Homeless photography tips

<p>Again, it seems you goal is very doable, but to do it and have it be meaningful, I think you have to get to actually know your subject. This is typical in documentary work which is more of how I see your project. This isn't street photography. Perhaps a good project would be to get to know a group of people, and document what a day in the life, or a week, or a month, that type of thing over a period of time. You will have to gain people's trust and spend time if this is not going to be more than cliche grab shots or, giving them money to pose. If you want to show them as "real" people, then you have to show their lives. IMO. I would think that's a story. You might look at Mary Ellen Marks, or Eugene Smith(his doctors series) or Bruce Davidson's East 100th St. I guess I'm assuming you're not aware of some of these great documentarians, but if you aren't there's a lot material that's been done, like Walker Evans and Dorothea Lang's work from the great depression and the dust bowl. I don't care what anyone else says, I think such a project could very interesting, especially if you remember that these are real people and you have to actually be able to hold them in your mind as such. Not just "homeless" people.</p>

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<p>I think it goes into the same box as "photographing dead people"</p>

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<p>So much for being seen as normal people. Photographing homeless people for the sake of photographing homeless people generates questions but treating people as so helpless that they can't or shouldn't make their own decisions such as whether to agree to be photographed?</p>

<p>I guess i"ll jump back out now.</p>

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<p>I agree with John, there's nothing that puts photographing homeless people and dead people in the same category. Pretty unpleasant thought there.</p>

<p>FWIW, I do photograph dead people, but almost never photograph homeless people.</p>

<p>My little quips above should not be construed as being somehow against the idea of photographing homeless people. Well, certainly not today, now, in 2010. There is a story that desperately needs to be told, and photography perhaps above all else was what brought the Great Depression into the public consciousness and contributed to societal change that made millions of lives better over a span of many decades. I don't have a crystal ball and I don't know how the current homelessness crisis will go, but I know I have tried in my own way to tell part of that story.</p>

<p>If I had any advice, given what you've told of your situation, I would say that photography as a medium isn't a neutral observer. You can either stand behind a camera and take photos of a subject, in which case you will be acting as an interpreter/storyteller choosing how to construct a narrative, or you can make the photographs an active collaboration between subject and artist, and give the subject a say in how the story is to be told.</p>

I photographed this homeless guy in Jerusalem last year. He bummed a smoke from me and then asked me to take his photo. He was VERY photogenic and I ended up taking a few shots.<div></div>

<p>With no disrespect I say photograph their pain. They are not the norm. Show the world the truth.</p>

<p>Not sure, Jodys, mine, several others and Michael's statements are mutually exclusive. </p>

<p>There seem to be a lot of well fed looking homeless people over there. Here, its not common and when you do see it, one is shocked and dismayed. The guy in the photo above looks pretty well fed to me.<br>

We take it very seriously and its not tolerated at all. There are plenty of shelters and hostels here and you can get 3 means a day at them too. But to see what we call a <br />"derro", here, means usually drugs or mental illness and thats not what we should be photographing...not without some care and asking permission.</p>

<p>This is always a tough subject for many people, technically it should be no different than shooting anyone else. If they are in the public domain then they are fair game as are children, the handicapped etc. That being said I do feel personally that shooting them is like shooting fish in a barrel, fairly easy to get away with and almost always produce portraits with a lot of character (so long as you work with the light). Shooting the elderly also produces the same results.<br>

Most of the time questions like this are less about photography and more about the ethical and philosophical undertones of shooting the less fortunate. No one can give you permission for this as no one has the authority. In the end, you either do it or you don't. Be prepared for people to hate it, love it, and be completely indifferent to it.<br>

close and wide is always better, make them feel comfortable and don't take advantage.</p>

 

<p>“I want to photograph the homeless in a way that can let an audience perceive them as normal human beings”</p>

<p>“There by the grace of God walk I”</p>

<p>They are normal human beings what else would they be? ...they just a part of the human condition as we all are. Unfortunately, they have drawn a bad hand in the game of life, and have found hell, without a good book or something else to send them there.</p>

<p>Myself, I photograph them as part of life just the same as anything else. Interesting and telling are the bywords of my photography.</p>

<p>Now if I was to do a Documentary I, would want to be a part of them, just as good War Photographer is part of the troops......</p>

<p> Living and breathing and maybe dying with them so they can offer a plate of truth....</p>

<p>Hey Allen, nice to see you post again..cheers.</p>

<p>The homeless are your model. and approach them as such. Ask permission and offer to pay them something in return for letting you take the picture. Just because they don't have a home does not make them less human.</p>

>>> Hey Allen, nice to see you post again..cheers.

