How do you ask people if you can take their picture?

It is different in different countries, of course.

As I understand it, in the US at least, you do not need a model release except when you use the photo for commercial or "endorsement" purposes. Endorsement includes things like advertising, public relations for an organization or political party/candidate, etc. Publishing a book of art photos is not endorsement or "commercial use" in the US and requires no model releases.

edit: hah, Al beat me to it! 😀

Tuolumne said:
Do you need a release to use such photos commercially? Like in a book, if you really were working on one.

/T
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I completely agree with this excellent observation. And, for me at least, it applies for both street portraits (of the kind we're discussing here) and more general candid shots of strangers. In either case, I find that as soon as I reach my destination and start shooting that I need to "break the ice" or get in the groove right away or I will be timid and unengaged for a long time, possibly the whole day.

So, I either ask someone -- ANYONE -- right away or (for candid "street" photography) make sure I shoot four or five frames quickly. It doesn't matter if I know they are going to be trash shots or not, the point is to put myself into "image mode" by hitting the ground running. It works well for me, after the initial burst or encounter, I find I am seeing a lot more photograph-worthy people and scenes than if I start off slow.

-- Kevin

Carlsen Highway said:
If you walk the streets for a day, the hardest people shots - were they are aware of you (asking permission) or taking shots where they will be aware after youve done it - is the first one. After that you have broken your mental ice; like talking to the first person at a party where you dont know anyone.
After that you will be okay.
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Tuolumne said:
Do you need a release to use such photos commercially? Like in a book, if you really were working on one.

/T
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In Québec you MUST ask for a release if you are to use the photos commercially, UNLESS you can prove that the public interest trumps one's person's right to their image. Commercial use includes selling "fine art prints" or publishing a book about the quaint manners of countryfolks...

So press photographers do not have to bother with releases, but HCB could NEVER, NEVER work in the current Québec context. Otherwise he would get sued all the way to the Supreme Court of Canada.

I wish it was different, but dura lex, sed lex. There has been lobbying efforts against this law, but they have abated of last.

So what's my trick to ask for a release? Well, I keep my camera visible all the time, smile, ask kindly, and do not insist. Having an assistant to take care of the signature is great.

Obviously you cannot capture much a passerby's spontaneity like that, so you have to work in a different style. Photographing people at work is a good way to recover some of that spontaneity. You stay close to them, observe them while they work, and eventually they stop being self-conscious.
 
mabelsound said:
One category of photography I really like, I guess you could call "street portraiture." Direct, spontaneous portraits of people who know you're taking their photo and approve. I'd like to do this, but I can't seem to conjure up the balls to ask people if I can photograph them. I always fear that men will try to kick my ass and women will think I'm a pervert. So I sneak the photos. The result is that I feel a little dirty and the picture isn't about the person, it's about the moment. That's fine, I guess, but not always what I'm after, and besides, I feel funny posting these pictures online, even when they do work out well. And posting online is the main way I show my photos to people (unfortunately).

Anybody have a good way to do this? I suspect "I'm taking a photo class--can I take you picture?" would work, especially when I'm shooting with a film camera. But it's a lie.

Do people want to know why you want the photo? And if so, do you tell them, "Just for the hell of it?" How many people say no?
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Shoot first, ask questions later. Yes, you need a release for commercial use, and here in Virginia it also takes a $10 minimum payment to make the release valid (releases without payment are not enforcable contracts and if the payment is under $10, any case will likely be dismissed out-of-hand). It is as if they were deliberately trying to eliminate street photography here.
 
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There a saying that goes something like "it is easier to ask forgiveness than permission."

Not only can this apply to street photography, but also when I show up at home and my wife asks "is that a new camera/lens/other toy? you didn't have that before"

😀
 
i just shoot and move on. If its a situation I dont feel comfortable with I pass up the shot and look for something else. I dont interact.
 
