If You're Not Careful, You'll Get Punched in the Face

Hi Michiel, a smile or a wink almost always works. I've done it this way for years when I wanted to go out for a day. ' Later' mostly sitting, so more or less hidden on a terrace with a strong zoom lens. Nice espresso with it and if you saw something, click! A completely different approach but definitely no less fun and exciting. And yes, black and white mmm.

With photo-shooting regards Robert

These days, unfortunately, things are less spontaneous. If you want to shoot a photo with emotion, you usually have to be quick and asking for permission first is almost impossible. Recently 2 German ladies in a seaside resort who made a fuss and thought I was photographing them, while if they had looked properly I had an old little church in my sights, which they happened to be walking close to. Oh dear, oh dear, people are so sensitive and have such a short fuse nowadays. In most cases I do get positive reactions to this day and even people posing because they were already dressed up anyway. https://www.instagram.com/p/Codl1Ygq2F5/ They also really wanted to have the photo to post on multimedia.

I myself am not involved in street photography. However, I do see images appearing on all kinds of websites that I have trouble with. Photo´s of asylum seekers sleeping on the street or photo´s that were clearly taken while lying on train tracks... isn't that more a case of looking for cheap sensation?

I once experienced walking past stalls with my camera hanging from my shoulder when someone from a distance shouted very aggressively, 'don't you dare take a photo of me, okay'. I laughed scornfully and said 'of you?' And without waiting for a response, I walked on.

mousquito wrote on Wednesday 27 September 2023 at 11:04  | reply

not only in street photography, but rather in life you achieve more with a smile and a kind word. I myself also regularly see bits of street photography passing by, from wide shots that show an entire street, and the people and houses to portraits of a characterful face, I keep wondering why is there always so much black and white in street photography? while colours are also part of the spirit of the times that you want to capture?

I have stopped doing street photography, where there might be people. What a sour bureaucratic world after all. I’m going to focus on architectural photography, that’s also target photography, isn’t it ?

I always use a Fujifilm X100 with a fixed 23mm lens for street photography. I completely agree that a smile is the friendliest request to photograph someone respectfully. When the spontaneity threatens to be lost, I sometimes approach people afterwards. Never had any problems with it. I avoid photographing children. Since certain child abusers/-murderers have been exposed, parents are less suspicious of female photographers than of men. And I avoid photographing people in military or police uniform for their own safety(security).

Hi Michel, you're right, but if you photograph people who weren't born in that country, then you're in trouble. 9 out of 10 have an inferiority complex, especially people from an Islamic culture. So if you take a photo and then want to talk to those people, you shouldn't be afraid. And I even speak a little of that language. Even then I often feel threatened. So that's where your argument ends for me.
If you have a solution for this situation, I'd love to hear it, because they are wonderful people to photograph

luc.vc@icloud.com wrote on Thursday 28 December 2023 at 21:26  | reply

I'm going to buy a megaphone, then I can announce in one go which of the (dozens of) people don't want to be in the photo. If there's one among them, am I allowed to shout that he/she should move aside? And how far do they have to stand from my camera, so I don't have to ask? PS. I also have a 400 mm and a Drone 😃😃. Man, man, man, what a world ...