Why Photograph People...At Random..who we don't know?

[ron_l]

>>"I do not understand why we would want to photograph people we do not know, on the street, or in other venues.

 

I think I tend to photograph subjects that have an personal meaning to me, over the long haul, and I do tend to avoid taking photographs of people or events that are not connected to my life in a deeply personal way, unless it is a paid job."<<

 

Please. Are you for real? So why don't you tell us all how the elephants, cormorants and sea nettles in your folders are "connected to your life in a deeply personal way".

 

I'd rather look at an image of a person I don't know than a bird I don't know. But that's just me. The point is that I don't question the motives of people who would rather interact with plant life and rocks than other human beings. Strangers or not.

 

Shoot what you want but don't suggest the reasons others have for choosing their subject matter are less valid just because you don't understand them.

[alex_tudor]

Is this question for real???

 

Why? Ask HBC.. Why? Because PEOPLE represent a place just as much, if not MORE than the place's architecture, etc. I guess if you have to ask this question....

 

 

Alex

[todd frederick]

I totally agree. I even wonder why I photograph rocks and trees and buildings and animals and flowers and such. HCB severely criticized Adams and Weston for photographing rocks while the world burned (WWII).

 

I asked this question here for some insight and stimulation toward people photography since this is the People Photography Forum. I guess I'd ask why we photograph rocks if this were the Rock Photography Forum. I'm getting very burned-out with everything I photograph, and need to seek new directions and new subjects.

 

Thank you for the suggestions and great photos.

[kenneth darling soerensen]

Todd - great question..

Others - great answers..

[andrew_lee2]

>>>I'm getting very burned-out with everything I photograph, and need to seek new directions and new subjects <p>

Simple. Photograph family and friends. They're connected to you personally, they can be an endless source of inspiration (okay, I don't know about *endless*), and, if you're creative (see: McMulligan, Skully, aka Mousy Brown, who posts on these boards), can be the subjects proper of artistically-compelling photographs.

[struan_gray]

<p>Todd, you seem to be wanting to define yourself as "A

Photographer", but you don't actually enjoy the sorts of

photography you see as typical. One cure would be to trawl

through the genres until you find one you feel comfortable with.

The other, less travelled road would be to simply be yourself and

see what develops.</p>

 

<center><p>

<img

src="http://www.sljus.lu.se/People/Struan/pics/bayeuxkids.jpg"

width=500 height=500 alt="Bayeux Kids"></p>

<p><i>Lucy, Camilla and James, Bayeux Cathdral, 2002.</i>

</p></center>

 

<p>My serious interest in photography has blossomed over the

past few years, as health niggles and a young family have reined

in my more adventurous inclinations. I still take the same sorts

of photographs I always took, but they are better in all sorts of

ways because of a conscious effort on my part to improve

them.</p>

 

<p>One thing I did was to sit down and go through <i>all</i> my

old negatives and slides, and see which subjects and

approaches came naturally to me and which gave me the

greatest pleasure to look at again. They have been a major

motivator for my current more refined and deliberate approach.

Knowing why I like particular photographs helps me find a

reason to pick up a camera.</p>

[henry_c]

It's all good, unless YOU are that subject which happen to be eating something, kissing your lover or just being silly and someone posted that photo online or on photo.net.

 

I do a lot of portraits outdoors (it's my job). I can understand why you are doing this but I do get annoyed at these kinds of photographers taking photos of me doing my job. Then it got me thinking, what if someone peek over your cubicle and take photos of you typing or working? Or when you are talking to your girlfriend and kissing her and some super-talented amateur points a 28mm at you? When I see them pointing the camera my way (when I am working) I just give them a PEACE sign with my fingers and smile.

 

Take random photos of random people, it's what you like to do, sure, fine, I do that sometimes. But please don't give a fancy grand reason for it; there are none other than your own desire.

[mike dixon]

<i>But please don't give a fancy grand reason for it; there are

none other than your own desire.</i><P>

 

The point of the thread was to get at the motivations underlying

that desire. Perhaps you don't relate to reasons beyond "I felt

like it," but that's hardly evidence that other people don't

genuinely have those motives.

[rokkor fan]

I photograph other people because when I take photos of my wife she feels she has the right to edit them and select what I am allowed to keep "Oh my chin looks terrible....rippp". Shooting other people never gets the same result.

 

Also, it is VERY HARD to throw away photos of people you love, whereas a photo of a stranger can be tossed easily if I find it does not connect with me. The ones you keep are normally either good photos, or shots that make you feel good, even if no-one else likes them much. Either way, I like it.

