and mobile phones for longer than the period necessary to edit and publish them.

Basketball England does not permit staff and volunteers to use any personal equipment to take photos and recordings of children. Only cameras or devices belonging to Basketball England should be used for official photography purposes. 

Video analysis as a coaching aid

Video can be a legitimate coaching aid. If used the following must be followed:

• Consent from parents/guardians and child obtained in writing
• Purpose of video understood by parents/guardians and child
• Permission should be requested from anyone else who may feature in the video
• If someone is assigned for this role the club must ensure that any footage is removed and stored safely after games by a club member who has undertaken safe recruitment processes. It is the club’s responsibility to ensure that footage is used appropriate and in line with Basketball England’s safeguarding policy, photography policy, this guidance document privacy and data protection policy, and the code of ethics and conduct.

Use of photographic and recorded images when teams are playing abroad

When age group teams play in other countries there may not be restrictions on photography/filming. Many countries allow widespread use of cameras/video equipment in basketball halls. Parents should be made aware of this possibility and decide whether they are content for their child to play in these circumstances.

Contact details:

Marketing and Communications Team - [email protected]

Safeguarding Team - [email protected]

These guidelines do not include ‘live streaming,’ refer to the Live Streaming Guidance for further information.