To shoot or not to shoot strangers?

23 Nov 2018 - 13 comments | Translate title into English

Lately I have given a great deal of time and thought for what is commonly called as "street photography". It is more or less a genre of taking images of people one does not know. Usually it is about images of people in urbain area, but it can be any human figure seen anywhere.

Please have a look at this Jamie Windsor's video 'Why you SHOULDN'T do STREET PHOTOGRAPHY' and give it a thought.

So far street photography that includes human figures have never been my genre, and I guess it never will be. I have few times thought it could be something worth to learn, but then I need to ask myself why should I learn it? Am I really the right person who should document and tell the story of people seen on the streets?

And maybe it is better if I tell a different story. Besides, it is sort of a street photography as well, when there are no human figures seen in the image, only the street ;-)

Quick update: Video representing Fan Ho by The Art of Photography (Ted Forbes)

Gudrun, Au Cœur... diagonalhorizon, , Frank J Casella and 4 other people have particularly liked this article

13 comments - The latest ones

Annaig56 ^club

moi j'adore,, mais bon les gens n'aiment pas etre pris en photo c'est difficile,

5 years ago.

Sami Serola (inactiv… ^club has replied to Annaig56 ^club

Actually I like the street photography as well, but only when seen on pictures taken by someone else ;-)

Fan Ho mentioned on Jamie's video is (was) amazing "street photographer"!
phototrend.fr/2014/09/fan-ho-photographie-le-hong-kong-des-annees-50

5 years ago.

cp_u ^club

There are legal aspects, ethical ones, and photographic ones. As a photographer I love street photography. I am not good in it but there are people amongst us who do this excellently, and it is really art.
Good or excellent street photography always mirrors this kind of respect of the photographer for the "inhabitants" of the streets, regardless whether the photo is "subjective" and "into it" or seems to be distanced / "objective".
The legal side of street photography is difficult and confusing. This is the reason why I am shy to publish such photos nowadays...

5 years ago.

Sami Serola (inactiv… ^club has replied to cp_u ^club

Same thing with me ;-)

Every now and then I do take shots where people can not be recognized (seen far away, silhouetted, or behind). But I think it is then more as "urban landscape" photography.

5 years ago.

Heidiho ^club

Hmmm ... "street photography without persons" - means in my understanding: "tomato-salad without tomatos". I'm a fan f.e. of Vivian Maier's Street Scenes, taken in the 50s/60s .... another era. There were only less photographers on the streets and mostly the persons liked to be photographed. Today we have an absolut different situation. Everybody takes photos every day. Smartphones, Internet, Social Media, selfie-inflation - the world is flooded by millions of photos day by day. Here in Germany today it's nearly not possible to take classical Street Photography, people feel stalked and hate to be photographed by strangers. A pity in my mind. Looking to old street scenes gives an idea of the past, our history, the circumstances of our daily life.
I'm afraid, Street Photography is a dying genre in Europe now ....

5 years ago. Edited 5 years ago.

Sami Serola (inactiv… ^club has replied to Heidiho ^club

Or vegetarian (no meat) =D

Actually a better name for that kind of photography is "urban landscape". For example many Fan Ho's shots seen on the video are in my opinion merely as urban landscape or cityscape shots. And that is definitely my style! =)

5 years ago.

Stormlizard ^club

Sometimes street scenes with Humans can be very impressive as can empty streets.

5 years ago.

Sami Serola (inactiv… ^club has replied to Stormlizard ^club

Ultimately it is about good photography =D

5 years ago.

Frank J Casella

I don't look at it as street photography, or landscape photography, or portraiture. To me it's all photography. The mantra I look to make a photograph is this quote by Edward Steichen: "Photography is a major force in explaining man to man". When it answers this 'question' I click the shutter (and ask permission, or forgiveness, if need be later).

5 years ago. Edited 5 years ago.

Sami Serola (inactiv… ^club has replied to Frank J Casella

You are absolutely right about it, Frank. Classifications and genres can easily even kill the inspiration, if taken too far. Or that is how it has worked for me. For several times I have had to open my eyes for something new, and stop repeating myself. Repetition of course can have its advantages as well, but it should not make one blind for all the limitless possibilities.

5 years ago.

Xata ^club

The key word for me is RESPECT.
We have to feel empathy but over all respect for the persons we take pics of...
I discovered Fan Ho with the video, fantastic...

I have some homeless pictures, an intent to show that a foreign town is more than its famous monuments, it carries also the distress of part of its population... but I always talked to these people, gave them something on top of words and smile.
In Marroco kids wanted to be photographed in exchange of a coin, many adults too.

I often use the technic of shoot first and ask after, then shoot again. But the first shots are the best ones because people are natural. If they are not ok with it I erase.

Street photography is not my favorite anyhow... just ocasional.

Kiitos Sami!

5 years ago. Edited 5 years ago.

Sami Serola (inactiv… ^club has replied to Xata ^club

Oh yes, and if we bother to ask the permission to use the image, we may gain respect as well. These days with digital cameras it is so easy to show what we photographed and also delete it right away, if no permission granted.

5 years ago.

Gudrun ^club

Since the EU General Data Protection Regulation has been in force people photography has become a legal minefield.
Basically you have to have written permission by the persons in the photo to be on the safe side. That written permission can be revoked at any time and you then even have to destroy the original file! There's a whole industry of what in Germany we call "Abmahnanwalt", attormeys making money from finding photos violating data protection laws.
I don't want to risk this, so I have pulled all people photos/ made them private.

5 years ago.

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To shoot or not to shoot strangers?