No picture’s worth it. If somebody ever asks me “did you just take my picture” in a distressed way, I respond with “ would you like me to delete it?”. If they say yes. I delete it right away. And I say “done!” Then I walk away. Getting a “banger shot” is not worth causing distress to anyone, including myself.
My first approach in street photography was a complete disaster. You have to know, I live in germany, and germans are obsessed with data security. So I took a picture of a slightly crowded public space with a statue of a lion in the middle. While I'm shooting, a women came to my place like a stampede of elephants and yelled YOU ARE NOT ALLOWED TO TAKE A PICTURE OF ME! HAND OUT THE CAMERA RIGHT NOW! I was totally perplexed. I tried to smile, and while I understand this isn't a conversation, it is an attack, I answered slowly: I'm allowed to do that. Which made her complete furious, but she decided to go away, right into the backdoor of the town hall behind me. It costs me more than a year to calm down to street photography. So, thank you for your advice.
It's not only about privacy or data security. It's just that other people are all potential enemies and why would someone do something that involves you if it's not for something evil. Maybe why Germany never had the great street photographers of New York City, Paris and London.
Honestly I'm in the habit of having that business card absolutely ready to go the very second someone notices and walks over - you'll delight the curious and flummox the angry or annoyed. I'm also absolutely not shy at all about showing them the stuff that I've been shooting over the last hour, showing them that they're just one of 20, 30 or 50 people that had caught my eye in that short time - you're not just picking them out specifically, you're interested in people in a very general sense.
I rarely get stopped but when I do, I recently started to say that I'm a Photography "Artist"! This magic word puts me in unknown place in their mind and it works :)
Great video. I already do business cards, but I also take a Fujifilm SQ portable printer along. I find people really like the idea of getting a picture of themselves. An instant photo is a great icebreaker.
Two yellow jacketed security men came up to me in the street and said "you can't do that" and I said "yes I can" then the town rangers came along and told them the law. I've got pictures and video of them all! LOL!!!
Well done. I’ve used all of these techniques and more. One thing I’ll say is that I will sometimes challenge myself to take photographs of people who I think seem threatening, knowing that appearances or irrational prejudices are not accurate - Nearly always I find my first impression was wrong. Another challenge is photographing children… I almost always ask permission if I am going to be seen or at least get a visual eye contact permission with parent before I snap.
I find there is a fifth confrontational type: The defender of public privacy. They take it upon themselves to confront you on behalf of someone else you have photographed. I have had more confrontations with this type than any other and been physically attacked by one. I try to avoid target fixation and keep a lookout for people watching intently from the sidelines.
Good advice. Unfortunately on my first ever 'street shoot' just a few weeks back I was walking away from just photographing a row of shop windows when I noticed a rather intimidating guy inside charging towards the door. Guessing he wasn't happy I went into the shop and he asked what I was doing, I smiled, explained that I was building a portfolio of this area and wasn't taking his picture a such. He was so upset I offered to delete the photo and showed him as I did it. That defused the situation and he walked away. I walked out with what I thought was a customer who told me the guy was working there for cash whilst claiming state benefits. No wonder he didn't want his photo taken, it was a barbers and he was cutting hair.
Just happened to me a quite uncomfortable situation today, I knew how to manage that, but always this kind of confrontation makes me feel sad and listen to you was very important today. Thank you very much for this video.
I get scenario #4, 90% of the time. I’m the one asking, “Why me?” I’m a 5’ tall grandmother. I am not intimidating nor do I appear suspicious. I can’t even take a photo of a building or inanimate object without being confronted by someone and I am SICK OF IT. It has made me angry and resentful and the next person that approaches me is going to get their face plastered all over social media!
You have, arguably, the most compelling set of videos I have ever come across. I will watch your videos over and over again. One thing I do is that I carry a card with me with my website. and contact info. When confronted, I will smile, apologize with an explanation (I'm Canadian), and why I do what I do. Then I give them my card, and challenge them to look at it on their cellphone. 9/10 this works. If it doesn't, I offer to delete the photo. I shoot with dual cards so the photo is deleted only from slot 1 (RAW), not slot 2 (assigned JPG). As a genralist, aspiring to do well with street photography, I find your videos informative, and affirms ans reinforces what I already know. thank you!
Wearing an eye patch I tend to stand out a bit more than most. My last resort is the Metropolitan Police guidance that you can download and print. It gives advice to officers re the rights of photographers. Useful for new and eager security guards too. My chat line in less confrontational conversations is I ask them if they ever seen photos taken decades ago, and have they noticed how interesting they are - most agree- and I say, well give it a few years and today will be history too. It seems to placate most. Great channel and good solid tips - thanks for posting.
Very good pointers, thanks. I recently started this back up again from my early days in the 80's and 90's, and my how things have changed. I never once was confronted when in New York, London, countryside of Ireland, Italy, etc. With social media today ,and Instagram especially, the question I get asked most is "What are you going to do with that photo?" They are very worried it will show up somewhere and they'll be mocked or edited in some unseemly way. It's sad that a very few people have done that and made it difficult for the rest of us. Luckily it is rare and after we speak for a bit I've never been asked to delete a photo. One or two asked if I could send them a copy.
I'm still very new at street photos, and I've been questioned twice. First time I was in a panic, so I just said it was for a school project. Second time, I took the time to explain what I was trying to capture and why. I managed to reverse the question and ask why they questioned me, which is an interesting interaction. They weren't hostile by any means, but wary. I usually carry a tiny 10cm x 10cm photobook of my personal favourites and show it if needed, that I'm just someone trying to improve my craft and mean no harm.
What worries me about street photography sometimes is the protection of my camera. Even in good neighborhoods in a big city. I always feel like I have to be overly careful. That’s why I now use a good small mirrorless camera with a small nifty 50 lens.
Thats me too, street is quite new to me and I just didnt feel comfortable with a DSLR so bought a decent compact TZ100 but it just didnt cut it so traded it for a Sony A6000 and a 50mm f1.8, compact enough and the 50mm meant a bit of distance between the subject/s and the camera, plus it's easier to hide or make less noticeable especially at night which is when I get my best pics
I’m very lucky to be charismatic and well spoken, and have yet to be confronted about my street photography. Confrontation doesn’t worry me at all. A lifetime spent in boxing gyms left me with a peculiar calmness that disarms most without having to get aggressive.
Some great tips. I think I can still count the number of times I've been seriously confronted on one hand. I always have some of my printed postcards with me saying who I am. I also ofter to send people a copy if they ask or I print out a Polaroid/INSTAX print.
An excellent summary Brian. I had a bit of a strange one recently. I went into the council owned covered market and started taking a few pictures - mainly of the architecture as it was so empty. A security guard said I couldn’t take photos. I said I could as it is public property (or is it?). When I asked why not they waffled on about commercial confidentiality, Data protection, frightening customers etc etc Then they said details were on the council’s website - they’re not! When they asked me why I wanted to take photos I gave them my script about being a documentary photographer - well! that was like dynamite to the security guard and by now his manager. “Are you ITV or BBC? You need to get permission from the council if you are making a documentary” I left, content with my one ‘keeper’ ! The real irony was that they had a small photo exhibition of the long history of the market!
