what happens when you get caught photographing strangers...

Strangers with beer bottles

Strangers with beer bottles

Perhaps it't not a good idea to take pictures of a group of guys who appear to have had one too many beers without asking their permission. Even "hey guys, how 'bout a photo?" is still likely to bring about a few dents in your camera and your skull. That is of course, unless YOU'RE with a guy who's 6-6 and built like he lifts Yugos for the fun of it. Common sense must prevail.
 
Known medical causes of blood nose : - Hemophilia, High blood pressure and Photographing the wrong kind of strangers in the street!

Seriously, I usually avoid eye contact, look down at my camera with furrowed brow and an ever so slightly annoyed look on my face that says "These otherwise lovely chaps have just accidentally ruined my shot of that wonderful cathederal / sunset / public toilet block behind them (delete the non applicable choices) and I now have to delete the photo..." Which I then make a show of pretending to do. (You will appreciate the delicate balance involved. Frown too much and they will think you are being agrressive and get punched in the nose. Frown not quite enough and they will misunderstand your motives and you will get punched in the nose...... Experience helps!)

Then I peer past them without catching their eye, with a look of intense concentration on my dial, as if to say " Now how on earth can I get that blasted shot I really want?"

So far, so good!

If they are p#ssed enough they even sometimes then start pleading with me to take their photos. Ironic.

If they look inoffensive on the other hand I will smile politely yet in a shy manner (a bit like a school girl on her first date is about right - you know with the head slightly cocked to one side, like Lady Diana in that early photo of her in transparent dress - yum. Sorry got sidetracked there.) And usually I get a smile back although I admit sometimes it just plain frightens them, as if they think I am about to slip them my card and invite them for a quiet drink in a seductively darkened bar. Which in some cases is perhaps a thought that passes thru my mind......

Having said that, in general, the "smiling strategy" most often works with young women, old people and immigrants from certain middle eastern countries run by dictators and religious zealots. These latter people unaccountably seem pleased to learn that you are not from the Secret Police, the State Committee for Moral Rectitude nor the Department of Immigration.

Funny 'bout that!

Oh and by the way - a longer lens helps. A case in point.

http://farm4.static.flickr.com/3543/3534016169_910b4c610b_o.jpg
 
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.ken said:
Wrote up a compilation of evasive actions street photographers can utilize when they've been made taking photos of strangers...
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Evasive actions? There is no need for "evasive" once you acknowledge to yourself that you have every right to photograph other people and there is nothing morally or legally wrong with it. When you finally realize when someone has a problem with you photographing them, they are the ones with the problem and not you. We must always be courteous and sensitive to others' feelings but in a similar manner to all other aspects of life.

It is usually only when you start making excuses or taking action that implies you did something wrong than things seem to turn bad. I find I always do better conveying the impression that I have done nothing wrong, which is reality.

I will acknowledge that sometimes the above makes no sense or drunks or idiots. But nothing else in life does either, so just deal with them the same way you would in non-photographic situations.

Always remember that you have done nothing wrong. Do not respond like you did.
 
A smile I find helps... If the person you just took a picture of doesn't like it, the next best reaction is to walk away.
 
If I'm in a public place I probably wont even care that they're staring at me. I am usually always looking for another picture immediately after I took a picture of a person. So, just act like they're nothing special and keep taking photos.

If I'm in a more 1 on 1 situation, afterwards I just give them a small smile and go about my business. I guess I look like a photographer (I am not), because that is the number one question I get asked when confronted. My reply is "yes, and you were just in an interesting scene; I had to".

Bottom line, just assume very comfortable, relaxed, and not-shy-about-my-hobby sort of body language and you should be fine.
 
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1) act upset they got in your picture.
2) walk away ...fast, then break into a run (Charlie Chaplin strategy).
3) if acosted by body guards act ignorant.
 
yehh... just t@ke t' p¡cs... the photographer is part of the gestalt of the pic...you are seen through the eyes your subject...
3375340040_c46ebb66f6_m.jpg
...

sum's going t' buy you lunch, other's wouLd have you for lunch...d@'s life...
 
"what happens when you get caught photographing strangers..."

if those strangers are naked, and your wife is the one who catches you, then you might be in trouble.
 
Bob Michaels said:
Always remember that you have done nothing wrong. Do not respond like you did.
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Absolutely. Stewart's response is usually the most practical -- you almost always get a smile back -- but when you don't, it's the other person's problem, not yours.

