How not to be confronted in Street Photography
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- เผยแพร่เมื่อ 26 มิ.ย. 2024
- We are all a thinking about confrontations with angry, worried or crazy persons when doing Street Photography. This video is all about how you can minimize the chances of being confronted when doing Street Photography.
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I am Oliver, a Street Photographer from Germany with a big love for Italy - mainly Turin. But i am a passionate traveller as well - check out my website krumes.com for photos i´ve made on my journeys to Myanmar, Japan, Bangladesh, USA or China. I´ve been shooting Street Photography for nearly 20 years now. In 2016 i started to teach Street Photography workshops. I had solo and group exhitibions in Germany, Austria, Hungary and Italy, published my first Street Photography book "Immerse light, embrace shadows" last year and was juror for international photo contests. This channel is for all Street Photography beginners and pros - if you have any requests for future videos, please leave a comment - very curious about your opinions. Oh, and I am still a beginner in this TH-cam thing so your comments help me a lot - and please forgive me my bad English...
I experimented with wearing a T shirt that stated, "Street Photographer" with hilarious results. People either went out of the way to ignore me or got curious and engaged in confrontation. Another trick, is, if your camera has wifi or Bluetooth tethering, to tether your smartphone to your phone and operate the camera that way. You can have your camera in your hand and no one knows you are taking photographs.
Yes, that´s a very helpful trick indeed! Thank you for sharing!
Oliver: Pretend you’re taking a video. Me with my Rolleiflex pretending to be making a cinema 😂
Hmmm...bit tricky, you're right 😬😀
My experience with my Rolleiflex is positive. It happend a few times that I had a nice chat with the persons I took a photo of, and some were even happy enough to pose for me for another photo.
When I use my Mamiya C3 or any other style of film camera, I actually get more positive remarks. People are interested in your camera, which then creates a subject to talk about.
people should be honoured to have their picture taken by such noble machine
Around here, people will come at you with insults if they spot you with a camera within 30 meters... but I must admit that I live in the quietest suburb there is. Though I did find a trick. I frame through the viewfinder, while staying very still, I pop my head up, smile and simply give the go-ahead. When the person is at the right spot, click, and once they're out of the scene, I go back to pretending I'm framing a photo..
I have been confronted a number of times. Sometimes it is "Did you take my picture" or "what are you doing". Sometimes it has been a situation based on who the other party is. Once I was cautioned not to take photos of a particular nightclub or the people inside. Another time, it was someone concerned about a friend at a restaurant - perhaps a celeb or relative of an elite. Another time, while photographing a lake and shoreline, I was approached by a counselor who was running a nearby day camp for children. She was suspicious of my motives. To avoid confrontation, I try to appear totally wrapped up in my work. Sometimes I continue to pan my camera after the shot. For people photography, I find that festive locations are much easier. Parties, carnivals, festivals, parades, etc. make people much more accepting. They can't be sure in a crowd if I am even aiming at them or someone else. At public events, people are more tolerant of photographers.
Thank you for your feedback John! This is indeed a great tip - events like festivals are a great playground for folks who want to practise photographing people, as less people care than in an everyday situation...
From my experience you WILL eventually get confronted in Street Photography at one point. You can use the most humungous or the tiniest camera available, people always recognize the distinct hand movements people make when they raise the camera to take a photo. In most of my shots that involve human subjects from the front, they look directly into my camera. Once I even just stood there with the camera in public space and a guy came charging towards me and yelling why I was taking photos of whatever - because I haven't even looked through the view finder yet. The truth is, there is no average rule to apply that solves such conflicts, because everybody you encounter has a different amount of fuhggs to give and that is reflected in their reaction and how far they will take it, to get their way. Some times you can brush it off with a simple "I was shooting the building behind you", sometimes you argue for half an hour under the threat of violence or having the cops involved. What helps though is if you have a friend who likes to be outside and walk, who can go with you or you have huge dog. The last option is to shoot in Japan, because people are super okay with you taking photos and are too polite to come at you. That sadly doesn't apply to all of Asia, e.g. in Hong Kong you may run into trouble a lot esier because of their different mentality.
Yes, I get often approached (I hate the word 'confronted') as I photograph with unusual cameras like a Salyut (Russian Hasselblad😂), pinholecameras or a Graflex. Then I tell them with genuine enthusiasm about what I do and why, take the time to answer questions and the best part of all is always the nice conversation. Great video, great channel. Just discovered it. Couple of years ago was in Berlin, great city! Best wishes.
