July 18, 2011 by Robin Reeder
Remember when a few posts back I promised to tell you the story of getting caught with no permits? Today is the day I finish telling the story!
I shot little Grace at the Rose Garden in San Jose. The light was great that morning and she was so cooperative for a two year old. Especially since she got a big owie on her toe right before they met us at the park. We had a great shoot.

Right after I was done, I was supposed to photograph another mutual friends little girl. I wrap up with Grace and start shooting some of Audrey. Not five minutes into the shoot, a “volunteer” for the parks department walks up to us. He starts asking questions, making it seem like he was interested in hiring me to do a photoshoot. I give him my card. He starts asking my friend about me, my business etc. She thought the same, that he was looking to hire someone, so she played along and talked me up. Well then, he starts with his dialogue about me needing a permit, did I have a permit, did I want to buy a permit to keep shooting, etc. Now, in all honesty, I did not know I needed a permit for this particular park. Villa Montalvo, sure, it’s hard to miss their giant sign. But not the Rose Garden. I was mortified. I don’t intentionally like to break the rules, I’m kind of a goody-goody when it comes to that. Thank goodness I was photographing with a good friend of mine. It would have been much more embarrassing if it was a client I was meeting for the first time! We packed up and headed to a different park. I felt awful, but as it turned out I found a new spot in San Jose to do portraits. It was a great spot and I’ve used it a couple of times since. Hopefully I won’t get kicked out of there as well! And for the record, I did go home that night and try to buy a permit. Unfortunately, the City of San Jose and Santa Clara County make it very confusing as to which permit you need, which park needs a permit from the various government agency and which parks are fair game. I think I found the right spot but then it doesn’t let you buy them online, you have to go down to the office. So annoying! So, next time I am down at the city office, I promise to pay up…
City of San Jose: 1
Robin Reeder Photography: 0