Street Photography
Jun 10, 2015 10:45:17 #
I have done a search on UHH about street photography and some say, always ask the people on the street that you are photographing for permission. Some say don't worry. I just feel that if I don't ask, I am looking for trouble. If I do ask, then how candid will the picture be? I am looking for any and all suggestions.
Thanks.
Thanks.
Jun 10, 2015 11:13:51 #
Jun 10, 2015 11:17:03 #
I don't do Street Photography, but as I understand the situation, if you are going to use the picture commercially, ie. Sell, Publish, or for a public Showing, etc. and anyone in the picture is identifiable, you need a release. If it is only used for yourself and possible showing at a photography club contest, not visible to the public, you don't.
But I am not a lawyer and this is just my understanding of the general laws, and they vary by state!
But I am not a lawyer and this is just my understanding of the general laws, and they vary by state!
Jun 10, 2015 11:19:27 #
Jun 10, 2015 11:34:17 #
Just don't use a long lens. If someone looks at you after taking their picture then aim the camera a bit away and begin taking other shots. Look up after each shot and look toward what you just shot. It might come across to them you weren't even taking their picture.
if they come over to you ask you about it
1) say you were taking a picture of the building or whatever was behind them, and not really paying attention to who was in the pictures. show them the picture and if they ask you to delete it just delete it. its not like you are going to go broke without the picture.
2) be honest, tell them what you saw looked so awesome to you that you just had to have the shot. (their hat, the beard, the leather jacket etc.) Show it to them, be enthusiastic and tell them why it is so awesome to you. and ask if its okay to keep it for your personal collection.
3) tell them you are looking for pictures to submit to local papers.
4)If your camera has two card slots you shouldn't try to deny taking their picture by switching the view to the other card. What if the cops get involved and they find the pictures you denied taking. oh boy!
I used to do a lot of crowd shots at football games, carnivals, events, etc. and never had a problem. sometimes a person would say take another one and pose. So I did. Sometimes they would ask for copies and give me their email address. And I would send them a good edited copy.
Some people love having their pictures taken and insist you keep taking them even though they will never see the pictures. Chinese, Korean, Indian (from India) Mexican children. If they start hamming it up have some fun with it.
Thats been my experience anyway.
The only time I was confronted was when I was taking interior shots of a public parking garage in Kansas City KS after attending a photography seminar.
Their security guys said I might be working for a terrorist group and documenting where to put the explosives. Seems a major railroad company has their main office above the parking area.
I explained I used pictures like this for green screen, and showed them what I had taken. I had a shoot from a couple of days prior on the film card and showed them.
The supervising officer said he was uncomfortable with me having the pictures and asked me to delete them, so I did. I know my legal rights, but when I am alone with cops (mall cops, rent a cops, city cops, sherifs dept, state troopers) staring me down I would rather just do as they say and leave without having my equipment confiscated (or worse) and then trying to get it back later.
if they come over to you ask you about it
1) say you were taking a picture of the building or whatever was behind them, and not really paying attention to who was in the pictures. show them the picture and if they ask you to delete it just delete it. its not like you are going to go broke without the picture.
2) be honest, tell them what you saw looked so awesome to you that you just had to have the shot. (their hat, the beard, the leather jacket etc.) Show it to them, be enthusiastic and tell them why it is so awesome to you. and ask if its okay to keep it for your personal collection.
3) tell them you are looking for pictures to submit to local papers.
4)If your camera has two card slots you shouldn't try to deny taking their picture by switching the view to the other card. What if the cops get involved and they find the pictures you denied taking. oh boy!
I used to do a lot of crowd shots at football games, carnivals, events, etc. and never had a problem. sometimes a person would say take another one and pose. So I did. Sometimes they would ask for copies and give me their email address. And I would send them a good edited copy.
Some people love having their pictures taken and insist you keep taking them even though they will never see the pictures. Chinese, Korean, Indian (from India) Mexican children. If they start hamming it up have some fun with it.
Thats been my experience anyway.