An ordinary person spends their life avoiding tense situations. A street photographer spends their life getting into tense situations.
Great timing for me! My photography teacher gave my class the recommendation of having our student ID out. I plan to have a lanyard around my neck when I go out now.
I have used these methods successfully. I'm glad you made this video so soon after the hand strap, because this advice needs to be used in conjunction with that. I assumed you were suggesting more aggressive style in that video.
I have been challenged just once in my time as a street photographer. The tip I like is the advice to not make eye contact; just look through your subject and most people will not notice you. In reality we all have our image captured hundreds of times a day on CCTV cameras, so what does it matter if a street photographer captures you on camera?
In the video, the speaker discusses the psychology behind confrontations in street photography and provides tips on how to avoid being confronted while taking photos. The main points covered are:
1. Personal distance zones: Understanding the personal distance zones of people can help street photographers avoid confrontations. By positioning themselves in a way that allows subjects to enter their personal space, photographers can take photos without appearing suspicious.
2. Pretending to take a video: Instead of pulling up the camera and taking a photo, photographers can pretend to take a video. This makes the act of taking photos more acceptable to people and reduces the likelihood of confrontations.
3. Categorizing yourself: The way people perceive you can influence whether they confront you or not. By adopting a role such as a tourist or a professional photographer, you can make yourself appear less suspicious and reduce the chances of being confronted.
4. Speaking the local language or dialect: If you can speak the local language or dialect, it can create a sense of closeness and make people more accepting of your presence as a street photographer.
By choosing a trustworthy "role" for your photo walks and understanding the psychology behind confrontations, you can minimize the chances of being confronted while taking street photos.
Vielen Dank! Great tips for street photography.
Thanks for the information. I think it will help me greatly as I haven't tried street photography yet, but just purchased a camera just for this .
Thanks! I've lived in Nürnberg for over 33 years (plus 4 years military) and my favorite trick is to act like a tourist and speak mostly English. I've still had people follow me and demand to know what I'm doing even though I never took their photos. But the waiting for them to enter my "space2 is a great idea. I also make a point of looking past what I'm actually photographing. I've even gone as far as to have "Business" cards made up fro when I want to approach people directly. And even if it's cheating, I sure do love my telephoto lens. 🙂 I also offer to send folks the photos if I get "Busted".
What's crazy is that I do quite a bit street shooting with my camera and that get's ignored almost 100% of the time. Thank you for the wonderful video.
Excellent advice! I never get approached because I already follow the advice you have given. It also helps that I'm old and look utterly harmless.
Thank you so much for your kind feedback mate, happy to read. For some folks here in Germany, really everybody with a camera is suspicious, no matter how you look...😁
You Scare Me :(
Is this why no Google Maps street view in Germany...? What are you guys tryin' to hide!?😅
Data protection is more important than anything else in Germany, even more important than progress. We Germans are particularly good at restricting other people's freedom, preferably with laws.
And then many Germans have a caretaker mentality of pointing out other people's misbehaviour and reprimanding them. The German expression is blockwart mentality.
A Blockwart was a man/role especially in the vanished GDR who was responsible for the cleanliness and tidiness of several blocks of flats and often overstepped his authority by interfering in residents' private affairs. A terrible character.
@@mick1967 That's very interesting but doesn't explain why German backpacker girls who come to New Zealand are crazy! 😉 I met 3 more out street photographing in Wellington last month: one was cycling around all of NZ by herself with all her possessions on her bike (including a big Fuji XT-2 kit), the other two were making it an early morning ritual to jump in our Harbour in the skimpiest of bikinis. Crazy cold water, but made a good photo ;) They didn't mind.
One trick i developed in a situation that I know the person is looking at me whilst taking the photo is, after taking the shot, to look to whatever is behind that person and recompose for a second shot. This way you look like you were shooting whatever was way further back and not the person.
That was interesting. Thanks. I especially liked the angry bear joke. :-).
Thank you Norman! I was not sure about these kind of jokes - thank you for your kind feedback!
Very interesting and fun video, you have a new subscriber. 👏👏👏👏👏👏
I love the technique of letting people come closer and if they stop, I just say, "Come on in, I've seen you."
I also like to show the photos I take to people and also offer to delete them if they don't like it, no one ever asked me to do that.
Great advice. Thank you.
Thank you for your kind feedback mate!
Excellent tips... i have used the "taking a video" ploy often... Servus!😊
I dont know about other parts of the world, but here in the UK we need very clear laws and guide lines. As for the worst senario of being physically confronted or attacked, only reasonable force is deemed acceptable in self dence. I am 176 cm tall and weight 72 Kg. What kind of reasonable force do I use against a crack- head of 190 cm tall and weighing 120 Kilos? Did you know that a pepper spray is classed as fire arms in the UK and its use even in self defence warrants the arrival of the special armed units of the police? Nuts.
street photography seems to be getting harder to do, I am elderly and small, and I wouldn't think I, be perceived as a threat, but still get confronted,doesent seem to matter if i use, a small point-and-shoot camera or DSLR IT STILL HAPPENS.
This is what is so sad about our day and age. People get mad if they think they were in your photograph, but there are so many ills and misjustices happening before our eyes in our societies and no one lifts an eye lid.@@grahamellis1897
That was a really useful advices for street photography📸 thanks a lot!
Thank you for your kind feedback!
Straatfotografie is soms een probleem, dat klopt. Als vlogger wandel ik veel tussen een mensenmassa. Soms krijg ik de vraag om te stoppen of vragen ze wie ik ben. Met een eerlijke uitleg lukt het wel om mensen gerust te stellen. De meeste problemen heb ik met andere culturen die er een probleem mee hebben. Maar goed, als het na een goed gesprek niet lukt dan wis ik meestal de foto of videobeeld en maak een andere als deze persoon uit beeld is. Maar weet dat wanneer je openbaar iemand fotografeert of op video vastlegt dat niemand een verhaal heeft dat hun privacy geschonden wordt. Wanneer iemand zich in de openbare ruimte bevind dan geeft hij of zij automatisch zijn privacy vrij. Wat je niet mag doen is meermaals dezelfde persoon in beeld brengen want dat is dan weer verboden tenzij deze persoon toelating geeft, maar dan is het een kwestie van vertrowuen. Best is altijd een toelating laten ondertekenen wat een woord is niet altijd een woord en kan achteraf toch problemen geven. Ik heb al enkele malen poitie gehad omdat iemand gebeld had, maar ook deze vonden het geen overtreding. Zo heb ik al een discussie gezien tussen een fotografievereniging en een marktkramer die niet wou dat zijn marktkraam en het personeel gefilmd werd. De discussie liep hoog op, tot de politie erbij kwam. Het verhaal was dat de fotografen foto's en video maakten op informatieve basis en als cursus. Ook hier gingen deze mensen vrijuit en mochten verder hun werk doen. Wat ik meestal wel doe is inderdaad een grote afstand houden en ver inzoomen, zodat niemand echt het idee heeft dat ze gefotografeerd worden. Dus doe gewoon wat je wil doen, maar heb altijd een luisterend oor als iemand vraagt waarom je het doet en voor wie of wat. Dat helpt echt. Als iemand dan nadien vraagt om een foto online te verwijderen, maak er dan geen probleem van, zo vermijd je problemen. Groeten van Eddy./ Street photography is sometimes a problem, that's true. As a vlogger, I often walk among crowds of people. Sometimes I get asked to stop or they ask who I am. An honest explanation can reassure people. I have the most problems with other cultures that have a problem with it. Anyway, if it doesn't work out after a good conversation, I usually delete the photo or video image and take another one when this person is out of the picture. But know that when you publicly photograph or videotape someone, no one has a recourse that their privacy is being violated. When someone is in a public space, he or she automatically gives up his or her privacy. What you are not allowed to do is portray the same person more than once because that is prohibited unless this person gives permission, but then it is a matter of trust. It is always best to have an authorization signed, which is not always a word and can still cause problems afterwards. I've had a police report several times because someone called, but they didn't think it was a violation either. For example, I have already seen a discussion between a photography association and a market vendor who did not want his market stall and its staff to be filmed. The discussion heated up until the police arrived. The story was that the photographers took photos and video on an informative basis and as a course. Here too, these people were released and allowed to continue doing their work. What I usually do is keep a great distance and zoom in far, so that no one really has the idea that they are being photographed. So just do what you want to do, but always have a listening ear when someone asks why you are doing it and for whom or what. That really helps. If someone later asks you to delete a photo online, don't make a problem of it, so you avoid problems. Greetings from Eddy
Thank you for very helpful the tips and tricks.
The easiest way I've found is to go out with 2 or 3 good natured friends so we're perceived as a group of photo students or a club. It gives wary people a chance to see us from a distance and thereby avoid us. For those who don't care, they provide our photo subjects. A good stress-free time is had by all.
All solid advice. I use most of the techniques above. Also having confident body language helps.
Thank you for your kind feedback Tadeas!
Sometimes there's an issue with being perceived as a professional photographer, as your subjects may tend to believe that you will be making money out of the photograph you took of them. Or that you may be using their image in ways that they do not approve of (most of the times commercially).
Obviously you can always explain that you actually cannot do that legally, because you would need their model release in order to use their image. But they may be hard to convince.
When I published my video about the Street Photography laws around the world, I mentioned that a common misconception is that someone's face counts as "personal data" within the GDPR regulations. Which is false, and it's actually clearly written in the GDPR itself. At least the face doesn't count as personal data by default (and can therefore appear in a candid photo legally), but only when it is actually used to retrieve someone's information.
Also people often confront you because they feel their privacy is invaded, and that is only true where a privacy law is in place (Spain, where I almost got arrested, Middle East, Germany, Japan... there are a few and with several differences), otherwise you are legally entitled to take someone's photo in a public space (in the UK for example it's all good, unless you shoot for commercial purposes).
Even when it's all perfectly legal, this doesn't necessarily mean that it's also ethical. Personally, I have set boundaries for myself and my main point is that would never allow a photo to ruin someone else's day: if they don't want their photo to be taken I just don't do it (and delete it if I have).
Great video. I never get approached because I use a small camera, a Sony RX100 vii. I think at first glance most people think of it as a smartphone. Nobody seems to care about smartphones in public. Sometimes I hold it like an iPhone, away from my face when I am shooting.
Thank you for these recommendations and insights. I am old, tall, and I am usually not at all in a hurry, preferring to take the time to observe what is going on around me. It is impossible for me to camouflage myself.
My only experience being confronted was in Berlin in February 2020, in Alexanderplatz. I photographed a dog. The owner took offence and insisted that I go with her to a police station, which we did. What the police told us was that while I could take the photo, and did not need permission, I could not use it for social media unless I got permission. In the four weeks I stayed in Berlin, taking hundreds of pictures, this was the only confrontation that I had so I believe that generally, confrontation is not that common.
Great video. Very entertaining. Thank you very much.
RS. Canada
Thank you a lot for your positive feedback mate, so happy to read!
This is good advice Oliver. Applies perfectly here in New Zealand. I mostly take on the Aussie 'dumb tourist' role (complete with NRL rugby hat) & keep 100% focused/busy on the building's etc. behind the subject until I sense an upset person has gone. Never really had a problem, although bad looks sometimes show up later when reviewing images! Occasionally I mimic a video tourist like you said - or even have my Ricoh GRiii on a neck strap hands free on interval (1 fps) shooting with a fast SS & practiced aiming. The tiny shutter is hard to see moving. The wide 28mm lens also helps get subjects filling up an edge of frame. How often (like all street photographers?) I've wished to be invisible haha 😅 Thanks
First) Focus manually where the subjects will be. Second) Appear to be in the process of attempting to capture an image that is just above the subjects. Third) When subjects enters the focal plane recompose and capture the shot. Forth) Don’t let the rude subject deter you.
It’s there problem …not yours.
I'm shooting street at 14mm on m4/3 and have found that people never think I'm taking their photo unless I point straight at them. At 14mm you can easily wait until a person, just off centre, has completed a composition you are aiming for and press the shutter in that moment. I wrap the 'move' up by taking the camera down from my eye and staring intently straight where I was pointing the camera. Never ever been confronted. BUT stay disciplined, and never give the game away by quickly/instinctively glancing at the face of the person as they pass to check for signs of suspicion. If I do, on a rare occasion, have to shoot straight at someone who is clearly looking at me, immediately after the shot, I move my gaze to about 90 degrees from them, raise my camera and look intently through the viewfinder for a few seconds as though I've moved on to another shot. If someone thinks they've been singled out it will make them much more self conscious and concerned than if they think they are just another random/indiscriminate subject among many that you're snapping away at. Cheers
I take extra care of my clothing, always dress well when I’m out for street photography. This seems to make me less “threatening”, more likeable, at least here in Athens Greece. And having my wife or daughter with me seems to help a lot.
These are great tips, especially with the clothes! To have your family with you is also cool ( if they're not too tired of always waiting for Dad🤪😀) Cheers, thank you for your feedback!
@@streetphotographyguy Gave my daughter my old Nikon with a 35mm 1.8, she can follow me for hours. Only problem, sometimes she ends up with better shots than I do.
I'm American, live and work in the Ruhrgebiet. I also speak fluent German. My best excuse is: ich kann not sehr gut Deutsch speak. Ich bin außengeländer 😂 I'm a tourist 😂😂😂😂.
Weiter so! Sehr informativ! Glück Auf!
Good tips, these situations I’ve encountered many times and strategies I’ve used with some success. Preventing confrontation is one reason why I no longer use a 28mm lens for street. For me i ditched 28mm so now 40mm is minimal focal distance, and on a non threatening looking camera like my GR3x. Oh, a smile and an apology also go a long way.
This’s a very informative video! I just ‘liked’ and subscribed your channel. 🎉
Thank you a lot mate, happy to read!
Loved the Bavarian accent, haha. I understand Bayerisch but that was... unintelligible, haha.
Great tips all around. I usually play "the Tourist" and use a long lens. But sometimes you wanna get close...
Paris has a slew of people searching for street photographers to tell them, they're offended and then demand money.
Really? Oh my! I was a few months ago in Paris and yes, it felt a bit tense towards photographers...
@@streetphotographyguy One guy walked from behind me to stand in front and said if I took his picture I would have to pay him.
Very cool video !
Thank you a lot mate
I get afraid to do street photography because I don't like confrontation
In 99% of the time no one will care...i, doing Street Photography for many years, get approached every 6 months or so, but mostly in a curious, not an aggressive way...
danke!
Good video! I don't do street photography much anymore because of the confrontations. Probably the biggest one I've had was in Paris. In a square with local artists painting portraits for the tourists I took a picture of one of the artists from about 15 meters away. His wife spotted me came up and yelled, "We are not animals in a zoo!" ????
That´s a strange incidence, especially as you were that far away...but Parisians tend to be a little rude from time to time from what I´ve told...
Surprised me, too. I made a special point to stay back and not disturb him. Before I knew it she was in my face. If your husband is a french painter in a square you would think she be used to tourists and photographers. That's how they make a living. @@streetphotographyguy
Cool hat thing.
1. Don't be a creep.
2. Dress like you would for any social event.
3. Have a small photo book or your social media account on your mobile phone if anyone ask.
4. Stand your ground against the rude Karens.
5. Be polite and smile to the normal people.
Just my experience.
I often make eye contact when lost deep in thought, so people have often misread me and I attract attention when I am out taking photos in populated places. I don't even take identifiable photos of people on the street without their consent. For better or worse, people don't understand focal lengths and have assumed I was pointing a camera at them when I wasn't. I have lots of stories of being confronted.
I lived in Brooklyn and I photograph buildings, gas stations, flowers, skylines, etc, and maybe people from far enough away that they can't be identified. In certain parts of New York City, I'll walk a block taking photos and get approached 3 times by people who want to know why I'm taking photos, some thought I was going to buy a building or something...I think maybe crime in the area didn't want attention. Deeper into the area, people walk by saying "Cop. Cop. Cop.", as if I were undercover, other people thought I was from the government (conspiracy theories).
In Manhattan, I was photographing a car that promoted a local business, some people who were in a minivan that was passing by just after I was taking the photos, rolled down their window and a young woman was angry asking if I took her photo. She was with two men and I said no and showed them the photos of the promotional car that I was photographing before they rolled by....but I always wanted to tell her she sounded insane and I didn't like how she treated me, demanding to see photos, etc. I shouldn't have paid any attention to them, though. The occasional unhinged person thinks I am taking photos of them.
I have to stop making eye contact, but I am so curious about trying to read every single human being. I have had friends who were much better at talking random strangers into portraits. I'd love to be able to do that.
It's not always easy. Here in the UK we also have a developing privacy law to contend with, developing via case law and its impossible to know how that will pan out 5 or 10 years from now.. Photographers hold copyright to their images but it can also be difficult to get images on certain commercial sites if people are recognisable unless you have a model release. If you include people in the scene it can be useful to shoot them so they can't be recognised so these issues don't arise.
❤
Thank you for the advice. Doing photography for almost 20 years, just a few discussions with people, but no big deal. But recently, I bought a video camera, went for a walk in my city for filming the night lights of a show, and almost been agressed by a guy telling me I was following people and filming them. He seemed to be mad, I told him I just did a view of the lights, even showed my video, but he didn't want to believe me. I invited him to call the police, he was also aggressive with the police operator on the phone... