Photography in Syria: what to know

Photography is not banned in Syria. What must not be photographed is clear, and the list is short. What causes trouble is usually not the subject but the spot you shoot from: thirty metres past a checkpoint, the same mosque photographs without incident.

The one hard rule

Nothing military and nothing official. Military installations, checkpoints, soldiers and police, government buildings, the interior of the airport, bridges and dams are all on that list. The rule is not announced on a sign, and the absence of a sign is not permission. If you are unsure, lower the camera.

At a checkpoint, the phone stays in your pocket

Using a phone at a checkpoint is prohibited. Not photographing with it — holding it at all. In a vehicle, put it away, do not film through the window, do not mount a camera on the dashboard. Checkpoints on intercity roads are routine and passing through is usually uneventful; what breaks that is always the same thing.

People: ask first

Ask before you take a portrait. The answer is usually yes, and tea often follows. A frame taken without asking is a permission that was never given. In a crowded market shot nobody expects to be asked one by one; there the measure is that no single face becomes the subject.

For a child, ask the adult beside them. Showing the frame and offering to delete it ends an argument before it starts.

Photographing women

Do not photograph women without permission. This is the most sensitive form of the rule that covers every stranger, and it is where objections in Syria most often come from. It includes the women of a family you have met: your host invited you into his house, not to photograph his wife and daughter.

Even when permission is given, ask again before you share. Being photographed is one permission. Being published on social media is another.

Drones: leave them at home

A drone is not a reasonable risk for a visitor in Syria. In this country a drone is known as a military object, and the first thought of anyone who sees one overhead is not tourist footage. There is no published permit route open to tourists either; the answer people get varies from office to office.

Variable — confirm with a Syrian consulate before you travel. Do not bring one without written permission: the device can be held at customs, and flying it can end in detention. If you want height, a citadel wall already has it.

In damaged neighbourhoods

A collapsed street is somebody’s address before it is a photograph. Shooting rubble is not forbidden, but shooting it while people live in it is another matter; the family there does not see its own tent as scenery. The measure is this: if a person is recognisable you need permission, and if they are not, you still need a frame that does not diminish them.

Photograph the repair as well. Putting the newly opened shop, the scaffolding and the cleared street next to the damage does not soften the picture. It completes it.

In mosques, churches and markets

In a mosque the courtyard and the architecture are open; a person at prayer is not. Lower the camera at prayer time. Churches are not filmed during a service, and flash is banned on icons in most of them. In a market, catch the trader’s eye and nod before you shoot the stall — you will usually get a smile and a pose.

Paid photography permits at museums and archaeological sites vary from place to place; ask at the gate. Tripods and large kit often need a separate permit, and the person at the door decides what counts as professional.

If your phone or camera is taken

A security officer may take your phone or camera and look through it. Stay calm, do not argue, do not reach for the card. It is usually handed back after a look; sometimes you are asked to delete a frame, so delete it. Keep your backup in the cloud or on a second card.

If you are held, consular support is thin: many countries have no mission in Syria and help runs through an embassy in a neighbouring country. That is also the answer to why the rule is drawn so tightly.