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

My problem isn't asking permission of total strangers - my day job is sales, and if I could knock on total stranger's doors for years and years to sell xyz, I can sure as hell ask them if I can take a photo - so far, about one "no" response, to 20 or more "yes". (Wish my sales hit rates were that good, when I did door to door!)

My problem is then getting close enough to make a 35mm focal length lens do the job well.

My advice, for this kind of shooting, and your own comfort, at least start with at least a longer lens. I screwed up some nice photos on the "pass the camera" project by not being close enough to the subjects. Robert Capa was right.

Cheers,
Steve
 
Carlsen Highway said:
This type of photography is a social actiivity, unlike other subject where the only person inviolved is the photographer himself. Therefore howver mild, a social barrier must be crossed and a relationship is made with anohter person, even if it is fleeting.
Click to expand...

I agree with Marke. This is a very insightful comment, well expressed and deserves consideration. Thank you Carlsen.
 
Al Kaplan said:
Using a photo of the cover of a magazine to adverise the magazine itself runs into a bit of a grey area, but I've never heard of anybody being sued.
Click to expand...

Actually there was a very famous lawsuit along those lines against the NY Times magazine, it had to do with the use of a photo of a black businessman taken on the street to illustrate an article about African Americans in corporate America or something like that. The photo was taken on the street but the guy sued. I'll try to remember to look it up and post the details, was quite a while ago. I beiieve the lawsuit hinged on the fact that the photo was in the magazine not the regular paper and was thus seen as promoting the magazine, not as pure journalism. Maybe someone else can remember better details.
 
I think it also depends on the personality of the photographer. Some people thrive on social interaction, and for them the street portrait after asking permission or a little chat would be the preferred approach.

I'm rather a solitary type myself and not one to easily talk to people (even people I know). I prefer to observe life as it happens around me, and my ideal is trying to capture little "stories" that unfold around me in real life in one picture. I guess this is what's commonly called "street photography", and it's very difficult to pull off successfully. But te people component can sometimes be a bit problematic for me indeed.
 
Concerning the "droit à l'image", in France it's currently very draconian. The like of HCB, Doisneau and Ronis could not have done what they did in contemporary France. I'm not sure but I think here in Belgium it's similar to the French situation.

The question is of course, if you use someone's picture without their permission, how much chance wuold you have of running in trouble? I follow several Belgian photo blogs that publish candid people portraits all the time (admittedly taken with long lenses - not my preferred approach; I tend to use a 24mm instead), and I don't think they've ever run into trouble (yet).

Of course, they mainly publish flattering pictures, so people are less likely to complain. Therefore, one of my basic principles is, even if I take candid pictures of someone, I always try to show them with respect and never to ridicule anyone (although that's subjective of course).
 
Last edited:
Very good question which I have been studying myself.

Basically I can point to two ways. One is the formal one, in which I ask with my mouth in my most educated way. I did not get a single "yes" this way. So I left this approach on behalf of a more subtle one:

Now whenever I want to ask, and I ask sometimes, I ask with my camera. I, E, I prepare myself to the shot pointing the camera towards the subject as everyone anytime, but I don't shoot until the subject becomes aware of my presence. Then a few times I got a rejection, most of the times the subject stops looking at me and continues with his/her previous occupation - THIS IS A YES.

Nevertheless some times due to the circumstances or my own perception of the circumstances, I am compelled to ask with words.

Therefore so far we have three ways:

a) asking with the mouth
b) askiing with the camera
c) not asking at all, using a silent shutter and/or a pushy approach in case of necessity.

I think a good street portratist has to exercise himself/herself in the three options and act by his/her instinct.

Cheers,
Ruben
 
Squonk said:
Concerning the "droit à l'image", in France it's currently very draconian. The like of HCB, Doisneau and Ronis could not have done what they did in contemporary France. I'm not sure but I think here in Belgium it's similar to the French situation.

The question is of course, if you use someone's picture without their permission, how much chance wuold you have of running in trouble? I follow several Belgian photo blogs that publish candid people portraits all the time (admittedly taken with long lenses - not my preferred approach; I tend to use a 24mm instead), and I don't think they've ever run into trouble (yet).

Of course, they mainly publish flattering pictures, so people are less likely to complain. Therefore, one of my basic principles is, even if I take candid pictures of someone, I always try to show them with respect and never to ridicule anyone (although that's subjective of course).
Click to expand...


See:


http://www.rangefinderforum.com/forums/showthread.php?t=58784&highlight=convention+human+rights

Cheers,

R.
 
people

people

I think Ruben is correct; both candid and 'talking' to people before taking their picture as a portrait are techniques equally available to the photographer and will be used as the subject dictates.
I tend to do both myself, although the majority of my pictures fall under the 'candid' approach. I will usually approach somebody if they themselves are 'interesting'. These shots fall under the definition of character studies.

I come back to this thread because I just came back from town after phtographing an elderly gentlemen outside a pub having a smoke. I initially saw 'the picture' and took it as I approached him.
I saw as I came closer that he had a face with character. I think when you get old enough, your face shows exactly who you are, there is no hiding yourself from age. I then asked him for a picture. He was happy with that - in fact his response was "Just finishing off the roll hey?"
I took another shot - the man composed himself for a photo. I then chatted for a couple of minutes - about beer if I remember - and in the process took two further unposed candid pictures in the midst of the conversation. And then I conintued. You can have it both ways, and also meet some interesting people.

This is how I do it if I can. Theres is no real technique to any of it, when I think about it. It's about handling people.

There is a difficulty in purely candid pictures as I mentioned earlier - Cartier Bresson has been accussed of being "unfeeling" in his approach to people and I believe it comes from his wish for stealth, a side effect if you will. It necessarily dictates not being as involved with your subject.

