No free wedding photography in Croatia I am afraid
Last night I wached news on one private Croatian television channel, it happens in city Samobor (I didn't hear beginning of news so I don't knnow if it is in whole Croatia or just local city rule), and news were: In city wedding office, in church and in restaurants where wedding party will be held, only people who have registered photography business are allowed to make photographs of wedding!!!!! No more asking friends or relatives or even you to photohgraph your wedding regardless if it is for you or for them to have memory from wedding. It is against the law!!!!!!
What a crazy world we live in...
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Bosnia... You don't have to be crazy to live here, but it helps...
Storry followed news is: One groom was inteviewed. He has friend who is photojournalist. Groom asked friend to photograph wedding and friend of course agreed. Inspection entered wedding and asked friend if he has registered business. He said he has not, but he has press card from papers he works for and he is pro photographer, but photojournalist . Inspectors said that even with press card he is not allowed to photograph wedding. The groom said he asked his friend to photohraph wedding, inspectors again said never mind if groom asked, only registered business photographers can photograph wedding!
Insane...
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Bosnia... You don't have to be crazy to live here, but it helps...
I wish I had a Euro every time I learned that a company that asked me for a quote for a potential job, and then hired some amateur for peanuts. Everyone has a camera, so making images must be easy. Why should professionals get paid?
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When I grow up, I want to be a photographer.
I photographed wedding of my brother. I made photographs, prints, put them in albums, whole packadge. It was one of my gifts to my brother and his wife for wedding. If I did that in Croatia, it would be illegal. Pinholemaster, are you reffering that SHOULD be illegal
By the way I just checked, law is valid in whole Croatia.
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Bosnia... You don't have to be crazy to live here, but it helps...
Well, perhaps I could provide another viewpoint...
Wedding photography has been a "sore point" for many of the photo studios here for a long time (there were instances of photographers from different studios actually fighting over who gets to shoot a wedding sometimes... )
With the advent of digisnappers, the situation got worse - there are many "moonlighters" taking away their bread and butter, so someone must have tipped the inspectors. They came, saw that the guy shooting the weeding (for money) did not have a business license (i.e. was not operating legally, not paying any taxes, dues, etc.), so naturally they fined him.
Like in any other civilized country, you cannot sell your products/services in Croatia unless you're some kind of a registered business, which means that you're providing your customers with regular bills/invoices, paying your taxes, insurances, etc... I bet all of the hotdog sellers in NY must also have some kind of license, unless they want to be busted, right?
The point is that it's just another "illegal activity", just like various street peddlers pushing contraband and/or counterfeit goods, and the inspectors have the full right to check whether the person providing the service (for money) is licensed to do so...
A different problem is that they have obviously taken the issue too far, so that they (allegedly) said that noone is allowed to take ANY photos at the wedding, unless they have the proper business license.
Yes, some things are done in rather strange ways here - take the issue of busnesses/stores being open on Sundays. The unions were complaining about being forced by the employers to work in the stores on Sundays, without being paid extra. So, after several months/years of endless debates, the Parliament, in its infinite wisdom, decided not to allow ANY stores to be open on Sundays - apparently it was a lot easier to do than having to control whether the workers in those stores are actually properly paid for their work
So, if you want to buy some bread in the nearby store on Sunday - tough luck!
Last part of your post, by mine opinion is absolutely correct (with first part I don't agree ). It is easier for bureaucrats to make wedding photography forbidden for familly and friends than to work hard and catch those who photographing for money withoutt paying tax.
Regarding not working at Sunday. Capitalist managers and owners of businesses are modern slave owners and don't want to hire more workers but force workers they have to work 25 hours per day 8 days a week. It would be best if government can force those capitalists to be normal. If they can't, and obviously in "new democraties" they can't, than I am all for banning of working at Sunday. After all, is it so hard to buy 2 instad of 1 bread or 2 instead of 1 litres of milk at Saturday In fact I would ban working at Sunday AND Saturday
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Bosnia... You don't have to be crazy to live here, but it helps...
Well, perhaps I could provide another viewpoint...
Wedding photography has been a "sore point" for many of the photo studios here for a long time (there were instances of photographers from different studios actually fighting over who gets to shoot a wedding sometimes... )
With the advent of digisnappers, the situation got worse - there are many "moonlighters" taking away their bread and butter, so someone must have tipped the inspectors. They came, saw that the guy shooting the weeding (for money) did not have a business license (i.e. was not operating legally, not paying any taxes, dues, etc.), so naturally they fined him.
Like in any other civilized country, you cannot sell your products/services in Croatia unless you're some kind of a registered business, which means that you're providing your customers with regular bills/invoices, paying your taxes, insurances, etc... I bet all of the hotdog sellers in NY must also have some kind of license, unless they want to be busted, right?
The point is that it's just another "illegal activity", just like various street peddlers pushing contraband and/or counterfeit goods, and the inspectors have the full right to check whether the person providing the service (for money) is licensed to do so...
A different problem is that they have obviously taken the issue too far, so that they (allegedly) said that noone is allowed to take ANY photos at the wedding, unless they have the proper business license.
Yes, some things are done in rather strange ways here - take the issue of busnesses/stores being open on Sundays. The unions were complaining about being forced by the employers to work in the stores on Sundays, without being paid extra. So, after several months/years of endless debates, the Parliament, in its infinite wisdom, decided not to allow ANY stores to be open on Sundays - apparently it was a lot easier to do than having to control whether the workers in those stores are actually properly paid for their work
So, if you want to buy some bread in the nearby store on Sunday - tough luck!
Denis from Croatia
So you're saying that it should be illegal if, let's say, someone is getting married, wants a friend to shoot the wedding, who is an avid amature photographer, but wants to pay him for his work, time, cost of film, cost of prints, etc.?
No free wedding photography in Croatia I am afraid 
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