@@StreetSnappers Yes very typical interaction with a security guard. My experience, never give any hint you are doing it professionally. Many location do have rule on that. If they are persistent, ask they why they are gaslighting you. Most security persons will be confused, tell them to google it. puts you back in control of the interaction!
I've had around four people ask if I had just photographed them. I showed them the pic and offered to delete. They were all the curious type. But there was a security guard - on a break and not even on her own patch - who tried to tell me it was illegal to photograph people without permission. I tried to explain the law, but she decided she knew better. Rather than argue, I ignored her. I assume she was having a bad day, and I was unfortunately in the path of her bad mood. If somebody ever takes offence, I will happily delete the image. I don't want to have a pic that somebody isn't happy about me having. Almost always, people are pleased to be noticed and genuinely interested as to why. Most people are great.
Hi Brian,,, I also do that,,, and when I'm out and about I sometimes wear a lanyard around my neck with a business card in,,, but also I always have a little printed booklet showing photo's I've previously taken in my bag,,, it shows to the person you have a genuine interest in steet photography. It works for me.
Thank You Brian, your videos are nice, calm and well informed. I had this problem today. I was photographing two girls aged about 18 years old hugging in the street. They were about 15 feet away, one of them didn't take too kindly to me photographing, and then she said she is a minor and start calling me a paedophile, and start following me for about 100 metres onto another street with lots of people around
Very good advice. You are totally correct on the "negative vibe" feeling. Do you ever ask permission? In Boston Commons I've done that and even offer to send them the photo. I suppose that is not Street Photography. I usually talk about what they are doing being interesting, or comment on their dog being cute.
I have a series of images taken in the infamous "Hastings Street" area in Vancouver, BC. I went in there with a long-ish lens, trying to be discrete, but the Hastings people have eyes in the back of their heads. It led to one of the most amazing series of images I have ever taken. A lady with a lot of shoes spread out on a blanket. She catches sight of me, frowns, stands, gives me the finger, and then starts to throw empty beer bottles at me. Amazing series of images, but it also made me think that I had violated these people's space somehow. Your tips are spot on, and I agree with them whole-heartedly. I only take mild exception to the remark you made about the interestingly dressed lad when you mention "if you dress like that ..." That's a slipper slope. People can dress how they like, and it's not invitation to be photographed. Everyone gets the same courtesy, irrespective of who they are, or how they dress ... at least in my books. There's no right or wrong, but I wanted to share my opinion too. Cheers Brian! Subscribed to your channel.
I've only just started trying street photography and got hassled literally every 20 minutes in Brixton yesterday, even though I am discreet and not in people's faces. I guess a few people in Brixton are a bit paranoid (maybe they get targeted by cops too much ... or do too much weed), as one person was angry that her market stall might have been caught in a picture (it wasn't) and another talked in length to me about how I 'could be an undercover policeman, or a hoodlum'. The oddest one, though least offensive, was when I was in an empty alleyway on my own pointing my camera skyward to get an 'up the side of an interesting building' shot and a woman came by and said "HEY? ARE YOU ALRIGHT?"It's odd to be labelled as suspicious for visiting a cultural hotspot and photographing its architecture. It didn't feel welcoming enough to go back there. Unexpected, as it's got a reputation as such a cultural hotspot. On the plus-side, some fishmongers cheerfully called me in to portrait them and I switched to my 56mm f1.2 portrait prime and took three nice pictures and emailed them to them :) Even while I was taking those pics (in all of 90 seconds) a customer came in and bellowed at me not to take her picture (I wasn't) in an angry way, as if I'd already done it! (I wasn'y going to - all my shots were of the guys behind the counter).
Interesting. I wonder if there's a cultural element to this. It seems a lot of London street photographers shoot in Chinatown because perhaps in part due to absence of aggro of part of the people working there.
@@greyhameavandhat1220 Yeah. That was a year ago and I've never experienced anything like it since. Indeed, I live in a similarly culturally diverse etc part of London near to Brixton and had zero aggro. I still suspect it's something specific about Brixton being 'gentrified', plus most of my shooting was around a street market and it's possible they simply didn't trust my motives. My technique was bad too, as I had a new lens with variable aperture and was fiddling with it a lot and generally not being spontaneous.
From my experience 99% of people are friendly or uninterested in the photographer. Others are slightly annoyed or confused but not hostile. I put the camera down since they might be uncomfortable. Then once in awhile someone is irate and irrational (Ive been attacked by people before and I never even pointed the camera in their direction, just because I held a camera in my hands), in these situations its best not to argue and just apologize and agree with anything they say and get away from them as soon as possible.
Most people are fine, as you say. I think people new to street photography have a perception that there will be issues when, in reality, there rarely are.
Super video Brian - I like the positivity! I’ve actually only been ‘challenged’ once, in Borough Market. I apologised to the trader concerned, shrugged my shoulders and simply walked away. I later discovered that the photo was out of focus anyway! 🤦🏻♂️
@@fredriksvard2603 I don’t agree . If you only shoot pictures of people who asked for it then i no longer should be called street photography. It’s now a portrait
@@kingelvis4688 Is anyone besides street photographers actually into street photography? I can see how it was a thing a century ago, all i see now is cliches like man with umbrella crosses street and dudebros with cameras harassing people, slapping on a lightroom filter and calling it art. Scratch that, they don't call it art, they call it "bangers". Portraits i like.
Thank you Brian for this video. It is always the best to learn from experiences, especially on something that is very fundamental to street photography like this, rather than from theoretical videos made for UA-cams. Thanks again for sharing your skills and experiences.
Great video - glad I found your channel. If you are travelling to a foreign country (or possibly even within your own country), be aware that there are some buildings that you can see that photographing may garner you some unwanted attention. Case in point, I was travelling (won't mention the country) and the national military HQ was in the city I was in. Some local friends warned me that photographing the HQ , even from the street could get me into trouble. Fair enough. Even here in Canada, there are government sites that i will studiously avoid photographing, event from the public street.
yes, sometimes you feel that a situation or a subject could be problematic just at the first glance. Usually I follow my instinct but I also think that experience can rationally lead you to the right direction, avoiding or taking a picture.
Good evening Brian. Watched, you're extremely well made documentary last evening. I've been a Amateur photographer since i was 19 years old. It's only lately that I have decided to try My Skills at Street Photography. I must admit that This, has to be The Best Advice I have ever heard, and watched! Short. Succinct. And ,hugely informative. Many thanks and Kind regards Colyn. Subscribed!
Thank you, Brian. You are putting all this into perspective for my understanding. A couple days ago a lady asked if I was with the media, and I told her I was doing photography projects. She smiled and thought that was cool! I was ready, because I've seen your videos, Sir. LOL
I prefer the truth when confronted. I engage with the subject about what makes that picture worth taking; the lighting, the juxtaposition, their wardrobe, etc. Basically a short conversation about what you saw that was interesting enough to photograph.
Thank you so much for this video and your helpful tips. Im a keen amateur -UK based- just starting to get hooked on street photography . Im very much looking forward to your video on the legalities. Will you be discussing the situation as to whether permission is required from recognisable people in street shots to share/publish photos ? I’ve had conflicting advice about this recently. Thank you.
