Shopping malls are private property open to the public. You need to take a picture of store X. My cell phone doesn't take that high a quality picture, so I use a camera for all photos that I need. What do you do if the rent a cop tells you not to take the picture? It hasn't happened, but I'm curious as to how more experienced shoppers would handle this?

Actually it did happen to me once, but I wasn't shopping. There were some very nice flowers in the mall and I was taking some pictures. Fortunately I had all the shots I needed, and the guard didn't make me delete the pictures.

The store shopped is well aware in many malls you have to walk right past a sign saying no photos allowed. They are hoping you can sneak a picture. And sneak is the only way if there is a none allowed sign.

It seems I used my regular camera a couple of times. I remember going into a clothing store across from a business and standing by a rack just inside the entrance. Nobody noticed. Now it is always my phone. Is the quality of your pics that bad? On one of my phones I found the lens needed to be cleaned and it improved the pics enough to get by.

Lisa, I don't know that the quality is that bad, but as a professional photographer, I don't want to send anything less than my best, and I k now the camera will always outdo the phone. Maybe I need to step back and not be so critical of my work when it comes to shops.

I did a Tommy H shop, had no problem using the camera.

Truthfully, the POVs don't get entered into any photo contests It is what it is. As long as the pic is clear enough for them to be able to identify where you were, it is good enough. While my phone takes a decent quality photo, I still rely on a traditional camera for photo audits. Remember by the time the pic is resized for uploading purposes some detail will be lost anyway.

Just out of curiosity, why would a mall have a "no photos" rule?

What about all the people now who take photos of themselves, everywhere, and everything they eat?

I don't mall shop that often (MS'ing or personal) just because I am unable to walk very far or for very long without pain. But in other stores, while personal shopping, I've taken photos of items I'm interested in, but not sure if I want to make the investment yet, or just don't have enough money yet. Or, because I'm considering a couple of different items for gifts and want to decide. Sometimes I am interested in an expensive item, but want to look up more info about it online. Sometimes it's an item that inspires me in some way for a home decor idea.

One time, though, I took a photo of the ugliest garment I have ever, EVER seen. Absolutely HIDEOUS. No surprise it was marked down so low on the clearance rack. It would be hideous on a skinny person, but to add insult to injury, this item was for larger women (of which I am one). I took that photo just for laughs!

Mall security will tell you that taking pictures of their shops constitutes 'copyright infringement'. I encountered this myself when photographing the exterior of a mall that was supposedly going to be torn down. After some doing some research it appears that there is the 'Architectural Work Copyright Protection Act'. According to the online article I read 'Only buildings created after December 1, 1990 are protected by copyright. Fortunately for photographers, the copyright in an architectural work does not include the right to prevent others from making and distributing photos of the constructed building, if the building is located in a public place or is visible from a public place. So you don’t need permission to stand on a public street and photograph a public building. You don’t need permission to photograph a public building from inside the building (although you may need permission to photograph separately-owned decorative objects in the building, such as a statue). You don’t need permission to stand on a public street and photograph a private building such as a church or a house.' The article also sites 'A related case is The Yankee Candle Co. v. New England Candle Co., 1998 which, according to Wikipedia, held “that an individual shop within a mall does not qualify as a ‘building’ under 17 U.S.C. § 101. The case clarifies the scope of the Architectural Works Copyright Protection Act (AWCPA).” In summation the article states 'Can you take pictures in a mall? Yes you can. That is, until a security guard or some representative of the mall’s administration asks you to stop. The mall is a private building, and as such, the owners or administrators have the right to ban photography on their premises. They usually argue security and copyright infringement reasons to justify photograph prohibition, but these reasons in the long run are pure b******.
Now, although mall personnel can ban you from photographing, taking photographs in the mall is by no means an illegal
act and is not subject to any kind of reprimand whatsoever. '

I had a little excitement recently. I signed up for a shop, and didn't realize that it was in a mall. (For some reason, I thought that I knew the shop, and knew that the address was right outside the mall.)

So, I need to take a picture of it. I do not yet have a smartphone, which, by the way, makes my shop beautifully appropriate. I have a L.A.R.G.E. camera. It is not at all suitable for surreptitious photos. But, I've done one before in this mall, by standing off to the side and shooting at an angle, so the store associates won't see me unless they pop out of the store entirely. No problem. I can do it again, and I swear that this will be my last mall photo until I get a smartphone.

I get there, and it's a kiosk. It's a kiosk with three employees inside, one staring out at every possible angle. There's no possible angle where someone won't be looking at me as I take that picture.

I do the shop, and the salesperson, by the way, does a beautiful job. I go off and experiment with various angles and distances. Inspiration strikes. I scamper up the stairs, double back, lean over the railing and shoot an absolutely beautiful picture, if I say so myself, from above.

I turn around, and there's an official looking guy in a uniform right behind me. He doesn't say a word....

I got hit up by a rent a cop as well while I was taking a pic of a pretzel place. I got the pic already by the time he said something. For an excuse, I just played dumb and said that I was in town for some training with my work group and wanted to post to Facebook where I had been.