 

Cheers

 

Antony<div></div>

[gib]

because it is our nature to take photographs, different kinds in different ways, because inside we have to

[twmeyer]

Metaphors, symbols, archetypes, stereotypes, illustrations, myths, novellas, fables, allegories... ART... t

[jeff_bradley]

The answer to Todd's question is simply ego. The photographer is shooting an unknown character and then later depicting the character according to his or her bias without any investigation. Part fiction, but mainly ego. Judging without defense, fact, testimony, or rebuttal.

 

The question that I have if anyone has tyme was posed to me at dinner the other night. Why photograph at all? If your truly live in the moment take it at face value. My response was similar to a response posted earlier in that the photographer is just trying to tell a story. Thoughts?

 

Jeff

[thomas_sullivan]

"...The photographer is shooting an unknown character and then later depicting the character according to his or her bias without any investigation. Part fiction, but mainly ego. Judging without defense, fact, testimony, or rebuttal...."

 

90% of the "good" street photography i have seen has very non-descript titles.........as a matter of fact, it is my experience that most "good" street photographers go out of their way to not put any words to their pictures, so as not to influence the viewer...

 

...of course their are people who DO put EGOs in everything they do......but, that has nothing to do with street photography

[yochin]

It depends from where you are coming when you approach the taking of the photograph. If it's an assignment then you have a context in which you are participating in the event and you have an excuse to be doing what you are doing. It it's just an event to which with you're vaguely associated then that excuse often becomes more tentative; you often still allow yourself to take pictures within the context of which you're taking part in the event with your picture-taking but beyond that your participation is often somewhat circumspect; you feel hesitant to take the pictures your instinct tells you to take because of the context in which you've placed yourself by your choice to allow circumstances to dictate what you take instead of your own desires.

 

What often causes one to feel nauseous about these kinds of photographs taken with a half-hearted effort because one is not in one world (the subject's world) or another (the distant, detached observer's) when one takes the photograph is that one wants to be part of one's subject's world while one's rationalizations keep pulling one into the world of the detached distant observer and the lack of resolution towards the movement of one from the world of the distant detached observer into that of the subject's world makes one squirm and feel frustrated because one is neither in one world nor the other.

 

Taken metaphorically, one doesn't like pictures taken of people which seem to one random and detached because the only way to take pictures which one finds value in is to actually have some sort of participation in the subject's world; therefore, the lack of desire to participate in other random and unattached-to-one people's worlds and only concentrate on the worlds of a few people to whom one feels a closeness towards represents the way one deals with opening up oneself to new experiences and to meeting and associating with new people. The goodness in other words often represents one's involvement with the subject at hand. If one doesn't want to be there then that's reflected in the subject's reaction to how the photographer reacts to him or her. If one is having fun with the subject then that's reflected in the interaction between one and the subject. One's photographs in other words often represent how one interacts with the world around one and that is that.

 

The question, looking at it from this perspective then is: why am I not getting to know these people of with whom I'm taking pictures? Not, why take them but, why aren't I participating in these people's lives in a more meaningful way?

[walt_donovan]

Out of curiosity, Todd, have you ever consider photography to some is more than hardcopy documenting of vacations, birthday parties, weddings, etc? You know, the stuff people shoot by the roll and never look at later. Some of us don't solely shoot our families and friends as if this kind of documentation has unequalled importance in the historical preservation of society in general. Bet you use the self-timer on your camera about 40% of the time, right?

In answer to your question..... IT'S CALLED ART.

[todd frederick]

Walt,

 

This question was posted in July of 2003! I guess it got teransferred to the new forum automatically.

 

However, the question was to be designed to be "open-ended" and to provoke a discussion. I'm not sure why you felt the need to shoot-out a personal jab at me!

[ron_l]

grow up. you asked a question. walt answered it. if you don't like the way people answer your questions then stop asking them.

[todd frederick]

Oh, I can see right now that this is going to be one of those happy, positive, supportive, friendly forums.

[over exposure]

Shooting photos in a random way can be useless, I agree....but many of us don't shoot random, in fact...

 

Many of us choose to shoot in the street cause we hear the call and we get excited from the theatre happening every day in the streets down our houses.

 

I like tho see the comedy of the lifes of people going by, and yes, I like to save them for my memory, and for that of someone that hopefully one day will like to live them again..

 

Strangers are part of my life, everyone is a stranger before knowing him, too..

 

Ciao!<div></div>