I was doing street photography in Times Square, New York City and saw two police officers in full gear and slowly lifted my camera, aimed it at them and took the photograph-one of them asked in an authoritative voice ‘Why didn’t you ask first!?’ He was a good 5’ 8” looming over me. I’m 5’0. I smiled and said ‘You saw me looking at you, you saw me lift my camera to my eye, and didn’t stop me at any point-and waited until I took the photo. Why didn’t you put up a hand or tell me to stop? You understand that you’re standing in public domain, besides you guys look cool.’ He motioned towards me, but his partner held up his arm and blocked him saying ‘She’s not wrong. Have a nice day miss.’ The annoyed cop had placed his finger on the trigger of his rifle and had a menacing look on his face, but backed off-I imagine that if his partner hadn’t been there at that moment the angry one would have been more confrontational and it might not have ended well for me, but I took the chance-because I liked the background and foreground and they way they were standing. I don’t think he cared if I photographed him or not, as tourists take their photos all the time-it was the my not asking that irked him-but my motions were asking ones-I take photos of people on the street all the time in my methodical way, and if someone stops me anytime I put my camera to my face I quickly drop it to my side and move on-if not I make the photo. I’m not confrontational, but I do stand my ground-explain the reasoning if the person is open to listening, and learning the why I took his/her photo and delete it if asked to do so.
Brian, Thank you for sharing your thoughts on this subject; I have been concerned about this topic for some time and wondered how I was going to handle any confrontations. To date I have not had any major confrontarions and plan to continue shooting. I will receive my Fujifilm X100T back any day and plan to continue acting as a tourist in Fredericksburg, VA. USA and as always continue shooting. I have just received your book "52 Assignments" and hope this will help me organize my street photography. Thanks again; Thorburn
Many thanks for a most informative post. Always loved street photography although it was stopped due to lockdown for me. I have found I have lost some of the confidence I once had and need to get out there and start again. The business cards are a great idea, I have my photography email address on mine, not my personal one. I use a small but powerful compact camera, a cannon g12. It’s very light and intrusive and non threatening and takes great shots, although not to the standard of my Nikon D850.
I respond by saying, I'm working on my portfolio. I don't engage in arguments and walk away in silence. It works wonders but takes practice standing your ground.
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I can confirm your tips and experience from my own practice. In Germany, where I live, people tend to argue with GDPR legislation - which is wrong because most cases of street photography fall under the Art Copyright Act - a law protecting the freedom of artistic creation. It is limited by the "right to one's own image".
I struggle with confirmations the most in small cities where I am alone with the subject and, if they decided to fight me or take my camera, there's no one around to help.
Being 6'6" stealth isn't something that is easy to achieve on the streets for me. But I also think that prevents some confrontations. You are correct when you say that a smile will usually disarm the situation. Also if I am approached by security and I know I am not doing anything wrong I take their picture as they approach. Not in an obvious way, but I take it nonetheless.
One year into first week with new camera: I had only telephoto kit lens ( it stands out). I took a few photos of a nice wine bar window (closed, nobody in, just the empty window). Unbeknownst to me, the owner with a big imposing worker approached from behind very aggressively. Not introducing himself as the owner, he imposingly asked why I’m taking photos of his store. I was totally unprepared, said I was an artist and thought his storefront of interesting character to shoot. He wasn’t convinced, the tall guy asked questions (always more complicated when there’s more then one person involved!) I realized they were firing questions at me, and I interrupted they and said I suppose that you are the owner. He didn’t say yes. But it was obvious. Basically, not a very good encounter. So, I showed him the photos I took, proposed to erase them. He said yes, erase them. As I erased them I said they they weren’t very good photos anyway and that I wouldn’t be keeping them.( I couldn’t help myself ! ) this was just two blocks away from where I live in Paris. I run across this guy once in a while. And I try to avoid his energy! It didn’t stop me from continuing to take photos, but I did get much more hidden in my camera approach. Perhaps you may say it is borderline creepy at times. But the more experienced I get, the more relaxed…
Just be aware when travelling. In the EU when you take the picture of someone and make them the focus/subject of your photo and they actively do not give consent, then you are actually doing something wrong in a legal sense of the word. If you are travelling make sure you actually know the local laws regarding taking pictures of people in public. I also think if someone repeatedly says that they don't want their picture taken, then ethically speaking you shouldn't do so. Just like I think that you shouldn't take pictures of someone vulnerable or someone in a humiliating position, you shouldn't take pictures of someone insisting not to be photographed because they might also be in a vulnerable position, just visible or not as visible
Just got a place on your April workshop in Liverpool as a gift (after some brick-heavy hints!), really looking forward to it. When's your next critique session btw?
I live in a small town, so I go to other cities to make street photography because people know me around here. Being in another city I'm literally a tourist. Last time I was approached I said I was just knowing the city, I asked for directions and what kind of beautiful buildings they had close by.
Shoot RAW + Fine (B&W), therefore when a subject wants to see your image, the "Street Photography student/assignment" will have more validity (if you're aiming for color images in RAW format).
This is a good idea. You can say that you are an art major at a local college too (even though it's bs) since locals identify positively with nearby schools.
Interesting to see you talking about the "curious type" and such, because this doesn't exist in my country. You taking someone's photo is perceived as either annoying or hostile in like 90% of the time. People feel like you're gonna sell their picture and sometimes even act as if you pointed a rifle at them instead of a camera lens. Being photographed is generally considered a bad thing, nobody here finds it surprising or interesting. Welcome to Grumpy Nation
Dux, Really enjoy your channel and willingness to share with us. Do you need a model release if you use someone's picture in a book or here in a video? Thanks
I'm working on a small 12-24 page A5 sized zine that I plan to give to people who confront me. I have my images in there that I feel represent me and my take on the art of street photography. I plan to have a small text in the beginning to explain who I am, and why I do this. They can keep the small zine, if they want to.
One thing about film, which is a good thing, you can’t offer to delete the picture. I’ve not yet had anyone insist I delete the image so I don’t know how that will end, I hope not with the camera back wrenched open.
I really enjoyed your video on this subject!! I live in a smaller town (11,000 people) and it seems the people are cautious and suspicious but I don't know if it's because of how the world is at this time. I'm curious what your minimalist camera gear that you use for street photography? Best of luck in your photography journey! Duane
nice video. I am curious where the data that "most countries have no restrictions on street photography in public". I actually find the information hard to come by in most countries. Do you have your source, especially as soon as it involves common people.
There's no data - it's anecdotal. I've visited lots of countries to do street photography - and know lots of street photographers who have visited many more, so it's a general collective viewpoint rather than hard data.
I used to try deescalation but I've found some people are just bullies and want to try and impose themselves on you. I still think about those people and how they punked me...so now since i"m human I'll tell irrational people to fuck off and I must say it feels way better than letting people treat me me like shit.
The few times people have asked me to delete a photo they were so thrown off when I told them I shoot film that it usually ends the whole interaction or derails them and they wanna ask about that instead. Ha
Thanks for this video, Sir! I gotta be honest, i still don't know how to deal when people notice that im taking photos, so this content comes really handy
I don't do a lot of street photography, but I have had 3 strange confrontations. All with people how assumed that I took their picture, when I didn't and didn't plan to. The angriest person was back in October while I was standing in a line with my family and saw an architectural feature that looked interesting, so framed it up in my small Canon G5X point & shoot and someone with a major chip on their shoulder wandered into the shot and as I lowered my camera, they DEMANDED to know if I took their picture? I didn't and I told him so. But he demanded again and I told him once more that I didn't. Then he told me that I better not have taken his picture. We were both in a public space and up until he got angry, we wasn't very interesting at all. Once he was angry, he became quite interesting and since there was a low wall between us, I was very tempted to take his photo at that point. But since we were both going opposite directions and with our families and the line I was in was moving, I didn't.
