Engaging with Strangers you Photograph

[citysnaps]

Visited your website. Nice images. Liked the photo of the couple dancing.

If you don't mind giving away your trade secrets - how do you engage with those you photograph?

Thanks - appreciate it!

I don't have any trade secrets. I guess what's important is treating people the same as how you'd want to be treated by a stranger. That'll get you through almost any situation.

For making candid photographs, so-called "street photography, (personally not a fan of that descriptor)" for me it's not being sneaky or clever about it. Bring the camera to your eye, out in the open, and make your photograph. If challenged, have a conversation.

What get's some street photographers in trouble is being sneaky trying to get a candid photo. Hip-shots, looking one direction while taking a photo in another direction, pretending to fiddle with your camera while sneaking a photo, hiding your camera, using long lenses, etc, etc.

Strangers and people who spend a lot of time on the street in cities such as San Francisco are incredibly aware of suspicious behavior. The size of your camera doesn't matter in the slightest. People respond adversely to suspicious *behavior*, not the gear you're your using.

When I used a full frame dSLR, my favorite lens was a 35mm f/1.4, liking to get close to people. That's also usually wide enough to get a decent amount of environmental context - important for conjuring a narrative in a viewer's mind. I only shoot with an iPhone now and I think the focal length is around 30 or 32mm - that's OK. I don't make candid photos of obviously homeless people on the street, people on the sidewalk suffering from addiction or mental health issues - that's anther discussion, that's kinda deep.

If challenged when making candid photos, don't lie. That just makes matters worse - people on the street have keenly developed BS detection abilities - for some it's a matter of survival. Just tell the truth. I rarely get challenged. If someone says, "Hey, why'd you just take my picture?" I respond with I'm documenting the city, or it's for my blog (when I had one), or it's for a project I'm working on. And then follow up with, "I'd love to make a portrait of you - would you mind?" And that's a great way to break the ice for a posed street portrait.

When making candid photographs I'm always looking for interesting gesture and nice light. IMO, nothing ruins a photo more than sharp contrasty light (unless of course that happens to be your goal).

For street portraiture, ie hitting a stranger up for a portrait, that's different. And is something I much prefer doing, enjoying conversation getting to know people. That's another discussion if you're interested.

Hope this helps!

 

[Steven-iphone]

Thanks - appreciate it!

No, I don't have any trade secrets. I guess what's important is treating people the same as how you want to be treated by a stranger. That'll get you through almost any situation.

For making candid photographs, so-called "street photography, (personally not a fan of that descriptor)" for me it's not being sneaky or clever about it. Bring the camera to your eye, out in the open, and make your photograph. If challenged, have a conversation.

What get's some street photographers in trouble is being sneaky trying to get a candid photo. Hip-shots, looking one direction while taking a photo in another direction, pretending to fiddle with your camera while sneaking a photo, hiding your camera, using long lenses, etc, etc.

Strangers and people who spend a lot of time on the street in cities such as San Francisco are incredibly aware of suspicious behavior. The size of your camera doesn't matter in the slightest. People respond adversely to suspicious *behavior*, not the gear you're your using.

When I used a full frame dSLR, my favorite lens was a 35mm f/1.4, liking to get close to people. That's also usually wide enough to get a decent amount of environmental context - important for conjuring a narrative in a viewer's mind. I only shoot with an iPhone now and I think the focal length is around 30 or 32mm - that's OK. I don't make candid photos of obviously homeless people on the street, people on the sidewalk suffering from addiction or mental health issues - that's anther discussion, that's kinda deep.

If challenged when making candid photos, don't lie. That just makes matters worse - people on the street have keenly developed BS detection abilities - for some it's a matter of survival. Just tell the truth. I rarely get challenged. If someone says, "Hey, why'd you just take my picture?" I respond with I'm documenting the city, or it's for my blog (when I had one), or it's for a project I'm working on. And then follow up with, "I'd love to make a portrait of you - would you mind?" And that's a great way to break the ice for a posed street portrait.

When making candid photographs I'm always looking for interesting gesture and nice light. IMO, nothing ruins a photo more that sharp contrasty light (unless of course that happens to be your goal).

For street portraiture, ie hitting a stranger up for a portrait, that's different. And is something I much prefer doing, enjoying conversation getting to know people. That's another discussion if you're interested.

