Too embarrassed to photograph people!

Hi World,

More of a comment than a question really but I find it really

difficult to haul out the old camera in public and take some of those

people shots which I know would be great. I guess I feel that people

generally don't like being photographed, even if they consent after

you ask them and this makes me feel uncomfortable. Do others feel the

same and how do you get around this? I'm more of a landscape person

myself and there is no problem here! I also love 'falling down' type

old buildings which don't object to being recorded for posterity

either. People are complicated in many senses!

As I'm currently cycling through South America the opportunities are

obviously plentiful for capturing different cultures but, when I get

home, I always have to face the music for not taking enough people

photo's. Currently considering a spy camera to avoid the subject's

and my discomfort!

 

Regards,

Bryan.

It's like sex, Bryan -- the only way to learn is to do it. I predict that if you do start photographing people, the positive interactions will vastly outweigh the negative: I've photographed probably hundreds of strangers on the street for years, and only perhaps 2-3 have objected, and only one objected vehemently; the rest either didn't know, knew and didn't care, or knew and were very cool about it.

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The only way to get over any fear is to get out there and do it...

you'll find that most people dont mind at all...just dont act sneaky about it and all should be fine...

i wouldn't go the spy camera way. just do it like said above and

perhaps start with a 50mm then 35mm, then 28mm and work your way to

24mm and 21mm. there are many different approach to street

photography from snapping like a tourist to acting like a veteran pj.

they all are quite different than landscape though:O) good luck and

don't be discourage. rejection is the worst that can happen 99% of

the time.

hey Bryan-

 

I know how you feel. in college I had an assignment in photo 1 of people photography. I had a Nikon FM, manual focus, 50mm. I was a nervous wreck! I was even shaking as i took the photos. They all came out blurry and voyeristic. I cropped down a very blurry shot of two people walking from across the street. Printing it as well I could and submitted it. It used classic nikkor optics, and looked like a HOLGA!

 

I don't *like* taking pictures of people period, but I feel so invasive taking pictures of people I do not know. Being insecure and mildly paranoid that people think that I am a pervert (in general) doesn't help matters either.

 

Maybe if i was being paid to take a portrait I'd feel a little more at ease. In fact, i am sure i would be. Taking pictures of women I think will always be difficult, but I'll save that for my theripist.

 

I am an extremely slow photographer, and extremely selective. I fear that my model will become impatient. I do have one photoshoot comming up. It will be my first paying gig. I don't feel nervous about it, but my model is thrown out of focus, and i doubt that the gold-fish will be offended if I make an unflattering photo of him (or her), that and I have days to set up the composition, play with the lighting, get digital proofs... But someone on the street? I just can't see myself doing it! Buildings are my thing, they don't think I'm perverted, they won't be offended if I take a picture without it knowing. I'll stick to buildings.

 

People and street photography isn't for everyone.

Hey Bryan,

 

You'll be fine. I do it all the time.

 

First, start with easy things - festivals, parades, events. These are places where

people expect cameras to be.

 

Then go to where there are a lot of people hanging out. Kids playing in a fountain,

guys and girls skateboarding, etc.

 

then work your way up to just the average day.

 

Good luck.

 

Andrew

I agree with Andrew's comment above. Start with soemthing easy. The hardest thing will be to take the first couple of shots so go somewhere like a sporting event, a gig by a local band, a skate park when there's a competition on. These people will want a picture & will be happy to pose for you or won't mind you wandering & taking candids. Use them to sharpen your skills & nerve before venturing out after the ultimate game . . . 'the great unknown public'!

 

As to how to approach people. Role play time. Think about your approach. Would you be offended by it if a stranger used it on you? If so it's back to the drawing board to work up a fresh one. The best approach is open, bold, quick & friendly. Be honest about why you would like to take the picture & if you plan to print it you can always offer a print.

 

The most common fear in play here is a psychological block relating to not being accepted by someone. The only way to get around this is to go out & be accepted

 

Hope this helps.

 

Gavin

While it's true that <B>MOST</B> people don't mind, and it can often lead to pleasant interactions, <B>SOME</B> people mind a whole lot and if you do much of this kind of photography you will sometimes also have some very UNpleasant interactions. <P>

 

One guideline for minimizing bad interactions is to not photograph categories of people that OTHER people think of as their property, to be protected. Children, and young women who are with their boyfriends or husbands. Those are the ones most likely to elicit a hostile response from the parent or male escort.<P>

 

Also, carrying business cards helps "legitimatize" your photography. I have many different business cards in different styles, ranging from the cute kittens and portraits to fashion and beauty and hand out the card that seems most appropriate.

Bryan,

 

I think I know how you feel. I have felt similarly in the past. I usually don't take photo's of people in the streets but decided I needed to be more comfortable doing so. I volunteered as an event photographer at our local YMCA. Doesn't pay anything but you get to practice with someone else picking up the cost of the film and the developing. This also *forces* you to take pictures of people and if anyone asks you can say that you are one of the event photographers. This has helped me overcome my fear of street photography and maybe something like this could help you? (I used a similar idea to overcome my fear of large bodies of water... I learned to scuba dive :) )

 

Good luck,

 

Jim Seaman

Thanks Folks!

You know, after 32 years on this earth I have finally realized that you just need to "do

it" and have fun. I recently posted a similar question and with the help of people on

this site and others advice I am getting over my fear. I would suggest asking if

possible, if asking or talking to the person first is going to ruin the picture then just

snap away. I have yet to have anyone care. Just make sure that you are not

photographing scary people that might be able to hurt you. DON'T consider buying a

spy camera. That is not going to get you the quality images that you desire. 50mm,

35mm or wide angle are best. Get in close and snap away. Respect others when

photographing them and always thank them... even if it is just a little smile. Go out

there and just do it, take two rolls of 36 and shoot them in an hour on the street and

you will be so liberated that your fear will be 90% behind you. Good luck!! Oh yeah

and remember to take your camera EVERYWHERE! Those great photos always pop

up when you are without your camera.

Now why would anybody be reluctant to stick a camera in this guy's face? :)

 

<http://www.photo.net/photo/1592392>

I admit to the same fear, but basically why should people care unless you are catching them picking their nose or something? If they are in public then the mind's eye is taking pictures of them de facto. I find the real challenge is catching an interesting pose, focusing and setting exposure before they move or something gets in the way. It certainly doesn't help to add an extra level of anxiety.

 

I have been verbally assaulted for taking pics but it is usually angry drunks who were responsible for that. One homeless guy got angry when I took pics not of him but of the 59th street bridge (it was his home)!

Looking through these answers, I have a question. I haven't done any street photography, but I assumed it would be like portraits, using maybe 70-135mm lenses to give a fairly flattering look.

 

However, people are suggesting 50mm and lower, even wide angle. Surely this means getting in even closer to the subject, which I would have thought would make it even more difficult to do with strangers. Is this to get a lot of background, slightly distorted effects, or what?

 

Grant

You have to get close doing street photography. There's no other way. I also work close with portraits. I almost always use a 35mm-50mm lens. This was shot about two feet away, and no-one ever knew.<p>

 

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One thing I'm doing to help get over the embaressment / nervousness is setting myself little photo projects. My most recent one was "People Carrying Things." I just sat myself on some stairs at a street corner, in full view, and took pictures of people carrying things when they walked by.

 

By doing this, I find I just kind of blend into the background of the cityscape. The eye notices movement, so I didn't really move much. I'd watch the distance for people coming who were carrying things, then pre-compose the shot where I expected them to pass. I then hold the camera in place and open both eyes, so I can see them coming. When they walk into frame, a quick re-compose if necessary, snap, and keep the camera up; don't drop it right away and it's not obvious they noticed you taking their picture.

 

Seems to work well. I find the more of these I do, the more comfortable I am actually wandering around and snapping pictures on the move.

"I guess I feel that people generally don't like being photographed."

I thought that, too, until I began photographing them about 2 1/2 years ago.