I really hate street photography. I will get flamed for this. I do not like my photo taken and I don't like that it's legal to do so. I have never (as far as I know) had my photo taken, besides of course security cameras at stores or work (I don't like that either).
I liked this video, and I get that your position is one of standing for your community/art form (which I'm a part of) but truthfully, street photographers need to get their heads around the reality that we aren't in a film-only age any longer. You throwing somebody's image up on your online portfolio, or even storing it unencrypted in 'the cloud', makes their info, likeness, and location fair game to god knows who or what (i.e.: unethically scraped AI dataset bullsh*t, private companies using facial recognition to track people, and a lot more). More and more people are becoming aware of this risk - so don't be shocked if they assert dissatisfaction. Be understanding, and maybe - gasp! - risk assess your street photography from the side of your human subjects as well as yourself. Also, being self-congratulatory about lying to a person off the street about deleting a photo ("2 SD cards!") like some in these comments, is gross. Be honest, fellow street photographers. Be a human. Think about your ethics, and you'll probably grow into a way more perceptive street photographer.
Any thoughts on standing in a public space and taking a picture of a space, clearly visible to the public, but the subject is on private property, marked or unmarked, like a person in front of thier house behind a fence?
I have done street photography for maybe 15 years. I'm very candid in what I do and I don't get into people's faces. I have rules, no children photos unless with parents permission and no photos of people in a group inside a building such as a restaurant and if anyone asks I give them my card so that if they want a copy of the photo just email me and I will send them one, at no charge. I have never had a problem really except for one woman and I wasn't even taking her photo. I was taking photos of people posing in front of a wall with huge wings painted on it. The purpose of the wall was for photos. A group of young women, maybe late teens into early 20's were having a great time taking photos and I was across the street. So with my lens I zoomed in and grabbed a few shots. Suddenly a woman that was in a restaurant behind me, ran out and across the street to the women and pointing at me you could see her chattering about my photography. Then she left and went back in the restaurant. The young women kept doing their thing. What the woman in the restaurant wasn't expecting was me to go in and politely confront her (and her boyfriend who looked totally embarrassed) and explain the art of street photography to her. All she kept repeating was...”someone has to protect women”. Really. All I can say is be careful out there and sometimes you need a rear view mirror on your camera.
Our "business" card should have our portrait on it. Only this adition should proove that we 'assume responsability'. It shows we in turn trust the 'challenger' (even more so if we don't ask for his/hers 'in return'). (Any(!) business card could be misleading. A recognizable portrait less so.) I had two versions of cards. With and without my portrait. Now I am working on the idea of a mini(!) folded "design" leaflet with multiple goals (photos + coordinates, teasing, 'service's publicity',) reassuring, but perhaps because of the type of paper, also convey like a sens of gift. (Also an idea : QR-code that on the spot opens an "About" webpage of ours - for those that cary a connected smartphone, and invite them to do a selfy with them ;-)
@@StreetSnappers ('although' I'm from europe where only sales representatives used to have portraits on their business cards) me to I dont like "to so give my portrait". That's why I would have one without, the 'regular' one. The portrait combined with the QR code could lead to a page with the same portrait on the web page with contents made to calm turbulent spirits, page with no link to from within the regular navigation tree of our website.
Here in Morocco 🇲🇦 things in street are really serious... People are quickly offended to be photographed!!! It has to do with Religion and Superstition... People don't like strangers to take photos of them... I always struggle and find myself obliged to shoot discreetly.
i was shooting houses(windows, door, gates, roofs. etc) with a long lens and a homeowner from inside her house called me. all my photos were just like that, no people. i walked to her. she asked what i was doing. i said that i was shooting architecture. she didn't seem convinced so i showed her the photos on the lcd and added that 'with a little crop, turn to black and white...' they looked artsy-fartsy. it worked! she was convinced! so if asked, just show what you're doing. if you were doing nothing wrong, let your photos speak. if you are doing something wrong RUN!. if i had 'snooping' or incriminating photos she'd be calling the cops but all my pics were just windows, door, gates, roofs, and other house parts so she let me off.
in another place i was doing street photography with a point and shoot so quick snaps and walking away would be the practice. a jogger i snapped called me and asked why i was taking his photo. i did the same thing. i showed the back of my lcd and photos of random people i came across on my walk. he let me off as there was nothing incriminating in my shots. lol if he wanted his pic, i'd hand him my card and tell him to email me.
May be it is rear in west But in my part (south asia) it often happens. Especially when i go alone to capture the streets. I use my smartphone to practice photography and my mobile's lens is pretty wide(26mm). So, it is very hard to capture the close up shots.
No picture’s worth it. If somebody ever asks me “did you just take my picture” in a distressed way, I respond with “ would you like me to delete it?”. If they say yes. I delete it right away. And I say “done!” Then I walk away. Getting a “banger shot” is not worth causing distress to anyone, including myself.
My first approach in street photography was a complete disaster. You have to know, I live in germany, and germans are obsessed with data security. So I took a picture of a slightly crowded public space with a statue of a lion in the middle. While I'm shooting, a women came to my place like a stampede of elephants and yelled YOU ARE NOT ALLOWED TO TAKE A PICTURE OF ME! HAND OUT THE CAMERA RIGHT NOW!
I was totally perplexed. I tried to smile, and while I understand this isn't a conversation, it is an attack, I answered slowly: I'm allowed to do that. Which made her complete furious, but she decided to go away, right into the backdoor of the town hall behind me.
It costs me more than a year to calm down to street photography. So, thank you for your advice.
It's not only about privacy or data security. It's just that other people are all potential enemies and why would someone do something that involves you if it's not for something evil. Maybe why Germany never had the great street photographers of New York City, Paris and London.
Honestly I'm in the habit of having that business card absolutely ready to go the very second someone notices and walks over - you'll delight the curious and flummox the angry or annoyed. I'm also absolutely not shy at all about showing them the stuff that I've been shooting over the last hour, showing them that they're just one of 20, 30 or 50 people that had caught my eye in that short time - you're not just picking them out specifically, you're interested in people in a very general sense.
I rarely get stopped but when I do, I recently started to say that I'm a Photography "Artist"! This magic word puts me in unknown place in their mind and it works :)
Thnaks Mehmet. I love it - what a great idea - I might try it myself!
@@StreetSnappers 'I'm working on my portfolio, I really like your look or outfit, etc. Also offer a copy of the snap.
Great video. I already do business cards, but I also take a Fujifilm SQ portable printer along. I find people really like the idea of getting a picture of themselves. An instant photo is a great icebreaker.
Thanks Stuart. The printer is a great idea - I’ve just got a new one and will be doing it myself :-)
Two yellow jacketed security men came up to me in the street and said "you can't do that" and I said "yes I can" then the town rangers came along and told them the law. I've got pictures and video of them all! LOL!!!