Hope this helps!

Awesome views and advice. Thank you for taking the time.

Homeless and mental illness. There has been an influx of those individuals in a city I am near. I have taken some snaps, but mostly I ask to take a portrait. Your thoughts.

Steven

 

[citysnaps]

Awesome views and advice. Thank you for taking the time.

Homeless and mental illness. There has been an influx of those individuals in a city I am near. I have taken some snaps, but mostly I ask to take a portrait. Your thoughts.

Steven

Perhaps that could be the start of a project, going deep, and maybe fostering longer term advocacy on their behalf?

I'm not against making photos of the homeless and unwell, per se. It's when photos are used solely as gritty street eye candy that rubs me the wrong way. And subjects aren't able to have a say in the matter.

When I hear street photographers say "I'm raising awareness for the homeless," that's almost always BS. In reality it's because the photos are easy to take, they look "gritty," and can be snapped without the risk of being clocked or chased down the street by an able person.

Not that by law they're entitled to have a say. Anything (with certain exceptions making and usage of photos; ie the four privacy torts) on the street can be legally photographed.

For *me*, it gets down to personal ethics and morals - which is different for everyone. As it should be.

I kind of view making candids on the street with an implied bargain of rights (not based on law): If I have the right to make a photo of someone (anyone) on the street, IMO, they have the right to object verbally and scream at me if necessary - even try to chase me away. An unwell person, out of it, splayed out on the sidewalk against a wall, in most cases doesn't have that ability to yell at me or chase me down the street. To me that feels unfair and would be taking advantage of their unwell situation.

Looking at it from another angle... Usually I try and make photos that have the potential for stirring a viewer's imagination; ideally releasing some kind of narrative. There are plenty of other photographs out that can be made, that are far more interesting. And challenging. Why do easy stuff that's not challenging?

Again... the above is solely about what works for me and what I like to do. I'm not trying to be the arbiter of what street photos are or should be.

 

[Steven-iphone]

Perhaps that could be the start of a project, going deep, and maybe fostering longer term advocacy on their behalf?

I'm not against making photos of the homeless and unwell, per se. It's when photos are used solely as gritty street eye candy that rubs me the wrong way. And subjects aren't able to have a say in the matter.

When I hear street photographers say "I'm raising awareness for the homeless," that's almost always BS. In reality it's because the photos are easy to take, they look "gritty," and can be snapped without the risk of being clocked or chased down the street by an able person.

Not that by law they're entitled to have a say. Anything (with certain exceptions making and usage of photos; ie the four privacy torts) on the street can be legally photographed.

For *me*, it gets down to personal ethics and morals - which is different for everyone. As it should be.

I kind of view making candids on the street with an implied bargain of rights (not based on law): If I have the right to make a photo of someone (anyone) on the street, IMO, they have the right to object verbally and scream at me if necessary - even try to chase me away. An unwell person, out of it, splayed out on the sidewalk against a wall, in most cases doesn't have that ability to yell at me or chase me down the street. To me that feels unfair and would be taking advantage of their unwell situation.

Looking at it from another angle... Usually I try and make photos that have the potential for stirring a viewer's imagination; ideally releasing some kind of narrative. There are plenty of other photographs out that can be made, that are far more interesting. And challenging. Why do easy stuff that's not challenging?

Again... the above is solely about what works for me and what I like to do. I'm not trying to be the arbiter of what street photos are or should be.

Why do easy stuff that's not challenging?

Valid points. Pushing oneself is an ongoing process, but worth it. I had to push myself to venture up to someone and ask to take a portrait of them. Direct eye contact has been a challenge at times - and I push forward.

I do appreciate your time to reply, and your reply has been more than I expected -- in a good way.

 

[citysnaps]

I was chatting with two tattoo artists in front of their business. One fellow mentioned the homeless issue in the area and business. They were/are petitioning the city to move the homeless shelter (directly behind his business) to another location. After I snapped a few images of them, I walked on and saw this young man lying on the ground charging his mobile phone from the power outlet at the tree base. He granted a picture.

F/2.8 30.0mm 1/200s ISO-200 - dp2 Quattro

That's great up close and personal! And nice post processing as well. At first I had a small nit not having eye contact. But then realized he's reading an email or surfing the web - so that's fine.

