Listening to music while photographing in public

OurManInTangier

OurManInTangier

An Undesirable
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I sometimes listen to music while photographing people and events in public often finding that it takes me out of the reality of each situation and allows me to see events in a more absract manner. This lack of a connection to the specifics of any given situation often allows me to get better pictures as I see things relating to one another in a completely different way than if I were totally aware of conversations and the reasons for peoples actions.

On other occasions I find that this isolation from subjects and events stops me from connecting with the world in front of me and my pictures suffer as a result. I suppose mood, type of music and the nature of any event or picture opportunity affects whether I'm successful in this slightly detached state.

I guess that some here will find it very natural to listen to music whilst shooting and others impossible to photograph under such isolated conditions, does anyone here have an odd relationship to music and photography?
 
An interesting point.

In the street I prefer to hear the natural street sounds, not an iPod.

But in cafe bars I like it if they have MTV or VH1 on the television. It makes the waiting for decisive moment time pass by faster.

But best of all is some obscure football match such as Iceland v Lesotho on the TV to really get the subjects dozy and photogenic.
 
I'm familiar with effect of "out of line". While I liked it when commuting, for picture taking I reach similar consciousness by listening. Just listen to sounds around me and same state of inner calmness comes.
 
No, we're missing the point here.


Let's deconstruct OMiT's post.


In my opinion he did not have a photography assignment today.

He comes on RFF evenings and weekends, not Monday lunchtime.

And he had told OLiT that he was using the computer for his accounts today.

But he got waylaid by a seductive Apple advert in his inbox for an iPod.

OLiT walked past and tore a strip off him for spending money, and even for ordering 'OMiT' custom engraving.

So OMiT hastily made up a story (like we do) about how music could help his photography business.

OLiT was having none of it.

So OMiT has come here for a bit of backup to convince OLiT.

Although I think his lunch is in the dog, and he's gone to the local pub for a steak and oyster pie.


Is that right Simon, or is it right?

(I may be wrong about the pie!)
 
If I'm someplace where there is music then I have no choice but to listen to it, but so is everyone else. It sets a mood for the occasion. Sticking headphones on me? Listening to music that only I can hear? Hell no! If I do that I lose my connection with the subjects, and I suspect that would be as true if they were strangers on the street or fellow employees at a company picnic. I don't want to experience events in a more abstract manner. I like to interact with the people, chat with them, hopefully understand their feelings for the event and capture THAT in my photographs.

The subjects are not animals in a cage at the zoo, and I, and my cameras, can't be invisible. After all, I'm there taking pictures for a reason, whatever that may be. The best thing anybody can say to me later though is "I never saw you take any pictures!"
 
I certainly hope I don't treat people like zoo animals regardless of whether I have headphones in or out! My question is simply does it help, hinder or sometimes both for people...for me it's either depending on different factors.

Jon - you're scaring me, it's as if you're right next to me! I should be invoicing today but it's so glorious I'm out with my camera, Mrs OMiT will indeed be unhappy with me...but not surprised;)
 
I'm sure that it helps a lot of people relax and get in the mood when they listen to music, but I'm reminded of a recent thread that talked about tourists wearing shorts, no tan on their legs, carrying a big DSLR and going into a local pub to photograph the interesting looking characters there. I believe it was in Portugal and the guy didn't speak Portuguese. To me that's the same as photographing zoo animals.
 
Thats a fair enough comment but it's also true that photographers can treat people as zoo animals whether they are fully attuned to what's around them or not. I think it has more to do with the photographers view of people and life than whether they're listening to music or not.
 
Photographing while plugged in to music is utterly unimaginable to me. In the sort of work I do each and every one of your senses must be tuned in to what is going on all around. DELIBERATELY distancing yourself could be disastrous - not just for the work but for personal safety. Printing in the darkroom, or working on postprocessing is another matter. A top notch sound system in the darkroom can really transport you...
 
Good way to get hit by a taxi or similar if you are shooting in the big city. Or bopped on the head and have your iPod/camera taken from you.
 
If I want to feel detached from reality, I use an SLR with a short telephoto. It’s just pictures on a screen then
 
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We should try it and talk about the experience when´we had it.

Before trying that I state:

listening to music
a)while making table top photos or still lifes i magine to be great
b) when taking pix of people where sometimes a raczion or an introduction is needed would not work that good
c)while looking out for candids and deliberatly trying to stay undetected could work...but the little voice in my head tells me that that's the moment we enter the realm of grabshots and "Zooing"(like Al describes in and jon brought it up) in a more efficient way.
Anyway those are just staments...perhaps I can manage to get some empirical datalater that year
 
yes and no.

when it's commissioned work no, not usually. but out and about on the street on my own time then most certainly. i try and shoot feelings and emotions and the music helps me indentify with the mood. sometimes it's just an ambient hum in my ear... other times it's deliberate, loud and full of vocals.

for the record i often shoot in "colorful" area's and have never had an issue with someone bopping me on the head for my ipod nor my camera.
 
This is an interesting concept to me: I’ve never gone out on a shoot wearing headphones but I wear them in work as I currently have a very mundane temporary job in a warehouse. They do indeed detach me from reality and allow my mind to wander. I come up with all sorts of things in my mind from business ventures to photo shoot concepts that seem to make a little less sense when the headphones come off and think about them subjectively. I also used to listen to music when I was in my workshop and what album I listened to was dictated by what I was making and often one song or one album would be seminal to what I was doing and I’d play it over and over again to try and keep the emotional response going – even to the point where I wasn’t listening to the song; just acting on it.

I’ve also thought about how I could use songs as inspirations for photo shoots and once I’m in the kind of happy place within myself again that will allow me to go out and shoot pics it’s something I look forward to doing.

I could imagine that by shooting street with headphones on (or by any means of detaching yourself from the situation) you probably find yourself able to shoot things out of context with what’s actually going on – a lot like a child would as he doesn’t really comprehend a situation he tends to make his own sense of it be it accurate or otherwise.

I’m gonna give this a go :) but I’ll go one step further and record the song I was listening to for each shot and see what happens.

Thanks for the idea Simon!
 
sometimes i'll listen to some punk rock while shooting on or around the metro. it put me in a good mood and raises the confidence level a bit.
 
My immediate reaction was that if you care about either music or people, you can't split your attention. Then I realized that (a) that's just saying I can't do it but (b) I feel so strongly about it that my instinctive reaction is dangerously strong: I'd read such behaviour as rude, arrogant, stupid and unforgivable.

This is not to say I am right, and you are wrong. But it is to say that you should be aware that others may well have the same reaction, and that (if they are less mellow than I) they may take those feelings out on you.

Tashi delek,

Roger
 
OurManInTangier said:
I guess that some here will find it very natural to listen to music whilst shooting and others impossible to photograph under such isolated conditions, does anyone here have an odd relationship to music and photography?
Click to expand...

While I never listen to music while photographing (I would be afraid it would interfere with my awareness), I do tend to play Tangerine Dream pretty loudly in the darkroom.
 
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