Great to hear that!
You are lucky. I got detained and admonished once and also followed by security in Sf And in Denver
Yes and you came across as pretty immature
😅
Well done. I’ve used all of these techniques and more. One thing I’ll say is that I will sometimes challenge myself to take photographs of people who I think seem threatening, knowing that appearances or irrational prejudices are not accurate - Nearly always I find my first impression was wrong. Another challenge is photographing children… I almost always ask permission if I am going to be seen or at least get a visual eye contact permission with parent before I snap.
I find there is a fifth confrontational type: The defender of public privacy. They take it upon themselves to confront you on behalf of someone else you have photographed. I have had more confrontations with this type than any other and been physically attacked by one. I try to avoid target fixation and keep a lookout for people watching intently from the sidelines.
Good advice. Unfortunately on my first ever 'street shoot' just a few weeks back I was walking away from just photographing a row of shop windows when I noticed a rather intimidating guy inside charging towards the door. Guessing he wasn't happy I went into the shop and he asked what I was doing, I smiled, explained that I was building a portfolio of this area and wasn't taking his picture a such. He was so upset I offered to delete the photo and showed him as I did it. That defused the situation and he walked away. I walked out with what I thought was a customer who told me the guy was working there for cash whilst claiming state benefits. No wonder he didn't want his photo taken, it was a barbers and he was cutting hair.
Delete the photo and you delete the argument
Just happened to me a quite uncomfortable situation today, I knew how to manage that, but always this kind of confrontation makes me feel sad and listen to you was very important today. Thank you very much for this video.
I get scenario #4, 90% of the time. I’m the one asking, “Why me?” I’m a 5’ tall grandmother. I am not intimidating nor do I appear suspicious. I can’t even take a photo of a building or inanimate object without being confronted by someone and I am SICK OF IT. It has made me angry and resentful and the next person that approaches me is going to get their face plastered all over social media!
Sadly, it happens and I can understand your frustration.
You have, arguably, the most compelling set of videos I have ever come across. I will watch your videos over and over again. One thing I do is that I carry a card with me with my website. and contact info. When confronted, I will smile, apologize with an explanation (I'm Canadian), and why I do what I do. Then I give them my card, and challenge them to look at it on their cellphone. 9/10 this works. If it doesn't, I offer to delete the photo. I shoot with dual cards so the photo is deleted only from slot 1 (RAW), not slot 2 (assigned JPG). As a genralist, aspiring to do well with street photography, I find your videos informative, and affirms ans reinforces what I already know. thank you!
Wearing an eye patch I tend to stand out a bit more than most. My last resort is the Metropolitan Police guidance that you can download and print. It gives advice to officers re the rights of photographers. Useful for new and eager security guards too.
My chat line in less confrontational conversations is I ask them if they ever seen photos taken decades ago, and have they noticed how interesting they are - most agree- and I say, well give it a few years and today will be history too. It seems to placate most.
Great channel and good solid tips - thanks for posting.
Very good pointers, thanks. I recently started this back up again from my early days in the 80's and 90's, and my how things have changed. I never once was confronted when in New York, London, countryside of Ireland, Italy, etc. With social media today ,and Instagram especially, the question I get asked most is "What are you going to do with that photo?" They are very worried it will show up somewhere and they'll be mocked or edited in some unseemly way. It's sad that a very few people have done that and made it difficult for the rest of us. Luckily it is rare and after we speak for a bit I've never been asked to delete a photo. One or two asked if I could send them a copy.
I'm still very new at street photos, and I've been questioned twice. First time I was in a panic, so I just said it was for a school project. Second time, I took the time to explain what I was trying to capture and why. I managed to reverse the question and ask why they questioned me, which is an interesting interaction. They weren't hostile by any means, but wary. I usually carry a tiny 10cm x 10cm photobook of my personal favourites and show it if needed, that I'm just someone trying to improve my craft and mean no harm.
Great comment, and I love the little photobook idea :-)
Have watched a few of your videos now, but this is the first time I've noticed how nice your voice is.
lovely!
What worries me about street photography sometimes is the protection of my camera. Even in good neighborhoods in a big city. I always feel like I have to be overly careful. That’s why I now use a good small mirrorless camera with a small nifty 50 lens.
Thats me too, street is quite new to me and I just didnt feel comfortable with a DSLR so bought a decent compact TZ100 but it just didnt cut it so traded it for a Sony A6000 and a 50mm f1.8, compact enough and the 50mm meant a bit of distance between the subject/s and the camera, plus it's easier to hide or make less noticeable especially at night which is when I get my best pics
I’m very lucky to be charismatic and well spoken, and have yet to be confronted about my street photography. Confrontation doesn’t worry me at all. A lifetime spent in boxing gyms left me with a peculiar calmness that disarms most without having to get aggressive.
Some great tips. I think I can still count the number of times I've been seriously confronted on one hand. I always have some of my printed postcards with me saying who I am. I also ofter to send people a copy if they ask or I print out a Polaroid/INSTAX print.
Great video as always Brian, thanks a lot for this.
Thanks very much, Matt :-)
An excellent summary Brian.
I had a bit of a strange one recently. I went into the council owned covered market and started taking a few pictures - mainly of the architecture as it was so empty. A security guard said I couldn’t take photos. I said I could as it is public property (or is it?). When I asked why not they waffled on about commercial confidentiality, Data protection, frightening customers etc etc Then they said details were on the council’s website - they’re not!
When they asked me why I wanted to take photos I gave them my script about being a documentary photographer - well! that was like dynamite to the security guard and by now his manager.
“Are you ITV or BBC? You need to get permission from the council if you are making a documentary”
I left, content with my one ‘keeper’ !
The real irony was that they had a small photo exhibition of the long history of the market!
Thanks John! Sounds like a typical interaction with a security guard! Yours didn’t sound very bright but sounds like you handled it well.
@@StreetSnappers Yes very typical interaction with a security guard. My experience, never give any hint you are doing it professionally. Many location do have rule on that.
If they are persistent, ask they why they are gaslighting you. Most security persons will be confused, tell them to google it. puts you back in control of the interaction!
I've had around four people ask if I had just photographed them. I showed them the pic and offered to delete. They were all the curious type. But there was a security guard - on a break and not even on her own patch - who tried to tell me it was illegal to photograph people without permission. I tried to explain the law, but she decided she knew better. Rather than argue, I ignored her. I assume she was having a bad day, and I was unfortunately in the path of her bad mood. If somebody ever takes offence, I will happily delete the image. I don't want to have a pic that somebody isn't happy about me having. Almost always, people are pleased to be noticed and genuinely interested as to why. Most people are great.
Thanks, great comment. You’re right - most people are great :-)
Hi Brian,,, I also do that,,, and when I'm out and about I sometimes wear a lanyard around my neck with a business card in,,, but also I always have a little printed booklet showing photo's I've previously taken in my bag,,, it shows to the person you have a genuine interest in steet photography. It works for me.
