Professional Protocol and the Law

Usually, you are able to use the pictures that you take at zoos for your personal enjoyment and for educational purposes. You generally CAN'T sell these images as the zoo owns the property and reserves the rights to the imagery taken there for commercial purposes. There is much more to this subject (enough to make write a full article). Don't expect to make a living taking "wildlife" pictures at a zoo and selling them without getting yourself into a legal mess. Property releases are usually (even though not always) obtainable, but they are not free. You are less likely to have a problem with this at smaller zoos. Little town zoos usually are just happy you show up to visit them.

Foremost among these rules is informing the zoo management of the commercial purpose of the photos. Some zoos charge a fee whilst others merely ask for info, such as the publications in which the pictures will appear, the part from the zoo which will be used, and the time required for the photo session.

A photographer won't be able to treat the zoo as his studio. This means that the zoo photographer won't have access for the zoo’s electric outlets or automatic admittance to every building.