 

Yeah! Hey Allen...

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<p>Hey Allen, nice to see you post again..cheers.</p>

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<p>well, you can make that three times ;-)))</p>

<p>My advice in this case is the same advice I give people who want to repair their cameras: If you have to ask don't do it.</p>

<p>You write: "I want to photograph the homeless in a way that can let an audience perceive them as a normal human being and not as an outcast or someone lower in our society."</p>

<p>I think that expresses a noble intention. But right now it is only a notion, not a concrete idea. As such, it is so far a sociological or literary aspiration. It's like Milton wishing to explain the ways of God to man. First you need words, then pictures. At least as things stand now.</p>

<p>So why pictures and not words? Ask yourself that question. How will pictures convey your intentions better than words?</p>

<p>Photographs may be objective but they are viewed subjectively. How do you make people see what you want them to see? And once they see what you see, what do you want them to do? Ask yourself these questions. Do nothing until you have answered them and are happy with your answers.</p>

<p>Let me help you. You know the expression "fourth wall"? It comes from theater. It is the imaginary wall that separates the front of the stage from the audience. Well, there are fourth walls in society between people are well. Our invisible fourth walls are based on things like class, wealth, fame and other things. They are not supposed to exist in a democratic society but they are there. There is a fourth wall between homed and homeless people. Homed people are afraid of breaking down their fourth walls because they are afraid. They fear criminality from the homeless and, importantly, they fear becoming homeless themselves. That is the fourth wall I believe you want to break down. But once you have broken it, don't expect people to become active humanitarians. Some will, some won't. The ones that don't at least will be less bigoted. If you can at least make people less bigoted you will be able to pat yourself on the back.</p>

<p>So do your homework.</p>

<p>You do not need to impoverish yourself. That would be counterproductive. Once you are homeless you are not going to be interested in explaining the homeless. You'll be using up all your energies to survive. Jack London was a rich guy when he disguised himself as a poor man to do research for <em>People of the Abyss</em>. (He had known poverty, but that's another story.) Having said that, you will have to change your life in some way to tell the story you wish to tell, whether it will in the end come out in words or pictures. Once you are determined to carry out your project you will need to break through the fourth wall yourself and get involved with homeless people in some way. How? That is for you to figure out.</p>

<p>While you are sorting things out, read all you can on the problem of homelessness.</p>

<p>You need not rush. Poverty, unfortunately, is not going to go away that quickly. Who knows: Once you find your bearings you might end up photographing me as I tell you through broken teeth how I was once a Leica photographer.</p>

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<p>"There seem to be a lot of well fed looking homeless people over there. Here, its not common and when you do see it, one is shocked and dismayed. The guy in the photo above looks pretty well fed to me.<br />We take it very seriously and its not tolerated at all. There are plenty of shelters and hostels here and you can get 3 means a day at them too. But to see what we call a <br />"derro", here, means usually drugs or mental illness and thats not what we should be photographing...not without some care and asking permission."<br>

where i live (Canada), mental health, addiction and homelessness are all intrinsically linked. a study from 2009 discovered that 80% of women living on the streets deal with a debilitating mental health issue every day. the numbers, regardless of gender, are quite staggering. <br>

there are loads of services. you can eat 3 meals, 7 days a week. you can pick up a clean rig and travel around on a free bus pass. <br>

where the disconnect lays is in our understanding of the issues. with that said i say go photograph. talk with people. have coffee and make friends. the more dialogue and contact between the separate stakeholders the better. <br>

only you can determine what your motivations are. you will suffer many critics with a plethora of opinions. don't let that deter you. if it is something you care deeply about then go forward.</p>