Great ideas Ray, especially the booklet :-)
Thank You Brian, your videos are nice, calm and well informed. I had this problem today. I was photographing two girls aged about 18 years old hugging in the street. They were about 15 feet away, one of them didn't take too kindly to me photographing, and then she said she is a minor and start calling me a paedophile, and start following me for about 100 metres onto another street with lots of people around
Very good advice. You are totally correct on the "negative vibe" feeling. Do you ever ask permission? In Boston Commons I've done that and even offer to send them the photo. I suppose that is not Street Photography. I usually talk about what they are doing being interesting, or comment on their dog being cute.
I have a series of images taken in the infamous "Hastings Street" area in Vancouver, BC. I went in there with a long-ish lens, trying to be discrete, but the Hastings people have eyes in the back of their heads. It led to one of the most amazing series of images I have ever taken. A lady with a lot of shoes spread out on a blanket. She catches sight of me, frowns, stands, gives me the finger, and then starts to throw empty beer bottles at me. Amazing series of images, but it also made me think that I had violated these people's space somehow. Your tips are spot on, and I agree with them whole-heartedly. I only take mild exception to the remark you made about the interestingly dressed lad when you mention "if you dress like that ..." That's a slipper slope. People can dress how they like, and it's not invitation to be photographed. Everyone gets the same courtesy, irrespective of who they are, or how they dress ... at least in my books. There's no right or wrong, but I wanted to share my opinion too. Cheers Brian! Subscribed to your channel.
I've only just started trying street photography and got hassled literally every 20 minutes in Brixton yesterday, even though I am discreet and not in people's faces. I guess a few people in Brixton are a bit paranoid (maybe they get targeted by cops too much ... or do too much weed), as one person was angry that her market stall might have been caught in a picture (it wasn't) and another talked in length to me about how I 'could be an undercover policeman, or a hoodlum'. The oddest one, though least offensive, was when I was in an empty alleyway on my own pointing my camera skyward to get an 'up the side of an interesting building' shot and a woman came by and said "HEY? ARE YOU ALRIGHT?"It's odd to be labelled as suspicious for visiting a cultural hotspot and photographing its architecture. It didn't feel welcoming enough to go back there. Unexpected, as it's got a reputation as such a cultural hotspot. On the plus-side, some fishmongers cheerfully called me in to portrait them and I switched to my 56mm f1.2 portrait prime and took three nice pictures and emailed them to them :) Even while I was taking those pics (in all of 90 seconds) a customer came in and bellowed at me not to take her picture (I wasn't) in an angry way, as if I'd already done it! (I wasn'y going to - all my shots were of the guys behind the counter).
Interesting. I wonder if there's a cultural element to this. It seems a lot of London street photographers shoot in Chinatown because perhaps in part due to absence of aggro of part of the people working there.
@@greyhameavandhat1220 Yeah. That was a year ago and I've never experienced anything like it since. Indeed, I live in a similarly culturally diverse etc part of London near to Brixton and had zero aggro. I still suspect it's something specific about Brixton being 'gentrified', plus most of my shooting was around a street market and it's possible they simply didn't trust my motives. My technique was bad too, as I had a new lens with variable aperture and was fiddling with it a lot and generally not being spontaneous.
From my experience 99% of people are friendly or uninterested in the photographer. Others are slightly annoyed or confused but not hostile. I put the camera down since they might be uncomfortable. Then once in awhile someone is irate and irrational (Ive been attacked by people before and I never even pointed the camera in their direction, just because I held a camera in my hands), in these situations its best not to argue and just apologize and agree with anything they say and get away from them as soon as possible.
Most people are fine, as you say. I think people new to street photography have a perception that there will be issues when, in reality, there rarely are.
Super video Brian - I like the positivity! I’ve actually only been ‘challenged’ once, in Borough Market. I apologised to the trader concerned, shrugged my shoulders and simply walked away. I later discovered that the photo was out of focus anyway! 🤦🏻♂️
Dont shoot people who havent asked for it, period
@@fredriksvard2603 I don’t agree . If you only shoot pictures of people who asked for it then i no longer should be called street photography. It’s now a portrait
@@kingelvis4688 Is anyone besides street photographers actually into street photography? I can see how it was a thing a century ago, all i see now is cliches like man with umbrella crosses street and dudebros with cameras harassing people, slapping on a lightroom filter and calling it art. Scratch that, they don't call it art, they call it "bangers".
Portraits i like.
Fascinating topic! As an amateur photographer, I've encountered this a couple of times and it didn't go well. Great tips, thank you!
Thanks for the feedback - and please don’t let a few negative experiences put you off!
Thank you Brian for this video. It is always the best to learn from experiences, especially on something that is very fundamental to street photography like this, rather than from theoretical videos made for UA-cams. Thanks again for sharing your skills and experiences.
Great video - glad I found your channel. If you are travelling to a foreign country (or possibly even within your own country), be aware that there are some buildings that you can see that photographing may garner you some unwanted attention. Case in point, I was travelling (won't mention the country) and the national military HQ was in the city I was in. Some local friends warned me that photographing the HQ , even from the street could get me into trouble. Fair enough. Even here in Canada, there are government sites that i will studiously avoid photographing, event from the public street.
Thanks Jeffrey. Yes, I agree with you about what I would call ‘sensitive sites’ - and they are usually much more sensitive in certain countries!
yes, sometimes you feel that a situation or a subject could be problematic just at the first glance. Usually I follow my instinct but I also think that experience can rationally lead you to the right direction, avoiding or taking a picture.
Good evening Brian. Watched, you're extremely well made documentary last evening. I've been a Amateur photographer since i was 19 years old. It's only lately that I have decided to try My Skills at Street Photography. I must admit that This, has to be The Best Advice I have ever heard, and watched! Short. Succinct. And ,hugely informative. Many thanks and Kind regards Colyn. Subscribed!
Thank you for posting this video.
"A lot of people have never heard of street photography. They don't really understand what we are doing." (c)
That the nice one 👍 :-)
Thanks Torsten!
WooHoo! First Comment! Big fan of your stuff, sir. I have the book with the 52 Street Photography Assignments, and it is amazing!
Wow - thanks for the feedback - much appreciated!
Always love your level headed, avuncular approach. I suspect it helps de-escalate anyone who confronts you.
Thank you for the tips, sir! Much appreciated.
My pleasure Dano - thanks for watching :-)
Thank you, Brian. You are putting all this into perspective for my understanding. A couple days ago a lady asked if I was with the media, and I told her I was doing photography projects. She smiled and thought that was cool! I was ready, because I've seen your videos, Sir. LOL
Thanks for the feedback John - glad it worked for you! :-)
I prefer the truth when confronted. I engage with the subject about what makes that picture worth taking; the lighting, the juxtaposition, their wardrobe, etc. Basically a short conversation about what you saw that was interesting enough to photograph.
Thank you for this. I bought your book on street photography and found it very helpful. I highly recommend your book.
Thank you so much for this video and your helpful tips. Im a keen amateur -UK based- just starting to get hooked on street photography . Im very much looking forward to your video on the legalities. Will you be discussing the situation as to whether permission is required from recognisable people in street shots to share/publish photos ? I’ve had conflicting advice about this recently. Thank you.
Very enjoyable, thanks.
Thanks Brian! Another great video and useful tips! Keep them coming 👌👍🔝📸
Thanks very much, Peter!
I was doing street photography in Times Square, New York City and saw two police officers in full gear and slowly lifted my camera, aimed it at them and took the photograph-one of them asked in an authoritative voice ‘Why didn’t you ask first!?’
