As part of the EXPLORE Act, signed into law on January 4, 2025, professional photographers and filmmakers will face fewer restrictions for taking photos and videos within America’s national parks. In the past, photographers and film crews seeking to make profit from their content needed to obtain a permit to operate inside a national park. The permits were expensive, and reports suggest they were often denied.
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The previous restrictions were likely designed to control large film crews, but they affected the small guys, too, and many people in the industry found the restrictions unfair. The EXPLORE Act changes this reality for groups of fewer than six individuals, which no longer need to obtain a permit to conduct their activities as long as they follow the park’s rules. For instance, they have to stay where the public is allowed to go, and they can’t impede other visitors’ access to the land or dampen their experience.
Here’s what one outdoor nonprofit had to say about the passage of the EXPLORE Act:
What do you think about loosening permitting restrictions for professional photographers and filmmakers in America’s national parks?