Camera Shy - Need Help

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adavis47

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My last photo adventure was with a Polaroid. I would go into neighborhoods and start shooting. It wouldn't be long before neighbors would gather, especially children, and be laughing and sharing the images. Or, I'd go into the bus station at midnight where travelers would sit in quiet solitude. I would start taking pictures and pass them out. The scene would transform in people talking, sharing stories, etc. I found Polaroid photography magical. I now have an M8.2 and feel uncomfortable when I point it at someone. I'm hoping others have had the same uneasiness and discovered something to help work through this situation. Appreciate all thoughts and suggestions.
 
adavis47 said:
My last photo adventure was with a Polaroid. I would go into neighborhoods and start shooting. It wouldn't be long before neighbors would gather, especially children, and be laughing and sharing the images. Or, I'd go into the bus station at midnight where travelers would sit in quiet solitude. I would start taking pictures and pass them out. The scene would transform in people talking, sharing stories, etc. I found Polaroid photography magical. I now have an M8.2 and feel uncomfortable when I point it at someone. I'm hoping others have had the same uneasiness and discovered something to help work through this situation. Appreciate all thoughts and suggestions.
Click to expand...

Don't take photographs. You're too fragile.
 
Why not borrow a page from your Polaroid adventures & make an active effort to show subjects the preview screen after you've made the photo. It's what most folks do w/their digital point & shoots & is the modern equivalent of passing around prints. It has the side-benefit of alleviating any concerns that some may have about the content of the photos.

adavis47 said:
My last photo adventure was with a Polaroid. I would go into neighborhoods and start shooting. It wouldn't be long before neighbors would gather, especially children, and be laughing and sharing the images. Or, I'd go into the bus station at midnight where travelers would sit in quiet solitude. I would start taking pictures and pass them out. The scene would transform in people talking, sharing stories, etc. I found Polaroid photography magical.
Click to expand...
 
Yes: portable printers. A little slower than Polaroids but possibly even more effective in establishing contact. HP makes at least one with a rechargeable battery and approx. 2 min print time. Shoot Raw + JPEG. Have at least two cards so you can shoot with one and have the other in the printer. I have done a little of this and want to do a lot more (cheaper on materials than Polaroid too).

Tashi delek,

R.
 
furcafe said:
Why not borrow a page from your Polaroid adventures & make an active effort to show subjects the preview screen after you've made the photo. It's what most folks do w/their digital point & shoots & is the modern equivalent of passing around prints. It has the side-benefit of alleviating any concerns that some may have about the content of the photos.
Click to expand...

Your description of your Polariod photography and furcafe's suggestion teminded me of this fellow's approach (http://www.youtube.com/watch?v=K3HXILo9Znk&feature=channel)

Looks like happiness all around.
 
Printer by Polaroid is actually by Zink but sold by Polaroid. Called the Pogo printer. There is also a Dell version I think, as well as one sold in Japan under another name. Eventually there will be a digital camera from Polaroid with the Pogo printer built in. The quality is not the same as Polaroid, nor is the magic of chemistry there. But I think this can be a valuable tool when traveling in certain places.

There are other things that you can do though. Someone I met once carried deflated soccer balls and a small pump in his luggage. When the time and place was right, he'd pull one out, pump it up, and presto, instant football game. Nice ice breaker.
 
I once took a photo with an m6 from a very decent looking man in street passing beside me and then he turned and asked if i'm a pro photographer and i replied yes and then he asked for my bizcard so he could order some product shoots. hes now one of my best customers 😀 this is why sometimes only sometimes that red dot makes good gestures.
 
I think what the OP has done with the poloroids is wonderful!

Mixing with a group of strangers by sharing with them what you are doing is to be admired and personally I'd be sticking with the poloroids ... oh that's right film's dead! 😛

The idea of the digital and the portable printer has little appeal for me.
 
I only started taking photos in the street in an observational way in this last year but Ive now become pretty comfortable doing it. It was very hard at first ad you feel like you camera is a foot square and has a flashing beacon. But after shooting for a while you realise very few people actually realise your there and virtually never assume your photographing them.
I have to say using a leica has helped me be alot more comfortable as its small and quiet as oposed to an DSLR

And as the famous quote goes
''The only thing to fear is fear itself''

And besides a little confrontation is often quite fun
 
My rule is that if i'm getting up close and personal, then i'll ask permission before doing so. If i'm incorporating a person into a scene from a distance (fly on the wall) then i'll just shoot away.

Treating others the way i'd like to be treated is the way I approach it. If someone came up and took a point blank photo of me, i'd feel self concious and kind of annoyed. If they were using me as a part of a wider shot however, it wouldn't bother me at all.

Sure, you might not get a candid approach by asking people for permission, but you'll sometimes get a great conversation out of it and meet some interesting people.

Having said that, I took a photo of a women praying in the sun on the weekend without asking her permission. Simply because I didn't want to disturb her. She noticed my presence and got angry with me, but I managed to diffuse the situation after simply having a conversation with her.
 
Everyone's comments are wonderfully helpful with lots of good thoughts. Just to be clear, it's not a fear of interaction with people, but more a feeling that taking their photo is some sort of invasion of their privacy. Of course, this is a projection on my part. The question was somewhat searching for fellow photographers who have shared this feeling and how they overcame it. The idea of sharing the image in the preview screen is for me a very good suggestion. The idea of portable printers opens up the image taking to more of image giving, which I like very much.
 
Vic said:
Sir Lawrence Olivier used to suffer from paralyzing stage fright.
Click to expand...

And he overcame it how? By acting? Well, imagine that. So perhaps a person who wanted to become a street photographer should come out from behind his debilitating fear and just do it. Or not. Both are valid choices.
 
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