Now I've found that they don't mind generally and the few that do will tell you

that and I always respect their wishes. No, I don't ask them beforehand so to

maintain spontaneity, unless my presence is so obvious they can't help but

notice me. I have had people get mad and agressive in the following situations,

all easily avoided. First, when I photographed a man slapping around another

man in Lyon, France and one of his tough guy friends wanted to know if I had

taken a picture. I shook my head no and said something in English so he knew

I was a tourist, turned my back on him and walked off with my daughter. (I'm

glad she was there.) The second occured when I took a picture of a cute girl

(I'm male) reading a book under a tree with the PGA Championship golf

tournament going on right behind her. The boy friend, it turns out was only 15

ft. to my left. I guess I should've known. I fell back on my doctor training. In

medical school they taught us two rules for doing pelvic exams--a) always use

gloves and b) avoid eye contact. Gloves aren't germane but avoiding eye

contact can be. I noticed him out of the corner of my eye, but stayed where I

was a just started looking down and fiddling with the camera as if something

wasn't right with it. The fella cooled off and didn't say anything. You can't run

and you can't look guilty. Avoiding eye contact with the subject (look down at

the camera, or past them) changes everything so that you don't appear to be

learing--you look like a professional. You can nod and smile if you think that'll

do it. But avoiding eye contact will get you out of some inadvertently gotten

into bad spots. Remember that some of the population is afflicted with

paranoia and those people may have to be dealt with.

The business card idea is a very good one; I'm going to get some printed.

But I'm not going to stop photographing people. The two cases I've cited above

are exceptional and aren't hard to avoid.

 

Lee England

Natchez, Mississippi

http://www.englandphotographic.com

I too hate taking pictures of people, but sometimes the subject is just too photogenic and I can't let it be - I think I'm gradually getting over it. However, I just thought I'd share an experience from many years ago: I wasn't at all out to take pictures of people. I was on a small islet in a Swedish archipelago, crawling on my knees taking pictures of flowers growing in crevices in the granite. As I made my way up to the top of the rock, I lifted my eyes and saw a beatiful view of the landscape with sea and cliffs. So I switched lens and fired away a couple of shots. Then I heard, from below the rock and clearly in view, but as yet unnoticed by me, a man's voice shouting something like "What the #!&**/! do you think you are doing?" Oops! Down there was a young man and two gorgeous-looking top-less women sunbathing and in my hand was a camera with a telephoto lens... It's good then to find that God is merciful - the guy turned out to be an old friend from military service who actually could be made to beleive the truth! Phew...

Shoot what interests you. To do anything else is a waste of time. It is that simple.

That way, you'll have a better chance of coming back with pictures you are happy with, rather than shooting what you feel is expected of you....

There is such an odd attitude hereabouts regarding street photography/candids...pretty often looks like furtive snap/grabshots to me...

An old lady jumped out from behind a hedge and photographed me a week ago... and yes, I minded. I didn't say anything, but I expect to see myself posted on internet sooner or later...and I feel it is an invasion of my privacy. Seeing as I feel this way, I'm hardly likely to shoot candids of strangers on the street, now am I ?

Hi Bryan, I have the same kind of feeling like you - I just can't imagine myself addressing some interesting looking stranger on the street to ask if I can make a photo of him/her! Somebody already suggested starting with taking photos of people at public events on the street. In July there was a big party here in Rotterdam (Netherlands), the Summer Carnival. It was an excellent opportunity to take photos of people and I made a lot of photos. Especially <a href="http://www.photo.net/photo/1666962">this one</a> turned out very well - the girl spontaneously posed for me when she saw me with my camera!

<p>I already did some photography courses and at the end of this month I'm going to start with a course about photographing portraits and models. I chose this people photography course especially because there's a challenge for me to deal with the models. I also like to make photos of landscapes, cities etc. but for me, the most (emotionally) powerful photos are photos of people.

<p>Good luck!

Thanks again guys. I hadn't responded because I turned off the notifications - not all internet cafes are that fast in S.America and my mail box was straining a bit. In Huaraz, Peru, I met a fellow South African (a rare beast around here) who had recently quit his photo-journalist job but had a few comments which interested me.

From his point of view it was worthless photographing people without their consent because he couldn't use the photos anyway. Now this is not my case but it meant that he had to always chat to the people first, get to know them, put them at ease and then broach the subject of photos. This means that your photography becomes a means of meeting people and therefore becomes more than just the capturing of an image. I like that.

By the way - I've posted a question on combination digital SLR cameras

under the general equipment section if anyone's interested.

Take care,

Bryan.

"Too embarrassed to photograph people!"

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Have you ever been embarassed looking at the person you love most? Guess not... Why not? Because of your love - and *not* because you know this person well. Love eliinates the distance between you and the other person.

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The more you love your subject, the more you'll forget everything else. At that point, you are ready to shoot.