Street Photography Tips: Should you ask permission first?
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- Опубліковано 25 чер 2023
- Many photographers struggle to find the best way to photograph strangers on the streets and one important decision that needs to be made is whether or not to ask permission first. In this video, I explain what I think are the pros and cons of both approaches and share some of my own experiences with photos I've taken in the past, both candid and posed.
After watching, you will have a clear idea of which method to use in different situations and this will help improve your street photography.
There is a SECOND part to this video where I show two photos of the same girl, without asking for permission and then the same girl after asking to take a photo. You can find it here: • Why I Photograph Stran...
There's also a blog post on this topic to complement this video:
shorturl.at/rxT69
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Thanks for watching! - Навчання та стиль
How well did you do identifying which photos I asked permission and which I took without asking? What's your view on asking for permission and what has your experience been? Any great tips for success? Let me know in the comments.
More on this topic on my blog: bit.ly/3PxLccv
Nice photos! I like the topic you discussed...it was quite informative!
Thanks Steve. What's your personal experience here? Do you usually ask or do you prefer to take the photo naturally?
@@StreetPhotographyChina I don't really do Street Photography. I into Landscape Photography and abandoned building/decayed building photography. I suppose that sometimes I stray into the rare photo op that could be termed street. That being said, I do enjoy viewing and reading about street photography...even if I don't participate in it. I usually try to avoid having people in my shots..ha ha. Take care and have a good day!
@@SteveKleinheider That sounds great, let me know if there's anywhere I can view your work. Although my focus is street portraits, I certainly enjoy other kinds of photography as well.
Great stuff. Couple of comments!
in some countries taking photos of strangers is definitely illegal, specifically in countries like Saudi Arabia, which is beginning to open up for tourism, the punishments can be quite harsh, so you should always check when photographing in a new location.
Secondly, I think there is a difference between photos where you've not asked permission and they are not aware you're taking the pic (the yawn) and photos where you've not asked but they are aware of you (and you could argue the permission is implied if they've not indicated they don't want you to continue), leading to them modifying their behaviour in some way
Yes, absolutely, it is important to check local laws before taking photos in public of people and even buildings. In France, creators of buildings have the same rights as creators of works of art and copyright only lapses 70 years after the death of the creator. So some newer buildings in Paris cannot be published without permission, including the Eiffel Tower at night..
To your second point, I think sometimes when you ask you get photos that look candid and when you don't ask you can get photos that look posed, so asking or not may not always impact the outcome, but the same still applies in terms of having more time to frame and focus if you ask which will increase your chance of a better photo. I've actually had someone yawn while I was taking their photo and they knew I was there!
That was a very interesting challenge. I managed to get two wrong. I don't mind asking for permission, but in most cases it's not practical for a number of reasons. Especially when I'm in a foreign country and there is a language barrier.
I am not so sure. I have asked people in France, Spain, London and China for photos. In Spain I met an old local man who spoke no English. I just pointed to my camera and he understood. We had a nice chat, but I understood nothing he said and he didn't understand anything I said. Sometimes you have to not over think things, just go for it!
I do not ask. I also do not got to places where it is an issue.
Cool, thanks for sharing.
I like your videos. I wish you best wishes in expanding your channel
Thank you so much!
Thank you for sharing, wonderful photos. Just curious why is your choice of crop square ? Have a wonderful evening
Thanks for your comment. The camera I use is a Rolleiflex 2.8F. This is a 6 x 6cm 120 roll film format, so the images are square. I talk more about this in this video if you're interested: ua-cam.com/video/vW3zgKHIJL8/v-deo.htmlsi=Bs_TDLWCqTeiY1ZI
From legal perspective, taking and posting a picture of a person without his or her consent is against the law on personal data protection in certain countries. Street photography is my hobby, yes, but since I also work in law, I only share those “silhouette” style pictures online. That said, I tend to love those pictures that the subjects are not asked for permission, or else they are not natural anymore like you said.
In Vietnam, I also use a technique called “disguise as a foreigner”, where I come around and ask for permission in another language apart from Vietnamese so that the subjects may think that I am just a tourist or some sort, and become more relaxed to me while I take photos of them.
Oh, I just realized that another guy just mentioned Saudi Arabia is also restricting take pictures. Interesting…
It's true in some countries it can be illegal, but for most, certainly UK and America, it is completely legal to photograph strangers in public. It doesn't mean you won't get confronted but legally you are not doing anything wrong. It is after all, a public place so right to privacy would not make sense. The disguise as a foreigner is a great excuse to take photos of strangers. I am British, but ethnicity is Chinese so when I am in England, I can just pretend I am a Chinese tourist.
Thank you for sharing, and welcome back to youtube 🎉
What I do is take 2 or 3 pictures without them knowing, then ask them if I can take a close up photos of them.
If they say yes after the session I will show them the candid photos and ask is it okay to took those photos.
If they said no, i will delete the candid photos.
Hell, Sometimes they even ask me to take another candid photos :D
That's cool, you get the best of both worlds, candid and posed.
well. if you ask a permission then it's a portrait photography not a street photography
I think that if you want to take street portraits of people, you should ask permission to these people. But if you want to capture a society as a global thing, its culture, uses, way of life - and a society is full of people - don't ask any permission, cause it should disfigure your testimonial. You would fotograph nothing but a performance.
Yes, you've summed it up pretty well I think. Asking permission usually changes the final image, less natural and not always the real situation. Thanks for commenting and sharing your thoughts. Much appreciated.