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Children's sitting in colourful cinema seats with only hands raised visible in answer to a slightly out off focus person
Discovery Film Festival

Our approach to photography at Discovery Film Festival

We love sharing images of activity at DCA, including of audiences, to help communicate the breadth, quality and impact of what we do. However, we know many people have increasing concerns about online safety and privacy, particularly in relation to images of children. With this in mind we’ve made some changes to our approach to photography.

Children and Young Audiences 

We will continue to take photographs at many DCA events and use these for publicity and reporting purposes. From October 2026, we will no longer use new images in which our younger audiences’ identities are visible. 

Published

Thu 29 Oct

What does this mean?

Images featuring children will focus on backs of heads and hands doing activities. We might ask children to hold their activity sheet (or whatever magical drawing or craft they’ve been working on) over their face to pose. If we inadvertently capture an image where a child is identifiable, we will delete it, or we may edit images where faces are visible in the background. 

All photographers in the building employed by DCA will be fully briefed on our approach and expected to follow it closely. 

We will never share your child’s name or any identifiable information alongside a photo unless you have given us express permission in writing, or they have been working as part of a group where permission in writing has been given prior to the event or workshop (for example our Discovery Young Programmers).

Children's sitting in colourful cinema seats with only hands raised visible in answer to a slightly out off focus person
Discovery Film Festival cinema learning
two children crouch down doing drawing leaning on a red bench a yellow pot of pens is infront of them
Discovery Film Festival. Photo by Erika Stevenson
A child sitting a cinema seat holds a paper sausage dog over his face
Discovery Shorts for Tinies 2025
Children's sitting in colourful cinema seats with only hands raised visible in answer to a slightly out off focus person
Discovery Film Festival cinema learning
two children crouch down doing drawing leaning on a red bench a yellow pot of pens is infront of them
Discovery Film Festival. Photo by Erika Stevenson
A child sitting a cinema seat holds a paper sausage dog over his face
Discovery Shorts for Tinies 2025
Children's sitting in colourful cinema seats with only hands raised visible in answer to a slightly out off focus person
Discovery Film Festival cinema learning
two children crouch down doing drawing leaning on a red bench a yellow pot of pens is infront of them
Discovery Film Festival. Photo by Erika Stevenson
A child sitting a cinema seat holds a paper sausage dog over his face
Discovery Shorts for Tinies 2025

Why we’d like your permission to take photos

Photos of our activities help us to promote events, to fundraise and to advocate for our work by showing off all the fantastic things that happen in our building. This work ensures that we can continue to bring art, culture and creativity to Dundee, and helps us continue to put on great events and workshops for you and your family. 

A child's had drawing with purple crayon onto paper that is on a clipboard. The table is messy with paint and eye stickers to one side
DCA Learning activities
Children sit on the floor watching a projection of an animated film on the wall
DCA Learning activity Summer 2026
An adult and a child hands doing a clay actvity
DCA Learning activity summer 2026
A child's had drawing with purple crayon onto paper that is on a clipboard. The table is messy with paint and eye stickers to one side
DCA Learning activities
Children sit on the floor watching a projection of an animated film on the wall
DCA Learning activity Summer 2026
An adult and a child hands doing a clay actvity
DCA Learning activity summer 2026
A child's had drawing with purple crayon onto paper that is on a clipboard. The table is messy with paint and eye stickers to one side
DCA Learning activities
Children sit on the floor watching a projection of an animated film on the wall
DCA Learning activity Summer 2026
An adult and a child hands doing a clay actvity
DCA Learning activity summer 2026

I don’t want my child to feature at all, even if their face is not showing

Just speak to a member of DCA staff and we’ll be happy to make sure they aren’t photographed: we’ll be wearing a DCA lanyard, and/or a DCA or Discovery Film Festival t-shirt. 

How do you store images?

Images are all stored securely on our server.  We keep images for a maximum of three years; after this we delete them. 

I’ve changed my mind about a photo you took

Just get in touch with the team on dca@dca.org.uk and we’ll remove the photo from our files and anywhere else it appears. If you can, please note the event the photo was taken at and where it’s been used. 

 

Older images

This is a new approach coming into effect in October 2026. We will be gradually phasing out the use of most of our older images where children are identifiable. We may continue to use some that were specifically commissioned or where we have express permission to do so. If you have a query about an older image you’ve noticed in use, please get in touch. 

I have questions about this

Speak to a member of our team at an event, they’ll be happy to help. If they can’t answer your question, they will be able to point you in the right direction. Alternatively, you can email us on dca@dca.org.uk and someone from the Communications team will get back to you. 

Olivia ad the Invisible Earthquake

Discovery Film Festival 2026

Starts Sat 31 October