Portraits of Strangers

Dear fellow photographers,

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I have a little project that I've been thinking about for some time. I currently live in Tokyo and I was quite

surprised to see the young people here in all their colourful outfits, so I was thinking about taking some portraits

in the streets of one of the centers of young Tokyo. I'm thinking of doing this with my Mamiya 6 and the 75mm lens

- maybe the 150mm, too. Since I am doing this kind of thing for the first time, I would be very glad if some of you

could give me advice on the following points:

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1. BREAKING THE ICE: How can I ask someone if I would like to take their picture (I can speak sufficient Japanese).

This sounds like a stupid question, but I would like to get it right from the beginning...

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2. GIVING AWAY PICTURES: In this kind of situation would you ask the "models" for their address and promise a

print. Or ask them to contact me if they want one? Or any other suggestions?

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3. LEGAL STUFF: I am an amateur and I don't know yet if I will ever use these pictures except for private use, but

just in case I would like to know what I need to know about the legal stuff (if I ever use the pictures in public I

don't want to run in any troubles...). Should I have the models get some paper signed? And what should be the

content of this paper?

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4. ORGANISATION: Is there a simple way to get the above two points done and also keep track with the actual

pictures (in order to know who is who in the pictures)? Something like a list with all the important data?

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5. FILM/LIGHTING: I am thining of using the daylight available, maybe with a silver or white reflector. Does this

sound OK? What would you suggest as a film for this setting? The portraits are not wedding pictures, so they don't

have to be as flattering. I'm thinking of using print film for lower cost, or are there any pros for slides (which I

usually shoot)?

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Sorry for the long post and thanks for your help!

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Sasha Starcevic, Switz

Re: Legal Stuff

I learned a lesson quite a while ago when I did some nudes

in an informal setting where I didn't get releases from the

women involved. "Unfortunately" I came up with some stuff

that was special and had the opportunity to exhibit / publish

some of the stuff ... but I had no releases & could not find

the people involved again (it had been more than a year since

the shoot).

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If you even THINK you MIGHT use the stuff commercially, take

the time to get a release. It can make it harder to get

cooperation of the subject sometimes, but ....

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PS. I've found offering free prints helps a lot.

BREAKING THE ICE: Just ask politely, explain about the project that

you are working on and expect some of them to say no.

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GIVING AWAY PICTURES: Partly this depends on how much they are

involved in the process. If you are spending several minutes with them

then it would be impolite not to offer a print. If it is a quick

couple of shots then you could get away with not offering, and only

send prints if they ask. That may sound churlish, but if you

photograph, say, 30 people a day, can you keep up with the cost and

organisation involved in supplying prints to everyone? One way that

can work with black and white is to shoot on Polaroid film that gives

a negative and a print. The subject gets the print and you get the

negative.

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LEGAL STUFF: This is going to vary from country to country. I believe

that it is difficult to publish or exhibit picture without model

releases in the USA. In the UK it is a lot easier. It might make it

much harder to get people to agree to be photographed if they have to

sign something.

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ORGANISATION: It is the sort of thing that social photographers do all

the time. I suppose you just have to be very well organised and keep

careful lists of names against exposure numbers. Books on social

photography might help you here.

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FILM/LIGHTING: You mention a reflector: do you have someone to hold

it? It is not the easiest thing to hold in a windy/crowded street.

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Hope this helps.

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Alan

<i>BREAKING THE ICE: How can I ask someone if I would like to take

their picture. </i> If you can, bring some of your photographs. I

find this really helps. It's hard to do if you're just shooting on

the street alone, but it's worth it. People respond very positively

if they see what you have done.

I also live in the Tokyo suburbs (Kamakura). If you're talking about

shooting the teenagers who dress up in bizarre clothing and hang out

in Harajuku on sundays, I wouldn't bother asking. Just shoot. For

one, people aren't litigation happy like in the US. Second, if you

ask to take someone's photo, that person will likely try to pose by

standing like a statue, which I find what most people do...not very

good for portraits. Japan is the only country where you'll see people

carrying tripods around. It's really a camera-crazed society, like

automobiles are in So. California. I can tell you that you won't be

the only person shooting. Many older Japanese men will just use a

long tele and shoot the same shots you want. I think fill-in flash is

going to be a lot more realistic than trying to hold a reflector up

to someone's face.

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The only time I've found when people will pose is on Seijin no hi,

the coming of age on Jan 15 (just missed it), when 20 yr old women

dress up in kimono and visit the big shrines, usually in a group w/

their friends or family. I've found that they are more than happy to

pose. In fact, I've seen some who have hired photographers and

brought them along to Meiji Shrine in Tokyo.In this case, the

assistant holds the reflector, which draws a crowd, and the next

thing you know, there are a dozen people snapping the same

composition the photographer is trying to take.