Street photography without pissing people off?

[Dali]

maybe its just me but part of me is facinated by street photography
and part of me thinks it is extremely creepy ..

Why creepy?

 

[removed account4]

i find surveillance photography, photographing people without consent &c
to be pretty creepy, it kind of the same creepy as robin william's character in 1 hour photo ..

 

[BrianShaw]

maybe its just me but part of me is facinated by street photography
and part of me thinks it is extremely creepy ..

Ditto, but I go one step further. I don't see the"art" in 99% of street photography. Just don't see what's interesting about it. But that's just me so if you like street, shoot away.

I've tried it BTW and the way I avoided pissing people off was to stop pointing a camera at them.

 

[Dali]

Brian, if you see art in the remaining 1%, it is not that bad! Like you I too often found "street photography" as a label for uninspired snapshots taken in public places but I don't throw out the baby with the bath water. To me, SP is the essence of photography.

 

[BrianShaw]

I see the art in old vintage SP. so maybe I'll see the art in current SP if I live long enough!

But maybe I'd find more to be of interest if the genre was named "casual documentary photography ".

 

[Old-N-Feeble]

This. It's not candid if you go around asking for permission. Whether it's right or wrong, polite or rude, is certainly debatable, but we're talking about two different things.

Granted but there are countless 'set up' images which look candid... and before anyone states 'that's not real'... does it really matter if the image isn't making a political statement or such?

 

[removed account4]

I see the art in old vintage SP. so maybe I'll see the art in current SP if I live long enough!

But maybe I'd find more to be of interest if the genre was named "casual documentary photography ".

i think that is the thing brian
if it was an old image, something from a different
culture or time it holds my interest because it is more than photographs of the
backs of peoples' heads as they walk across a street or pictures of homeless people
sleeping on a parkbench or whatever ...
i think that is my facination of it, it is raw documentation, but since the time period
hasn't vanished its not interesting ... i like vm's work and hcb's work because i never lived then
it is all foreign, the same way atget's work holds my attention ...
if i had to i'd do it ( and have for work ) i would, but i'd rather photograph vacant streets
and make casual portraits of people i speak with ...
i think it would be far more interesting if people whodo street photography
would do as gw did, put it away in a bag in a drawer/filing cabinet for years until that time period
has completely vanished.. for me i find that it is less than 1% that i find interesting, and that less than 1% i find
to be really interesting ...

 

[Kevin Ekstrom]

I actually like using my 105mm lens for street work, but mostly for people shots. This way I am not in anyone's face and mostly discreet. My 50mm is my favorite for street stuff. I like taking it on the train. I tend to let the people sitting around me know what I am up and explain I am working on a project. I will not bother folks who seem to shy away from what I am doing. It's fairly easy to let a single train car know what your up to before shooting. If people are put off by my camera I simply walk on. It's never a good idea to bother anyone.

 

[skorpiius]

Re: Creepiness of Street Photography

One might also want to be aware that this has been making the rounds on social media this month.
Note the 'non-consensual photography' line at the bottom.

https://i.imgur.com/yZ29gvh.jpg

 

[Helios 1984]

Re: Creepiness of Street Photography

One might also want to be aware that this has been making the rounds on social media this month.
Note the 'non-consensual photography' line at the bottom.

https://i.imgur.com/yZ29gvh.jpg

I'm pretty sure this Non-Consensual photography refer to taking a picture of one person while she/he is naked without her/his approval and posting it on the net. I doubt it's about Street Photography.

 

[skorpiius]

I'm pretty sure this Non-Consensual photography refer to taking a picture of one person while she/he is naked without her/his approval and posting it on the net. I doubt it's about Street Photography.

I'm not so sure as 'revenge porn' is listed in the section above, Anyway, just something to be aware of.

 

[Helios 1984]

I'm not so sure as 'revenge porn' is listed in the section above, Anyway, just something to be aware of.

Then Non-Consensuel is to take the picture and Revenge is to post it. I don't think one need to be in a revenge mindset to post a "picture", He/She may just want to brag. (which is still unacceptable)

 

[removed account4]

I'm pretty sure this Non-Consensual photography refer to taking a picture of one person while she/he is naked without her/his approval and posting it on the net. I doubt it's about Street Photography.

IDK
there are people who are really creepy out there ...

 

[Sirius Glass]

IDK
there are people who are really creepy out there ...

Ever notice on television shows, especially crime related shows [CSI, NCIS, ...], that the creepy guy is often a photographer?

 

[Kevin Ekstrom]

Ever notice on television shows, especially crime related shows [CSI, NCIS, ...], that the creepy guy is often a photographer?

LMAO!!

 

[Helios 1984]

Ever notice on television shows, especially crime related shows [CSI, NCIS, ...], that the creepy guy is often a photographer?

+1
And very often wear glasses. We are all toasted :-/ Might as well sell our cameras and start a stamp collection.

 

[MattKing]

Ever notice on television shows, especially crime related shows [CSI, NCIS, ...], that the creepy guy is often a photographer?

+1
And very often wear glasses. We are all toasted :-/ Might as well sell our cameras and start a stamp collection.