I pointed this out recently to a woman who insisted that she had a 'right to her image' and that I was not allowed to take her picture. She followed me for at least a hundred metres. I continued walking, and told her, repeatedly but firmly, that no such right exists. She asked me who I was: I replied that it was no concern of hers. Eventually she gave up. I have no intention of publishing her picture, as I have no intention of laying myself open to a frivolous or vexatious lawsuit. The ridiculous thing was that I didn't even notice her; the picture was of someone else entirely, on a public sidewalk.

Everyone else I photographed in the same city was at worst indifferent, and very often smiled: I had no other problems. In fact, in over 40 years, I have only had similar problems seven times including this one: four times in the UK, once in New York City, and twice in France. You can get into that much trouble, even without a camera, with common drunks and some among the mentally ill.

I should add that in one case there were no people in the shot (a Belgian woman in France objected that the corner of her caravan was in the picture) and that in another there wasn't even a photograph: McDonalds in Clacton in the UK complained to the police that I 'might have been taking pictures'. I told the police politely that this was none of McDonalds' concern, and they agreed.

There's no sense in being aggressive, even if the other party is. Remain polite, and walk away. Frances said she wished she had had the presence of mind to photograph this woman harrassing me, as that would clearly have been a news picture and therefore indisputably publishable.

Cheers,

Roger
 
The legal situation for street photography in the US is indeed quite nice. You have every right to take pictures in public, but it's still a good idea to be polite and generally nice.

Here in Germany the situation is different. People do have a "right to their image" and you're not allowed to take pictures of people without their explicit prior consent. Note that I said "take pictures" and not "publish" because even taking pictures that would just end up in your private album are illegal if there are non-consenting people on them.

The only exception to the rule is people that appear in photographs where they are clearly not the subject of the picture, i.e. a photograph of a church with pedestrians in front of it.

And that is why the art of street photography is virtually non-existant in this country (and many other places in Europe).

Regards,
Philipp
 
Roger Hicks said:
I should add that in one case there were no people in the shot (a Belgian woman in France objected that the corner of her caravan was in the picture)...
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I once received an email from a woman in France complaining that I'd taken a photograph of her house. You can see the offending photograph here...

http://www.steveunsworth.co.uk/Albums/St_Benoit_Aug _2003_BW01/pages/03BW09816.htm

I'd have been more sympathetic if she'd emailed me to let me know the photograph was leaning a little to the right.

Most people don't react when their photograph is taken, those that do can usually be spotted in advance. The trick IMHO is to look as if you are perfectly in your rights to be taking photographs.
 
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Hrmmm. I guess I've got a bit of a different take on this. I shoots crowds with no reservation. I shoot individuals with permission. I freely shoot people whose activities call attention on themselves. However, I always ask permission before (or am obvious when) taking a shot of individuals going about their daily lives. I just figure that everyone has a right to exist outside there home without being captured on film.
 
philipp.leser said:
snip

Here in Germany the situation is different. People do have a "right to their image" and you're not allowed to take pictures of people without their explicit prior consent. Note that I said "take pictures" and not "publish" because even taking pictures that would just end up in your private album are illegal if there are non-consenting people on them.

snip

And that is why the art of street photography is virtually non-existant in this country (and many other places in Europe).

Regards,
Philipp
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Under criminal or civil law? They must be processing my extradition as I type
 
Sparrow said:
Under criminal or civil law? They must be processing my extradition as I type
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I'm not a lawyer, but the police can enforce a deletion of pictures or take the film. Taking pictures of people in private spaces can definitely get you jail-time (up to a year I think). The cases relevant for street photography are civil I think.

Regards,
Philipp
 
philipp.leser said:
I'm not a lawyer, but the police can enforce a deletion of pictures or take the film. Taking pictures of people in private spaces can definitely get you jail-time (up to a year I think). The cases relevant for street photography are civil I think.

Regards,
Philipp
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If the police enforce it then it must be the criminal law, very Orwellian, what is the staute called the “pressfree law”?
 
Roger: The fact that you remember the number of incidents and their location is of serious concern. :D
 
I have the face of a simpleton, someone who could be amused by a discarded crisp packet for hours.

If I see someone is going to get irksome, I put on my biggest smile and perhaps raise both my thumbs for added effect - it has worked every time.

 
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