hey guys, i see a LOT of mers getting gorgeous photoshoots on public lands (such as beaches, lagoons, and national parks) and haven't heard any discussion of needing photography permits. most of the public land i can get to that would be good for a mermaid photoshoot is considered part of a national park since i'm living in nocal, and national parks require permit fees (with insurance?!?) to let you photograph on their land or risk being fined by a ranger. i had never heard of this before and assumed you could take pictures unless you were impeding flow of traffic for a movie or something (like closing a road to film) but apparently if you have a model, props, are a professional, or intend to sell, monetize, advertise, or profit off of the photos / videos in any way you need a permit. the worst part is this apparently includes portfolios!

here is a link to the rules, which are alarmingly vague and seem to apply to most of us (most of us would be considered a model with props, lots of mers have monetized web pages / youtube channels and / or are already professional models themselves, etc).

do any of you have experience with this? i know pro mers don't show every moment of a shoot in their vlogs but i haven't heard mention of needing photo permits to go onto a public beach - i had no idea this was a thing myself. it doesn't seem like anyone else does it, i haven't seen professional youtubers talking about monetized film permits, but mers are much more recognizable as models.

if anyone has experience with this i'd love to hear more about it - do you get permits for shoots or just show up and hope you don't get stopped by staff?