He was a good 5’ 8” looming over me. I’m 5’0. I smiled and said ‘You saw me looking at you, you saw me lift my camera to my eye, and didn’t stop me at any point-and waited until I took the photo. Why didn’t you put up a hand or tell me to stop? You understand that you’re standing in public domain, besides you guys look cool.’
He motioned towards me, but his partner held up his arm and blocked him saying ‘She’s not wrong. Have a nice day miss.’
The annoyed cop had placed his finger on the trigger of his rifle and had a menacing look on his face, but backed off-I imagine that if his partner hadn’t been there at that moment the angry one would have been more confrontational and it might not have ended well for me, but I took the chance-because I liked the background and foreground and they way they were standing.
I don’t think he cared if I photographed him or not, as tourists take their photos all the time-it was the my not asking that irked him-but my motions were asking ones-I take photos of people on the street all the time in my methodical way, and if someone stops me anytime I put my camera to my face I quickly drop it to my side and move on-if not I make the photo. I’m not confrontational, but I do stand my ground-explain the reasoning if the person is open to listening, and learning the why I took his/her photo and delete it if asked to do so.
Grateful for the content.
My pleasure - thanks for watching!
Brian, Thank you for sharing your thoughts on this subject; I have been concerned about this topic for some time and wondered how I was going to handle any confrontations. To date I have not had any major confrontarions and plan to continue shooting. I will receive my Fujifilm X100T back any day and plan to continue acting as a tourist in Fredericksburg, VA. USA and as always continue shooting. I have just received your book "52 Assignments" and hope this will help me organize my street photography. Thanks again; Thorburn
Thanks, Thorburn, and best of luck with your street photography :-)
Many thanks for a most informative post. Always loved street photography although it was stopped due to lockdown for me. I have found I have lost some of the confidence I once had and need to get out there and start again. The business cards are a great idea, I have my photography email address on mine, not my personal one. I use a small but powerful compact camera, a cannon g12. It’s very light and intrusive and non threatening and takes great shots, although not to the standard of my Nikon D850.
Good advice, well done!
Enjoyed that video
I respond by saying, I'm working on my portfolio. I don't engage in arguments and walk away in silence. It works wonders but takes practice standing your ground.
I can confirm your tips and experience from my own practice. In Germany, where I live, people tend to argue with GDPR legislation - which is wrong because most cases of street photography fall under the Art Copyright Act - a law protecting the freedom of artistic creation. It is limited by the "right to one's own image".
I struggle with confirmations the most in small cities where I am alone with the subject and, if they decided to fight me or take my camera, there's no one around to help.
Great channel, very helpful content.
Thanks for your support!
Person: "Why did you take my photo?"
Photographer: "k thx bye"
Great advice
Thanks
Being 6'6" stealth isn't something that is easy to achieve on the streets for me.
But I also think that prevents some confrontations.
You are correct when you say that a smile will usually disarm the situation.
Also if I am approached by security and I know I am not doing anything wrong I take their picture as they approach. Not in an obvious way, but I take it nonetheless.
One year into first week with new camera: I had only telephoto kit lens ( it stands out). I took a few photos of a nice wine bar window (closed, nobody in, just the empty window). Unbeknownst to me, the owner with a big imposing worker approached from behind very aggressively. Not introducing himself as the owner, he imposingly asked why I’m taking photos of his store. I was totally unprepared, said I was an artist and thought his storefront of interesting character to shoot. He wasn’t convinced, the tall guy asked questions (always more complicated when there’s more then one person involved!) I realized they were firing questions at me, and I interrupted they and said I suppose that you are the owner. He didn’t say yes. But it was obvious. Basically, not a very good encounter. So, I showed him the photos I took, proposed to erase them. He said yes, erase them. As I erased them I said they they weren’t very good photos anyway and that I wouldn’t be keeping them.( I couldn’t help myself ! ) this was just two blocks away from where I live in Paris. I run across this guy once in a while. And I try to avoid his energy! It didn’t stop me from continuing to take photos, but I did get much more hidden in my camera approach. Perhaps you may say it is borderline creepy at times. But the more experienced I get, the more relaxed…
Mate! I was photographing that building and you came into my frame….. it could happen…. I wasted 35mm of film 😁!
Yes, that’s a good one!!
Epic Video, thanks for your thoughts.
Just be aware when travelling. In the EU when you take the picture of someone and make them the focus/subject of your photo and they actively do not give consent, then you are actually doing something wrong in a legal sense of the word. If you are travelling make sure you actually know the local laws regarding taking pictures of people in public. I also think if someone repeatedly says that they don't want their picture taken, then ethically speaking you shouldn't do so. Just like I think that you shouldn't take pictures of someone vulnerable or someone in a humiliating position, you shouldn't take pictures of someone insisting not to be photographed because they might also be in a vulnerable position, just visible or not as visible
Thank you!
Well done Brian still waiting for your book
Thanks Bryan - book will be out in January!
Just got a place on your April workshop in Liverpool as a gift (after some brick-heavy hints!), really looking forward to it. When's your next critique session btw?
Thanks!😉👍
I live in a small town, so I go to other cities to make street photography because people know me around here. Being in another city I'm literally a tourist. Last time I was approached I said I was just knowing the city, I asked for directions and what kind of beautiful buildings they had close by.
Shoot RAW + Fine (B&W), therefore when a subject wants to see your image, the "Street Photography student/assignment" will have more validity (if you're aiming for color images in RAW format).
This is a good idea. You can say that you are an art major at a local college too (even though it's bs) since locals identify positively with nearby schools.
Interesting to see you talking about the "curious type" and such, because this doesn't exist in my country. You taking someone's photo is perceived as either annoying or hostile in like 90% of the time. People feel like you're gonna sell their picture and sometimes even act as if you pointed a rifle at them instead of a camera lens. Being photographed is generally considered a bad thing, nobody here finds it surprising or interesting. Welcome to Grumpy Nation
Dux, Really enjoy your channel and willingness to share with us. Do you need a model release if you use someone's picture in a book or here in a video? Thanks
Really great tips 👍
Thanks Lee :-)
Thank you :)
I'm working on a small 12-24 page A5 sized zine that I plan to give to people who confront me. I have my images in there that I feel represent me and my take on the art of street photography. I plan to have a small text in the beginning to explain who I am, and why I do this. They can keep the small zine, if they want to.
Great idea - I’ll be interested to hear how it works for you!
One thing about film, which is a good thing, you can’t offer to delete the picture. I’ve not yet had anyone insist I delete the image so I don’t know how that will end, I hope not with the camera back wrenched open.
Network Rail bylaws allow you to photograph at any railway station, platform or train- just remind the staff of this.
I really enjoyed your video on this subject!! I live in a smaller town (11,000 people) and it seems the people are cautious and suspicious but I don't know if it's because of how the world is at this time. I'm curious what your minimalist camera gear that you use for street photography?
Best of luck in your photography journey!
Duane
nice video. I am curious where the data that "most countries have no restrictions on street photography in public". I actually find the information hard to come by in most countries. Do you have your source, especially as soon as it involves common people.
There's no data - it's anecdotal. I've visited lots of countries to do street photography - and know lots of street photographers who have visited many more, so it's a general collective viewpoint rather than hard data.