The only time I was confronted was when I was taking interior shots of a public parking garage in Kansas City KS after attending a photography seminar.
Their security guys said I might be working for a terrorist group and documenting where to put the explosives. Seems a major railroad company has their main office above the parking area.
I explained I used pictures like this for green screen, and showed them what I had taken. I had a shoot from a couple of days prior on the film card and showed them.
The supervising officer said he was uncomfortable with me having the pictures and asked me to delete them, so I did. I know my legal rights, but when I am alone with cops (mall cops, rent a cops, city cops, sherifs dept, state troopers) staring me down I would rather just do as they say and leave without having my equipment confiscated (or worse) and then trying to get it back later.
Jun 10, 2015 12:52:27 #
If you walk around photographing nonstop everything around you (or pretend to be doing so!), your intended subjects will hardly even notice you are photographing them; at least they are less likely to feel you are specifically singling them out. Yes, they may assume you are a weirdo or an over-ambitious tourist, but they feel less threatened, and that's what is key. The less threatened your subjects feel, the less likely they will confront you about photographing them. Avoiding eye contact and pretending to photograph something behind or next to them can work quite well too, but may take a little practice to be able to pull it off smoothly and convincingly.
Jun 11, 2015 07:58:59 #
billnikon
Loc: Pennsylvania/Ohio/Florida/Maui/Oregon/Vermont
This is an age old problem with many shades of gray. If you are a public figure, film star, mayor, city council member, etc. you have no expectation of privacy, and are fair game. That is why their so many photographers who give us all a bad name out their.
I visit NYC a lot, I swear, the camera's are every where. It seems no one has a sense of privacy. I shoot medium telephoto, 250 mm to 400 mm. If I shot someone at a great distance I do not ask for permission. If I published the photo and their face clearly shows and/or recognizable I need permission. If I am shooting for my self, No, I do not bother. It is a very gray line we walk.
I shot a 5 year old at a Mall with his hands up a gumball machine dispenser, trying to get a gumball, the expression on his face is priceless. I still have that photo 35 years later but can never display it in my studio for sale because his face is very recognizable even all these years later, that is why their is a "NFS" in big letters under this photo. If the kid or his relative every show up I'll give them the photo.
I visit NYC a lot, I swear, the camera's are every where. It seems no one has a sense of privacy. I shoot medium telephoto, 250 mm to 400 mm. If I shot someone at a great distance I do not ask for permission. If I published the photo and their face clearly shows and/or recognizable I need permission. If I am shooting for my self, No, I do not bother. It is a very gray line we walk.
I shot a 5 year old at a Mall with his hands up a gumball machine dispenser, trying to get a gumball, the expression on his face is priceless. I still have that photo 35 years later but can never display it in my studio for sale because his face is very recognizable even all these years later, that is why their is a "NFS" in big letters under this photo. If the kid or his relative every show up I'll give them the photo.
Jun 11, 2015 07:59:02 #
Check out Valerie Jardin Photography. Valerie is recognized as one of the top 20 best street photographers. She has a wonderful blog and posts lots of suggestions for street photography. She addresses this very question and many others pertinent to street photography. I've traveled with Valerie to Normandy and Rome and enjoyed practicing my street photography with her.
Jun 11, 2015 08:03:40 #
ralphc4176
Loc: Conyers, GA
Usually when people see me with a camera, they want me to take their picture. Like I could provide a print from the bottom of the camera! Sometimes I do and discard the image later. Or, if it's a friend, I will either provide that person with the digital image or print it for them.
In some public settings, you might risk angering someone when taking pictures of groups of people. When it is necessary, I try to be as discrete as possible.
When I was taking routine photographs at a busy intersection, some crazy woman called the police and complained that I had taken a picture of her. Don't know whether I got a picture of her in her car or not, but how could she expect privacy while driving her car on a public roadway in broad daylight? The police came and asked me for my ID; I explained what I was doing; the officer then went and talked to the woman, and she drove away. I wish he would have told her that she was full of it, but I'm sure he was polite.