Robert Frank was a great lesson to me. His book The Americans is a textbook study on a photographer being an outsider.
(Further - I recall him describing his six trips over two years driving across the United States, and he confessed that he only actually spoke to one person. )
 
Some pictures are impossible to take if the permission's asked. I'm very shy actually, and I've got slight difficulties asking. But for example, if you want to take a photo of that lady making her up on the train, would you ask her?
 
For me, the whole point of photographing a stranger is to overcome my awkwardness, his/her awkwardness, and briefly to get to know each other.

For me there's no reason to photograph a stranger without a brief getting-to-know-you.

I say "I'd like to make your photograph." The subject will usually ask "why?" ...may ask if it's for publication or if it's "art." I tell them that I'm interested in people and that I'm not selling anything and that I'll give them a print (which I always will do...a print I'm proud to personally make). They may ask if it'll be in a gallery or similar. I say "probably not, but maybe it'll be that good...and I get their contact information because I'll send them that print, for sure.

If I don't care enough about the person to personally make a fine print and mail it to them, it'd be a waste of their time, disrespectful, to photograph them.

..OK, I'll be more honest...in fact I do occasionally photograph people without asking their permission. Those images seem never to be important to me, but they're slightly theatric or charged or have some sort of symbolic value (cheap shots, IMO). I'm reluctant to show them. Accidental images. Pseudo HCB etc.

Bill Brandt's more important to me than is HCB...Brandt did usually make important contact with his subjects. IMO he accomplished far more with photography than HCB did.... Brandt was more fully my personal idea of a photographer than was HCB... he was a printer, not a photolab customer.

When I photograph someone and don't give them a fine print that I've personally made, I've failed as a photographer...
 
Last edited:
"Hi, you look really interesting. I'm a photographer. Do you mind if I take your picture. I'd be happy to give you a copy if you provide me with your email address." Hand person your card with a space of the back that says, "name", "email address". The card makes it kind of official.

/T
 
Personally. I do what needs to be done in any given situation.

Sometimes I talk to someone and ask if I can photograph them, usually I just take the picture because there's either no time to ask or the interuption will disrupt the very thing that makes me wish to release the shutter. Sometimes I'll walk up to someone and point my camera right in their face and make a photo - this is usually done as I walk passed them and I've noticed something happening, this is also the rarest of events as naturally I'm an observer and not an 'In Your Face' kind of person.

Quite simply, I'll do whatever I can to successfully get the picture I see before me. Though this is within the restrictions of my own personal moral code and often against my nature as a quiet and relatively shy person.

I do this because I have missed thousands of interesting photographs in the past by being too afraid to make the picture.
 
pesphoto said:
sooooooo...HCB was a wannabee> :)
Click to expand...

I went to far when I said that...so I edited , trying to explain what I meant.

But yes, I do think HCB was lite by comparison to Kertesz and Bill Brandt.

In my nearly 40years of photo book viewing, HCB's work seemed trite...but I did recently see a large exhibit of wonderfully well-made prints (maybe all 11X17) which caused me to reappraise.

Nonetheless, HCB is an amateurs favorite specifically because it's so easy to wander around aimlessly, hoping for HCB scenarios. It's harder to be intentional and to establish relationships with subjects, which is my personal trip. YMMV :)
 
Last edited:
What I dislike about France - my own country, known as the most romantic place in the World, with the finest food and finest sceneries but, to my mind, with the most unbearable state of mind - is that you cannot really make any contact with anyone in the street. What can you do in a country where even looking at somebody is considered as rude and offensive?
That may only apply to Paris though.

That may explain many things about the French Humanist photographers : HCB, Willy Ronis... whose photographs were only seldom made with the agreement of the subject. Have you ever noticed the recurrence of pictures showing the back of the subjects?
Doisneau always established a contact with his subjects though. But it was a real job. Contrarily to HCB he was a nice friendly chap (HCB wasn't a very friendly character with people he didn't know) and would come several times to a café to socialise with people there. But even him admitted that after the 1980s and the great indivualist crisis with have in France since, people had become particularly reluctant to being photographed.
It does work sometimes, but with older people. And of course, the pictures are always excellent.
114451746222.jpg




We have Racine and Delacroix but pride ourselve not to need anyone to be happy.
 
Last edited:
Papercut said:
Does that horrible law apply only for Quebec or all of Canada?
Click to expand...

Not sure if you've received a straight answer yet, so here it is:

Just Quebec. Quebec has a provicincial Charter of Human Rights that includes the right to privacy. The Supreme Court of Canada held that this prevents photographers from publishing photos of others without permission. As you might imagine, there's a public interest exception. You can read a very brief summary of the law here.
 
rolleistef said:
That may only apply to Paris though.
Click to expand...
Chère Stéphane,

...and possibly a few other major cities. But in la France profonde (and it doesn't get a lot more profonde than where I live), if ever I do feel the need to ask anyone, the reply is normally along the lines of 'Of course. It's your camera!' Mostly I just get a smile.

From what I can see, after 6 years living here and 35 years or so of visiting, Paris is only slightly more representative of France than New York City is of the USA. My neighbours agree, and so does my wife (grandmother from NYC, herself born in upstate New York, les Etats Unis profonds).

Amitiés,

Roger
 
Last edited:
Thanks for the direct answer and the link, Andrew. Much appreciated!

Andrew Sowerby said:
Not sure if you've received a straight answer yet, so here it is:

Just Quebec. Quebec has a provicincial Charter of Human Rights that includes the right to privacy. The Supreme Court of Canada held that this prevents photographers from publishing photos of others without permission. As you might imagine, there's a public interest exception. You can read a very brief summary of the law here.
Click to expand...
 
You must log in or register to reply here.
Back
Top Bottom