I don't sugercoat anything. I know my rights where I go. I can handle myself and if they challenge me they know right away. I stand my ground.
Standing your ground is good!
I used to try deescalation but I've found some people are just bullies and want to try and impose themselves on you. I still think about those people and how they punked me...so now since i"m human I'll tell irrational people to fuck off and I must say it feels way better than letting people treat me me like shit.
It seems to me that, when a photographer is confronted, it's because the photographer first confronted the subject.
The few times people have asked me to delete a photo they were so thrown off when I told them I shoot film that it usually ends the whole interaction or derails them and they wanna ask about that instead.
Ha
as long as i remember, people never gets angry if being taken picture of.. afterall i live in Indonesia where its people are mostly friendly
I would love to go there some time and photograph all the things!
Thanks for this video, Sir! I gotta be honest, i still don't know how to deal when people notice that im taking photos, so this content comes really handy
I don't do a lot of street photography, but I have had 3 strange confrontations. All with people how assumed that I took their picture, when I didn't and didn't plan to. The angriest person was back in October while I was standing in a line with my family and saw an architectural feature that looked interesting, so framed it up in my small Canon G5X point & shoot and someone with a major chip on their shoulder wandered into the shot and as I lowered my camera, they DEMANDED to know if I took their picture? I didn't and I told him so. But he demanded again and I told him once more that I didn't. Then he told me that I better not have taken his picture. We were both in a public space and up until he got angry, we wasn't very interesting at all. Once he was angry, he became quite interesting and since there was a low wall between us, I was very tempted to take his photo at that point. But since we were both going opposite directions and with our families and the line I was in was moving, I didn't.
I really hate street photography. I will get flamed for this.
I do not like my photo taken and I don't like that it's legal to do so. I have never (as far as I know) had my photo taken, besides of course security cameras at stores or work (I don't like that either).
FYI here, in Hungary, it is ILLEGAL to take a picture (or voice record!) without consent before!
Be careful! It can cost you very, very much!
Yes, I’ve heard the rules are very strict in Hungary :-(
I liked this video, and I get that your position is one of standing for your community/art form (which I'm a part of) but truthfully, street photographers need to get their heads around the reality that we aren't in a film-only age any longer. You throwing somebody's image up on your online portfolio, or even storing it unencrypted in 'the cloud', makes their info, likeness, and location fair game to god knows who or what (i.e.: unethically scraped AI dataset bullsh*t, private companies using facial recognition to track people, and a lot more). More and more people are becoming aware of this risk - so don't be shocked if they assert dissatisfaction. Be understanding, and maybe - gasp! - risk assess your street photography from the side of your human subjects as well as yourself.
Also, being self-congratulatory about lying to a person off the street about deleting a photo ("2 SD cards!") like some in these comments, is gross. Be honest, fellow street photographers. Be a human. Think about your ethics, and you'll probably grow into a way more perceptive street photographer.
Any thoughts on standing in a public space and taking a picture of a space, clearly visible to the public, but the subject is on private property, marked or unmarked, like a person in front of thier house behind a fence?
Whee do you start when you want to make your first street photography book
Maybe I'm lucky (for a big northern skinhead) but all I ever get is waves and smiles if there's any interaction at all
Same here - I find that if you’re confident and relaxed, most people are fine.
wise words
Thank you!
I have done street photography for maybe 15 years. I'm very candid in what I do and I don't get into people's faces. I have rules, no children photos unless with parents permission and no photos of people in a group inside a building such as a restaurant and if anyone asks I give them my card so that if they want a copy of the photo just email me and I will send them one, at no charge. I have never had a problem really except for one woman and I wasn't even taking her photo. I was taking photos of people posing in front of a wall with huge wings painted on it. The purpose of the wall was for photos. A group of young women, maybe late teens into early 20's were having a great time taking photos and I was across the street. So with my lens I zoomed in and grabbed a few shots. Suddenly a woman that was in a restaurant behind me, ran out and across the street to the women and pointing at me you could see her chattering about my photography. Then she left and went back in the restaurant. The young women kept doing their thing. What the woman in the restaurant wasn't expecting was me to go in and politely confront her (and her boyfriend who looked totally embarrassed) and explain the art of street photography to her. All she kept repeating was...”someone has to protect women”. Really. All I can say is be careful out there and sometimes you need a rear view mirror on your camera.
Always shoot to two cards; when asked to delete the image-go ahead and delete it from one card.
clever
Our "business" card should have our portrait on it. Only this adition should proove that we 'assume responsability'. It shows we in turn trust the 'challenger' (even more so if we don't ask for his/hers 'in return').
(Any(!) business card could be misleading. A recognizable portrait less so.)
I had two versions of cards. With and without my portrait. Now I am working on the idea of a mini(!) folded "design" leaflet with multiple goals (photos + coordinates, teasing, 'service's publicity',) reassuring, but perhaps because of the type of paper, also convey like a sens of gift.
(Also an idea : QR-code that on the spot opens an "About" webpage of ours - for those that cary a connected smartphone, and invite them to do a selfy with them ;-)
I like the idea of a QR code, although the portrait idea is not for me (though I know it's popular in the US).
@@StreetSnappers ('although' I'm from europe where only sales representatives used to have portraits on their business cards) me to I dont like "to so give my portrait". That's why I would have one without, the 'regular' one.
The portrait combined with the QR code could lead to a page with the same portrait on the web page with contents made to calm turbulent spirits, page with no link to from within the regular navigation tree of our website.
I delete the picture if they're really upset about it but thanks to dual SD cards I just use the backup anyways.
Are you allowed to take photographs in a public area thats on private property, like a train station or a shopping centre, for example?
Here in Morocco 🇲🇦 things in street are really serious... People are quickly offended to be photographed!!! It has to do with Religion and Superstition... People don't like strangers to take photos of them... I always struggle and find myself obliged to shoot discreetly.
i was shooting houses(windows, door, gates, roofs. etc) with a long lens and a homeowner from inside her house called me. all my photos were just like that, no people. i walked to her. she asked what i was doing. i said that i was shooting architecture. she didn't seem convinced so i showed her the photos on the lcd and added that 'with a little crop, turn to black and white...' they looked artsy-fartsy. it worked! she was convinced! so if asked, just show what you're doing. if you were doing nothing wrong, let your photos speak. if you are doing something wrong RUN!. if i had 'snooping' or incriminating photos she'd be calling the cops but all my pics were just windows, door, gates, roofs, and other house parts so she let me off.
in another place i was doing street photography with a point and shoot so quick snaps and walking away would be the practice. a jogger i snapped called me and asked why i was taking his photo. i did the same thing. i showed the back of my lcd and photos of random people i came across on my walk. he let me off as there was nothing incriminating in my shots. lol if he wanted his pic, i'd hand him my card and tell him to email me.
May be it is rear in west But in my part (south asia) it often happens. Especially when i go alone to capture the streets.
I use my smartphone to practice photography and my mobile's lens is pretty wide(26mm). So, it is very hard to capture the close up shots.
In my country, the Philippines, they made street photography illegal since 2018.
If a building or an individual is in public than they are fare game. I wouldn’t delete an image because there is not privacy in a public place.
another idea: take one of those instax printers with you and print a photo out for someone