Photography & Filming Policy

Personal Photography & Video

Guests are generally welcome to take photographs and record video for personal, noncommercial use in public Festival areas. This includes ordinary use of:

Phones
Personal cameras
Small handheld video equipment

Photography and recording remain subject to Festival safety rules, Guest Conduct standards, performer boundaries, restricted-area rules, and any instructions from GARF staff or law enforcement.

Respect People & the Experience

Photography or recording may not:

Block pathways, gates, queues, or emergency routes
Interfere with a performance, demonstration, procession, attraction, or vendor operation
Require another guest, performer, vendor, or employee to move or stop working
Enter backstage, employee-only, vendor work areas, kitchens, restricted locations, or other nonpublic spaces
Involve climbing structures or crossing barriers to obtain a shot
Create a safety hazard
Become harassing, intrusive, or persistently directed at another person after they have indicated they want the interaction to end

A camera does not override another person's boundaries.

Performers, Cast & Participants

GARF performers and street characters are often photographed as part of the Festival experience. Casual photographs taken during public performances or ordinary Festival activity are generally welcome.

A performer may:

Decline a posed photograph
End a photo interaction
Ask that physical contact stop
Step away
Continue to another performance or location

Guests must respect that decision. Do not touch a performer, costume, prop, instrument, animal, or equipment without permission, and do not repeatedly follow a performer for photographs or video after the interaction has ended.

Our standard

A performer being in costume or in character does not create an obligation to pose, interact, or continue an encounter.

Other Guests & Public Festival Areas

The Georgia Renaissance Festival is a public event environment in which photography and recording routinely occur. Guests may appear incidentally or in the background of another guest's personal photographs or video while in public Festival areas.

At the same time, photography or recording directed persistently at a specific person in a harassing, intrusive, or threatening manner is not permitted.

If someone ends a direct interaction or asks that an intrusive interaction stop, respect that boundary. Our Harassment & Safety Policy applies to photography and recording the same as it does to any other conduct on the grounds.

Photographing Children

Please use appropriate judgment when photographing or recording children who are not part of your own group.

Do not stage, direct, approach, or engage a child for a posed photograph or recording without the involvement or permission of that child's parent, guardian, or responsible adult.

Professional & Commercial Filming

Commercial photography, professional film or television production, advertising shoots, sponsored productions, brand campaigns, documentaries, music videos, organized content productions, and other commercial media activity may require prior written authorization from GARF.

When written approval is required

Written approval is required when a production involves one or more of the following:

Special or nonpublic access
Reserved areas
Significant professional equipment
Lighting setups
Tripods or equipment that obstruct guest areas
Talent coordination
Use of GARF performers or staff
Power requirements
Vehicles
Staging
Production crews
Controlled scenes
Commercial use of GARF trademarks, logos, or identity
Operational coordination with the Festival

A guest using a phone or camera to create ordinary personal or social content does not become a commercial production simply because they post publicly or have an online following. The determining factors are the nature of the activity, commercial purpose, equipment, access, coordination, and impact on Festival operations.

Commercial Filming Inquiries

Creators & Social Media

Guests are welcome to share their Festival experience on personal social media accounts. Normal personal content creation does not require advance permission when it follows the same rules as other guest photography and does not interfere with Festival operations.

Content involving paid brand partnerships, commercial advertising, organized productions, special access, reserved filming locations, coordinated talent, or significant production equipment may require prior written GARF authorization.

Capturing content at the Festival does not mean GARF has approved or endorsed it.

GARF & Authorized Media Capture

Photography, video recording, audio recording, livestreaming, motion-picture filming, television production, and other media capture may occur during Festival operations. GARF photographers, videographers, media partners, and authorized third-party productions may capture activity in public Festival areas.

Guests may appear incidentally or in the background of photographs, video, audio, livestreams, motion pictures, television, streaming productions, promotional materials, or other media captured during the event.

Also applies

Admission to GARF is also subject to the media and recording provisions contained in our Ticket Terms & Conditions.

How GARF Uses Festival Media

Photography and video used by GARF to represent the Festival are governed by our Creative Authenticity Standard.

GARF uses real Festival photography and video to represent actual grounds, performers, artisans, food, entertainment, patrons, products, and events.

Generative AI is not used to fabricate Festival photography, crowds, performers, food, products, or experiences in a way that could be mistaken for something that actually occurred at GARF.

Festival Operations & Final Discretion

GARF may limit or stop photography or recording when it:

Creates a safety concern
Obstructs traffic
Interferes with a performance or operation
Enters a restricted area
Violates another person's boundaries
Becomes harassing or disruptive
Involves unauthorized commercial activity
Conflicts with Festival policies

Guests must follow reasonable instructions from GARF staff, Festival management, and law enforcement regarding photography, equipment, access, or filming activity.