In some public settings, you might risk angering someone when taking pictures of groups of people. When it is necessary, I try to be as discrete as possible.
When I was taking routine photographs at a busy intersection, some crazy woman called the police and complained that I had taken a picture of her. Don't know whether I got a picture of her in her car or not, but how could she expect privacy while driving her car on a public roadway in broad daylight? The police came and asked me for my ID; I explained what I was doing; the officer then went and talked to the woman, and she drove away. I wish he would have told her that she was full of it, but I'm sure he was polite.
Jun 11, 2015 08:13:09 #
LindaChaplin wrote:
Check out Valerie Jardin Photography. Valerie is recognized as one of the top 20 best street photographers. She has a wonderful blog and posts lots of suggestions for street photography. She addresses this very question and many others pertinent to street photography. I've traveled with Valerie to Normandy and Rome and enjoyed practicing my street photography with her.
:thumbup: Lucky you! I've had an appreciation for Valerie's work, as well.
Jun 11, 2015 08:28:26 #
I was in a situation close to your post. I sold a photo in a gallery that the person in the background said I did not have her permission to photograph. She was not the main subject. The conclusion was a person has no expectation of privacy while in public. The reason for the up roar was she was with someone she should not had been with in a place she shouldn't had been at. ( I was told a friend of the husband bought the picture) like I said at the time this could only happen to me. That was when it hit me every body is out to sue anybody over anything. (This happened in 1998 but I don't think the law has changed)
Jun 11, 2015 09:35:42 #
Jun 11, 2015 09:49:55 #
Davet wrote:
I have done a search on UHH about street photography and some say, always ask the people on the street that you are photographing for permission. Some say don't worry. I just feel that if I don't ask, I am looking for trouble. If I do ask, then how candid will the picture be? I am looking for any and all suggestions.
Thanks.
Thanks.
Very rarely do I get asked, "did you just take my picture?" But when I do I hand the person a business card. On the front a simple classic street shot in the corner my name and underneath the words street photographer. On the back 2 sentences explaining what street photography is and under that a website where they can view the photo if they wish. I have never had to go to the next level which would be to let them watch me erase the shot.....off of card 1.
Jun 11, 2015 10:01:57 #
Both here in Canada and really any other country there is the expectation of privacy. To my best understanding and I may be wrong--but here goes.
If a person is standing in a hotel, condo or house window they have an expectation of privacy and any photo would be an invasion of privacy. And anything other situation is legal.
If I am taking a photo of a particular person I always ask their permission
If a person is standing in a hotel, condo or house window they have an expectation of privacy and any photo would be an invasion of privacy. And anything other situation is legal.
If I am taking a photo of a particular person I always ask their permission
Jun 11, 2015 10:39:18 #
This comes up every so often. I've been doing street photography in NYC since 1967, and the advice I give to others is to do what you're comfortable doing. I've also found that what one is comfortable doing often changes over time.
For what it's worth I sometimes shoot from a distance with a long lens and I sometimes shoot from up close. When I shoot from up close I ask permission. Sometimes I just ask, "Do you mind if I take a few pictures?" I always say thank you and offer to email them the pictures. I carry a pencil and pad to write it down and I always follow up. I find that if I'm friendly (I'm a friendly person by nature), polite, and smile people usually don't object. Sometimes I end up having a very nice conversation with the person.
One thing I never do is sneak around. I make it very obvious that I am taking pictures. Sneaking around only makes people suspicious and sometimes even hostile.
For what it's worth I sometimes shoot from a distance with a long lens and I sometimes shoot from up close. When I shoot from up close I ask permission. Sometimes I just ask, "Do you mind if I take a few pictures?" I always say thank you and offer to email them the pictures. I carry a pencil and pad to write it down and I always follow up. I find that if I'm friendly (I'm a friendly person by nature), polite, and smile people usually don't object. Sometimes I end up having a very nice conversation with the person.
One thing I never do is sneak around. I make it very obvious that I am taking pictures. Sneaking around only makes people suspicious and sometimes even hostile.
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