Gestural language can even be difficult across certain cultural divides. I asked the guys in the first picture if I could take it -- both in English and by gesturing with the camera -- and what I got in response was the side-to-side head motion from that part of the world. Half yes, half no (to the Western eye, I mean). So I took a couple pictures. They didn't seem to care.

In the second one, the subject spotted my camera and held her child to pose. Lucky.

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Gabriel M.A. said:
That's the First and Second Amendments put together, eh? 😉
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Well, that doesn't really work that well with the second amendment -- not if you want answers to the questions.

Now with photography, I guess it depends on whether you are doing street photography or environmental portraits in an urban setting. Street photography is always candid. What the OP is calling street portraits, never is.
 
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I try not to as I prefer candids. Asking invariably results in a person looking uncomfortable, wondering where to put their hands and whether their hair is straight, looking oddly at the camera, when usually what I want is them going about their business and ignoring me. Much better to smile nicely afterwards and seek forgiveness.
 
I should offer more of an explanation,; most of the time I just ask. At first, they will pose, then i might pose them or move this way or that way, take my time, or pretend I am adjusting my camera, but I am actually ready to photogrpah, and I simply wait for the moment between the between moments--if that makes sense.

Other times, I might position myself where I have a dynamic background or where there is dynamic formal elements, and I will wait until someone walks into my frame. Other times, I might just smile and point the camera towards them, getting a nonverbal que of yes or no.

There is not one specific way, just go out and practice. the key I think is to always be honest, respectful, gracious and polite even if the answer is no verbally or nonverbally.

I hope that is a better response . . . did not mean to sound like smart*!! in the fisrt post.

I hope that helps.

:S:
 
I approach them directly, look straight into their googles and say "may I take your photograph, please"

It works each and every time 🙂


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ClaremontPhoto said:
Eyes, gesture, smile.

And they'll do the same to say 'Yes' or 'No'.
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I agree with Jon, I also try to give people enough time to say "no" but not enough to lose the shoot.
Then, many times the request comes at end of a nice talk about what the subject is doing, or the place where he/she lives ecc, ecc. and so taking a photo becomes quite natural and a pleasant experience for both.
Most of the portraits I took in Turkey (if you want you can take a look in my blog) this year are taken after a brief friendly "relation" with the subject. This way I can get some portraits and, much more valuable, I can get some interesting story helpful to understand the place and the people I'm visiting.
Ciao.
 
I feel that if you are fighting this internal mental battle as to whether or not you should be making the portrait, you will feel rushed. The pressure will taint your perceptive abilities and the resulting photograph will appear contrived and the expression of the person guarded. Course, there are exceptions to everything, but there's a lot to be said for getting to know a subject for a while, prior to photographing them. If both of you are comfortable, there is a cooperative, relaxed relationship that is conducive to creativity. If portraiture is really where you want to focus, try really "studying" people you know and bring out things in them you wish to convey. We don't know you know them - use that to your advantage and use them like models to express yourself.

Otherwise, just accept that the individual in your image is in fact, as was said by someone else, just part of the landscape, and use them as the focal point for a well composed, timed image in which the notion of the person's identity is not really conveyed.
 
Interesting...
I think this is pretty much a Quebec only affair. Also, if a person "happens" to be there, meaning the person itself is not the main subject, the person is not protected by this interpretation of the law, or is that wrong to assume?
 
mcsol said:
Interesting...
I think this is pretty much a Quebec only affair. Also, if a person "happens" to be there, meaning the person itself is not the main subject, the person is not protected by this interpretation of the law, or is that wrong to assume?
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Sorry - this was out of context. Meant as a reply to an earlier post about the strict law in Quebec...



I think the initial question has two aspects. One is a legal one, and at least in the US, if you are in a public place etc etc you can take pictures of most anything without asking for permission. Then, there is the moral one, which only you can decide. I, for my part, have taken only a few street photos of random people without asking and only had one experience where the subject - interestingly a street performer - yelled at me for having taken his picture. The guy was a little bit out of line for my taste, as the main subject of the shot was my kid giving him money for an excellent performance...
 
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