Asking Strangers for Portraits

[rkm]

I'm curious about when you have gotten a yes and when you have got a no?

Today I thought I'd take a different tack on the street, and ask people for their portrait (which if course defies the candid nature if street photography). I noticed a couple of things:

- I'd get a yes, about one in three times
- I was more likely to get a yes from someone who seemed attractive and self-confident
- I was more likely to get a yes from someone who was a similar age to me.

Have you done this, and what did you notice?

 

[steveniphoto]

i generally dont ask to be honest but when i do i ask for a portrait, i almost always get a yes if i explain who i am and what i do. i normally bring some prints with me to show and tell them i would email a copy to them too if they wanted.

the only people i get no's from are old people (i'd say mid 60s and beyond).

 

[mfogiel]

This has been a yes, but normally I never ask for permission - I just try to shoot very fast:

201213322 by mfogiel, on Flickr

This is an excellent example of what people preferably come to do in Monte Carlo. This couple - I believe, they were German or Swiss, was enjoying themselves right behind the terraces of the Casino. They were admiring the sea view and the passing yachts. The bag was hiding a portable player, and this was the music:
www.youtube.com/watch?v=s3gpCrosQW4. I believe, the wine was a nice Chablis..."

 

[back alley]

i generally dont ask to be honest but when i do i ask for a portrait, i almost always get a yes if i explain who i am and what i do. i normally bring some prints with me to show and tell them i would email a copy to them too if they wanted.

the only people i get no's from are old people (i'd say mid 60s and beyond).

.. if i explain who i am and what i do...

what do you say?

 

[lynnb]

I sometimes ask, depending on the circumstances - when I do, I almost always get a yes. I've noticed people are very happy to agree if I'm using a TLR (124G) or an obviously vintage camera, like my Fed.

 

[J. Borger]

My experience is 75% says yes.
Especially young people 18-35 are easy.

Problem i have with the whole procedure is that people start posing in a way i do not want. They put of a cap, start fixing hair etc and start posing and looking like it was for a holliday picture for a friend.
So it gives me a lot of pictures i do not care for.

So i have to find a way people take more time for the portraits and are prepared to pose in a way i want or just act natural. That is the real difficult part of the whole excercise afaiac. The next challenge! So i am open to suggestions and tips for this part.

 

[jsrockit]

Most younger, stylish people seem cool with it in my experience. Older people are crankier. 😉

 

[anjoca76]

For me, a good portrait is a closeup shot, and to do that you need to be close to the subject. I don't always find myself comfortable enough to do that. It's something I'm working on because I love portraiture and want to do a lot more of it.

 

[Rodchenko]

I've tended towards candids, so not asking, but I confess that is partly because I am shy. When I have asked, I've got the best results from, er, more mature women. I've not had such a good response from younger people, even when I was one!

I have a friend who is doing the 100 Strangers project. She is an excellent photographer with an easy, confident manner (and she carries a professional-looking SLR which she sure knows how to use). I know that strangers tend to respond better to my partner than to me, but I am trying.

I think having a digital camera with a screen on which you can show the subject the photo is better than taking away some exposed emulsion when they have no idea how they will look.

 

[BNLee]

Yeah I ask at times, when I am sure that I they will see me when I take their picture... I don't want them to turn away when I am shooting film, really wastes my frame when they turn away...

Most of the time, it is a yes, but at times they will decline my request and I will just smile and walk away... I also tried asking authorities for pictures, but some of them will show dismay... I guess the situation really depends.