I think many of us are probably safe.
The creepy people on television rarely have beards and grey, slightly unruly hair.

 

[Sirius Glass]

I think many of us are probably safe.
The creepy people on television rarely have beards and grey, slightly unruly hair.

Creepy people with beards and grey slightly unruly hair are at street corners and freeway entrances panhandling.

 

[Erik D. Herrmann Sr.]

You might try this.

Select a very quiet camera with a wide angle lens. One with a leaf shutter works great. Attach a neck strap to the camera. Set the hyperfocal distance on the lens. Note the minimum distance. Hang the camera around your neck. Attach an air bulb shutter release. Run the air hose behind the camera and under and through your clothing into a jacket or sweater pocket. Set the shutter. Stick your hands into your pockets. Casually walk around in public maintaining at least the noted minimum distance from any potential subjects. When you find something interesting, mentally compose the frame by turning your entire body. Then look away just before you squeeze the bulb. Casually exit the scene and rewind.

I've done this with both a Canonet QL17 G-III and a Yashica MAT-124G TLR. Both have leaf shutters. Never had a single confrontation as not a single subject was ever aware they had been photographed. Even up close.

A side benefit of the TLR is that almost every photo has the subject looking directly into the lens. Not because they suspected. Rather because they had never before seen a TLR and were staring at it. Nice.

Ken

Very good suggestions. I shoot with a Yashica MAT-124G a good bit and I never go out without someone commenting on it. Of course I can be taking shots of people all day and nobody realizes it.

 

[Russ - SVP]

Brian, if you see art in the remaining 1%, it is not that bad! Like you I too often found "street photography" as a label for uninspired snapshots taken in public places but I don't throw out the baby with the bath water. To me, SP is the essence of photography.

Sadly, this is true. Lately, there has been a lot of meaningless crap being put out there, labeled as street photography.

Kk

 

[Russ - SVP]

Forget the surreptitious approach of long lenses or shooting with wide angled lenses that are being concealed. At best, you’ll get a poorly composed and poorly timed shot.

The use of a wide to normal lens, honesty and compassion will usually allow you access to those special poignant, funny or poignant moments that can be found on the streets. Deliberately compose through the viewfinder and time your shots. Yes, on occasion, you may get caught in the act. That’s fine. If your intentions are pure and you mean no harm, that will show in your actions and demeanor. You are in a public place. You are not invading someone’s privacy. Yes, there may be scenes that should not be shot. Use your own good judgement and compassion to recognize these moments.

Russ

 

[Russ - SVP]

No reason to be surreptitiously or sneaky. Be honest and sincere in your approach.

 

[Colin Corneau]

Holy smokes, it's really discouraging reading some of the comments showing impressions people have about street/candid/real life photography. I've often thought people project their own issues and interior conversations upon photography, and nowhere as much as the street genre.
I'm certainly not 'creepy' - in fact, my experiences and lessons gained from years (over a decade) going for walks with my camera help me be a more connected and community-minded citizen.
There's art in daily life. That's beyond debate. Mary Ellen Mark herself said, if you can shoot street well you can do any other kind of photography. She's right.

I will agree there's a LOT of utter crap being pawned off as street photography, now. Following the same arc as the avalanche of photos hitting us when digital and the Web happened, unsurprisingly...but there's always been lots of chaff among the wheat kernels. No change, there.

It's pretty simple, from the little I've seen -- shy, awkward milquetoasts who are unsure of themselves will take photos accordingly. People who are sure of what they're doing, and believe in it, and who respect others will bring that to their photographs, too. I mean, good lord...if YOU don't believe in what you're doing, why should anyone else?

 

[Russ - SVP]

Holy smokes, it's really discouraging reading some of the comments showing impressions people have about street/candid/real life photography. I've often thought people project their own issues and interior conversations upon photography, and nowhere as much as the street genre.
I'm certainly not 'creepy' - in fact, my experiences and lessons gained from years (over a decade) going for walks with my camera help me be a more connected and community-minded citizen.
There's art in daily life. That's beyond debate. Mary Ellen Mark herself said, if you can shoot street well you can do any other kind of photography. She's right.

I will agree there's a LOT of utter crap being pawned off as street photography, now. Following the same arc as the avalanche of photos hitting us when digital and the Web happened, unsurprisingly...but there's always been lots of chaff among the wheat kernels. No change, there.

It's pretty simple, from the little I've seen -- shy, awkward milquetoasts who are unsure of themselves will take photos accordingly. People who are sure of what they're doing, and believe in it, and who respect others will bring that to their photographs, too. I mean, good lord...if YOU don't believe in what you're doing, why should anyone else?

Russ

 

[John51]

OM1 + 35mm prime + Winder, mirror up. Set lens to f 5.6/3M. Camera on neck strap, one hand in pocket firing the button on the winders remote lead.

I've not actually done this but will have to give it a go sometime as I've got the kit.

What I have done a lot of is arms length candids of friends and family. They see me fiddling with the camera, no worries, it's not pointed at them. Some moments later, I casually hold out the camera and take the shot. Can give interesting results. They all need cropping but to me that doesn't matter much. Haphazard composition with a 50mm lens can nearly always crop down to resemble careful composition with a 100mm lens.