Despite controversial Vessel photo policy, visitors kept Instagramming

Hudson Yards came under fire this week for a broad policy concerning photos of Vessel

Earlier this week, news spread on Twitter and elsewhere about a quirk at Vessel, the honeycomb-shaped (or is it a shawarma?), copper-colored staircase that recently opened at Hudson Yards.

Attentive readers noticed that hidden within Vessel's visitor terms and conditions—which ticket-holders agree to when signing up to climb the structure—was a clause that more or less gave Hudson Yards the rights to "photos, audio recording, or video footage depicting or relating to Vessel" for "any purpose whatsoever in any and all media (in either case, now known or developed later)."

The terms didn't apply to people taking selfies in Hudson Yards with Vessel in the background; they were specifically geared toward "each guest that purchases a ticket to or enters the Vessel experience at Hudson Yards." But some became enraged at what they felt was the company hiding far-reaching terms in the kind of legal fine-print most are bound to overlook. The controversy got enough attention—including coverage in Bloomberg and Gothamist, among others—that Related Companies, the developer behind Hudson Yards, commented on the kerfuffle.

"The intent of the policy is to allow Hudson Yards to amplify and reshare photos already shared on individual social channels through our website and social channels," a Related spokesperson told Curbed earlier this week. "This is a practice utilized at nearly all major attractions and we wanted to over communicate, be transparent and disclose to all users. We are refining the language to be more clear."

But while this mini outcry was gaining steam, visitors were still actively and eagerly climbing Vessel. What did they really think about the photo policy? Did they know—and did they care?

Nisheet Patel, who lives in Westchester County, knew about the controversy before visiting Vessel with his wife on Tuesday evening, but it didn't bother him. "I felt it was okay," he said. "It's their structure. They built it. It didn't cost us anything, right? So if they want to own the pictures, I think it's fine."

But there was one exception: "If professional photographers go in there and take pictures, then I get that they want to own [the images]." Still, he said, "It doesn't stop us from taking pictures." Patel's wife, who wouldn't be identified, added that she would still post photos to Instagram and tag the space.

On another side of the sculpture, Teresa deWilde, who lives in New York City, was emerging from Vessel with her friend Jen Shoemaker. The two got free tickets on site by waiting in line at the megaproject's Shops & Restauants. They didn't know about the photo fuss before going up.

Because they got their passes in person, Shoemaker and deWilde didn't remember signing a waiver. But after reading the old photo policy, deWilde pointed out it includes "the same stuff" she uses in her line of work as a PR publicist.

"I do a lot of celebrity-driven free swag lounges and we have a big sign literally as you walk into the lounge. Nobody reads it but legally we have it there. That's all we have to do and then we have rights to every image that comes in," deWilde said.

"I think from the standpoint of taking a photo, there's a difference. If it is my own personal photograph, it should be my own personal photograph. If you want to use it, by all means, ask me," she said. DeWilde used the example of restaurants repurposing her Instagram photos of their dishes. She's fine with those reposts as long as the establishments tag her "because it's the polite thing to do."

"If you're telling me that someone's going to use a photo that I took and now make money off of it and offer me zero, not even a photo credit, that's not right. Even if it's a nonpayment—if you're just doing an in-kind or a trade, or whatever you want to do—at least give credit to the photographer. At least ask the photographer," deWilde said.

"Signing away your life when you get a free ticket to walk up a staircase is not so cool to me anymore," Shoemaker added. "It's beautiful and it's fun but no, I don't think everyone should see every picture that you take."

But Shoemaker noted she sort of understood why Vessel's marketing team would want to lock down as many images as possible. "This is such an Instagrammable space," she said.

Max Touhey

Over the booming recorded voice announcing that Vessel was closing for the night, Dominic Wong, a CPA and semi-professional photographer from Queens, was still taking pictures. He'd been there for close to five hours snapping photos and enjoying the view from the top. Wong didn't notice the Terms & Conditions when he reserved his ticket online. But the day before he came to Hudson Yards, he saw an article someone posted about it.

"I wasn't very upset," he said. "But at the same time I wondered, 'Why are they doing this?' I figure it's a PR move or legally they just have to say it."

Looking up at Vessel glimmering in the moonlight, Wong said, "I understand that [Vessel] is artwork but when I photograph artwork, the take on it is my own. I think any artwork when I create it, I should own it. Not them." Wong still plans to post his photos of Vessel on his Instagram, and he said he'll even tag the space.

Before we said goodbye, Wong had a series of lingering questions: "This is a public area, why are they able to carve out this [space] as if they own it? When I'm in it, do I own my own image? If they use it, do they have the right to use my own image?" (Related does, in fact, own the space—and collects plenty of data on the people who visit or otherwise engage with Hudson Yards.)

For now, at least, some of those concerns have been resolved: the New York Times reported that Hudson Yards has updated its T&C in response to the backlash. Item 8—now called "My Social Media Posts"—specifies that visitors "retain ownership of any photographs, text, audio recordings or video footage depicting or relating to the Vessel." It continues, "If I post any Vessel Content to any social media channel, I hereby grant to Company and its affiliates the right to re-post, share, publish, promote and distribute the Vessel Media via such social media channel and via websites associated with the Vessel or Hudson Yards…in perpetuity." (But Gothamist pointed out other potential issues with the policy.)

Lara Eurdolian, the editor of PrettyConnected.com, was among the first people to see Vessel at the invitation-only launch party on March 14, and called the original policy "weird, for sure."

As a professional creator, Eurdolian puts out her images specifically so people can see and interact with them. "At the same time, [I] would be very upset if my content was used or captioned in a way that didn't represent me. And if more places start putting rules on photography, then it's a major issue," she said. "I think transparency is the most important thing."