Valid points. Pushing oneself is an ongoing process, but worth it. I had to push myself to venture up to someone and ask to take a portrait of them. Direct eye contact has been a challenge at times - and I push forward.

So now we're getting into street portraiture, which is something I really like to do...

Initially it's hard chatting up a complete stranger for a portrait. What I learned is if you approach people honestly with good intentions most of the time (90%, maybe) they'll say yes. Many times a potential subject will ask why; so it's always good to have a legitimate/honest reason. Something like; "I love your tats/glasses/smile/dog/purse/shoes/etc and would like to make your portrait. Or, "I'm documenting the city and would love to make your portrait." What still amazes me is once in awhile someone will immediately say Yes, without even asking why.

I always like to use the word "make" rather than "take." Thus I make photographs or portraits. Rather than take photographs or portraits. There's a difference in how that's perceived by a subject; ie taking something. Also... ideally, there are a lot of factors going into making a decent portrait: nice light, absence of extraneous clutter, interesting environmental context, subject gesture, etc.

I also like giving back. So I try and have a dozen or two 4x6 prints of street portraits I recently made. For two reasons. First, if I ever see that subject again I can give them a print; something that's always appreciated and is a good entry into a deeper conversation and perhaps more portraits. Second, if a potential subject replies reply No to your portrait request (which is kind of rare), I can show them some portraits of other people I've previously made, and often that will work.

Another tip... Hit up cops on the street for street portraits. They're safe. And will often say yes. They'll probably ask why fearing you might do something bad or embarrassing with their photo on social media. Just say you're documenting the city. Do a couple of dozen of those and it will boost your confidence for other people. Over time I probably made at least 100 photos of SFPD cops and became friends with a few. And always offer to give them a print - which is appreciated. Word among them gets around and pretty soon they'll like you.

When I was doing a lot of this a decade ago, times were different. Even in San Francisco's Tenderloin neighborhood (which many people considered sketchy back then) for a project when I was shooting all hours of the day/night and probably made a thousand photos. Today the dynamics are greatly different, especially with Fentanyl so easy to access and violence ramping up significantly. So... if a neighborhood doesn't feel right or safe, just don't do it, even with a friend. Not worth having something bad happen to you.

 

[Steven-iphone]

I like 'make' rather than 'take. You offer gems of advice. I see the eBook coming out.

Where to have the eyes look is challenging. On one outing I met this man in an alley, actually he met me as I was photographing graffiti. He was behind me and mentioned how cool the artwork was. I asked him if he would like to be photographed in front of the wall art - he did. The wall art was a vicious monster with big teeth. Choices, have him look at the artwork, look at me -- I asked him to look upwards at the sky. It played well with the wall graphic.

Steven

 

[VulchR]

At the risk of turning this discussion political, I never feel comfortable photographing strangers without permission because there is an issue about consent. I do believe that there is no reasonable expectation of privacy in public places, so in theory this should be OK, but at the same time a photograph is capturing a likeness of somebody - a moment of their personal history. The UK is considering banning photo's of women breastfeeding in public (see https://www.bbc.co.uk/news/uk-politics-59871075). Photographing such an intimate moment without permission, or indeed over protestation not to, seems damned creepy to me, but on the other hand I think this could be the thin edge of the wedge. Where do we draw the line? Are public kisses no longer to be photographed because they are intimate (so much for the VJ Day kiss)? Kids? People arguing? etc.

 

[crf8]

Don’t see this topic as political!! Today I watched a mother with an infant strapped to her chest, eat lunch. Food crumbs were falling all over the babies head. She would just brush them off. Would love to have taken a photo, but it would have been an invasion of her privacy. I don’t know where the line is.

 

[Steven-iphone]

In public, if one is creating what may be considered a private moment. Who is the privacy responsibility on - the one creating it or the one viewing it.

 

[Fishrrman]

Was never a fan of "street photography", myself.
Seems to have no purpose.

Even the photos of Henri Cartier Bresson leave me thinking... "meh"....

 

[VulchR]

Was never a fan of "street photography", myself.
Seems to have no purpose.

Even the photos of Henri Cartier Bresson leave me thinking... "meh"....

It has its moments IMO. I prefer nature, but I think it takes more skill to make a good street photograph. Nature photo's are low-hanging fruit.