how to go about taking pictures of randoms in the street...

rmann

i feel very awkward doing it how do you guys go about it?

pathfinder

A lot of it is situational. In my community, which is small town mid-America, it can cause some consternation at times. But one can do it at events, fairs, festivals, ball games sometimes without much comment.

I will move this thread to the Street Forum, as you may get more responses there.

Quincy T

I think the more you do it, the less awkward you will feel. Just be confident that you are doing it for the purpose of a good picture that tells a story, and you shouldn't have to worry about awkwardness, especially when you see the finished product.

bdcolen

rmann wrote: »

i feel very awkward doing it how do you guys go about it?

What I'm about to say applies to the U.S., and I don't know how well it travels to the UK - or anywhere else in the world:

In the U.S., unless there are weird laws or regulations related to security - as in airports, and around certain buildings, etc. (all harking back to 9/11 - you can take anything, of anyone, as long as YOU are on public property - i.e., have your feet on the street or sidewalk or other public property. Believe it or not, this even means that you have the legal right to take a photo of someone sunbathing naked in their backyard if you can see them from the street.. But more to the point, it means you can take photos of folks walking, sitting, riding, whatever, and you can take photos of kids playing - all the classic street stuff. HOWEVER - allot of parents, and some non-parental adults, get freaked when strangers photograph their kids. While one has the legal right to photograph random children, that doesn't mean that a parent won't try to beat the hell out of you, or call a cop. And in many, many cases, the cop will side with the parent and may even arrest you as a perv. Which is to say, if you are an adult, particularly an adult male, be very cautious, and VERY non-confrontational, when photographing random kids. Personally, if some asks me to stop, I will. If they want to know what I'm doing, I will give them one of my cards with a photo of a child on it. It's just not worth the hassle.

As to the how not feel awkward and nervous question - I haven't the foggiest idea. Except to shoot and shoot and shoot. I still feel weird photographing strangers - but I do it. It's one of those things that you just have to do allot to get comfortable doing it, unless, of course, you happen to be an aspergers and have no emotional connection with, or care about the feelings of your fellow human beings.

Another way to put this whole thing is that street shooting is like photography in general - if you have any talent, the more you do it, the better you will get.

Richard

If you haven't seen this already, there is a link in the sticky at the top of the forum to a thread in which Dgrinners discuss strategies for street photography. Other useful links are there as well.

rmann

great responses people! well at least its nice to know i'm ot completely alone! just checking out that sticky now....