Do they mind?

[skitterbug]

I haven't taken pics of people on the street/cities, etc. Mine have been mostly family or animals that I can find sitting long enough for me to frame/focus and snap. Many of the CiC group do take photos while on the hunt for good subjects. Do these people in the photos mind having their pictures taken? Do they ever object? Or does one have to ask before taking the shot?

I'm curious so thanks for the replies!

Sandy

[IzzieK]

Depends on where you are I suppose...When I was in Oz, in a hardware there there are trolleys for little kids too instead of just the adults, possibly because people put their kids in the trolley with all those goodies they picked up from the shelves, so why not give a child a trolley of their own? Anyway, to make my story short, I asked the mom of a kid pushing her trolley if I can take a shot of her kid pushing that damn thing! She got angry at me.

In street events or where I usually go with my husband to his flying event, people do not mind their photos taken--they not just smile for you, they say thank you. In street events, no one cares...no one stares hard at you like you have an 8 gauge shotgun or something. Different places, different attitude I suppose...

[Shadowman]

Digital Photography magazine put out a list of cities rated for street photography, landscape, architecture, and people, the list was based on readers opinions. The differentiation between street photography and people photography was the willingness of people to pose for portraits. Street photography was based upon how suited the city was for street photography. The issue was June 2015. New York City was rated highest for street photography but 45th for people photography, go figure what that means. So based on this one particular city (NYC), it appears that you are fine as long as you don't ask permission.

My personal experience has been varied, it depends on the part of town you are in, the venue, and the overall friendliness of the particular city you are in. I was recently in Miami and in highly tourist areas people were fine if you took their photo, in residential areas not so much. I was at a Comic book convention and the cosplay attendees said that it was rude to take their photo without asking first unless you were standing at a far distance. If you were within five feet they expected you to ask first. So as Izzie said, it depends on where you are.

[pnodrog]

I tend to only ask permission if I feel I am being intrusive or there are children with them. Be ready to grab a shot if you ask permission as often you get the best(only) smile as they agree.

[Manfred M]

Let's look at the legal and ethical issues here. In most developed countries (I believe Hungary is the only exception), it is fine to take pictures of people when you are in a public place and can see them from where you are. Some countries (usually the developing countries) may take exception if you are trying to photograph police or military personnel (exceptions apply as always), Things get a bit trickier if you are on private property and in theory you can be forbidden to photograph anything by the owners.

Ethically, things are a bit tougher. If someone motions to me that they don't want their picture taken, then I won't do it. Vendors and people in areas frequented by tourists tend to be quite averse to having their picture taken, so i will work in stealth mode in these places. In other places people are fine if you ask them, so there is no clear answer.

The other issue is compositional. When people notice that you are taking their picture, they often change their expression and can "ruin" the shot. So here I tend prefer the shot just before they recognize I am holding a camera; where they are looking at me, but have not changed their expression. The problem with that technique is that it is usually only good for one shot, and if you miss it, the opportunity is gone. In many places, people will want compensation for you taking their picture; and that can happen at home and abroad.

[chauncey]

i will work in stealth mode in these places

Does that mean that you pre-position your camera and wait for subjects to enter your FOV and shoot remotely?

[Manfred M]

Does that mean that you pre-position your camera and wait for subjects to enter your FOV and shoot remotely?

That is one of many stealth techniques. Sometimes I shoot from the hip (fairly low success rate, but the images captured this way can be right in the midst of the action), sometimes I hide in plain sight, sometimes I position myself in such a way that I sneak in a shot while the subject is not looking, sometimes I pretend I'm taking a picture of something else when I'm really taking a picture of the subject, etc. etc.

[Shadowman]

I wonder how members of this forum mind having their photo taken while strolling around their city? I personally don't like my photo taken by anyone, but a few years ago I took a photography course and the instructor kept asking me to pose for the class, it became so routine that I eventually became more comfortable with the experience; however I rarely liked the results; I have a good side and a bad side.

Whenever I am out strolling and I see someone trying to take my photo I'll usually allow them, but if the SP takes too long I'll go about my business; I'm not going to pose while they figure out their camera settings.

[skitterbug]

Interesting answers indeed. I am probably in the group of people who would prefer that my picture not be taken randomly. I don't want my pic on the internet and I don't like family pictures to be there either. So I guess that is why I am hesitant to take pictures of anyone specifically. If they happen to be in a shot that I'm trying to take of landscape then that's okay because usually, they are not close enough to see in detail.
However after typing the above thoughts I'll add that I do enjoy the photos of intriguing people that others have posted. So those stealth captures work nicely! And maybe I'll loosen up a bit and try a few. I just don't want to end up with a camera up my nose! LOL
Enjoy the day! We have sunshine. I missed trying to capture a beautiful sunrise. Laziness gets no results! (sigh)

[rpcrowe]

Let's look at the legal and ethical issues here. In most developed countries (I believe Hungary is the only exception), it is fine to take pictures of people when you are in a public place and can see them from where you are. Some countries (usually the developing countries) may take exception if you are trying to photograph police or military personnel (exceptions apply as always), Things get a bit trickier if you are on private property and in theory you can be forbidden to photograph anything by the owners.

Ethically, things are a bit tougher. If someone motions to me that they don't want their picture taken, then I won't do it. Vendors and people in areas frequented by tourists tend to be quite averse to having their picture taken, so i will work in stealth mode in these places. In other places people are fine if you ask them, so there is no clear answer.

The other issue is compositional. When people notice that you are taking their picture, they often change their expression and can "ruin" the shot. So here I tend prefer the shot just before they recognize I am holding a camera; where they are looking at me, but have not changed their expression. The problem with that technique is that it is usually only good for one shot, and if you miss it, the opportunity is gone. In many places, people will want compensation for you taking their picture; and that can happen at home and abroad.

I totally agree with what Manfred stated. If you want a posed portrait of a person, sure... ask permission. However, asking permission will change the dynamics of that person by intruding yourself into their space. I prefer to shoot first and enjoy using a long focal length to be able to photograph people without intruding and altering their looks or behavior.

One time that I usually ask permission and include a small donation is with street performers who make their living from donations. Shooting a street performer who has a donation box out without donating is, IMO, somewhat like stealing.

I gave a small donation to this street musician in Xi'an China and he was quite happy to have me shoot his picture...

[Sergio M.]

A lot of excellent information in this thread.

I have not been doing street photography as long as some of the other shooters here (July of 2015). To this point no one who has noticed me photographing them has confronted or asked me why I took their photo. I think a friendly smile and attitude will go a long way towards diffusing a possibly bad situation. Like Manfred, if anyone notices me about to take a photo, and motions in the negative, I won't. Should anyone ever ask me to delete a photo I've taken, I'll gladly do it.

I don't mind others taking my photo. I've noticed other photogs taking my picture and I just go on my merry way. If it ends up on the interent, fine, since I'm not doing anything in public I don't want anybody to see (unless I'm scratching myself, which I try very hard not to do no matter how much it itches ).

To this point everyone I've asked to take their photo has agreed and never asked what I would do with it. If asked, I will tell them it's for a personal photography project and perhaps be posted on an internet photography forum. Whether I keep it after that point is up to them. As a side note, I took photos of a local tavern performer, and he liked them so much he ended up using one for his musician Facebook page.

Doing street photography can be intimidating, and I have yet to not feel even a little nervous, but I think it's well worth the rewards. It's great exercise being out and about for hours on end covering miles of pavement and sometimes meeting some very interesting people. Oh, and one of my favorite benefits, stopping to have a pint or two of my favorite brew every so often.


Sergio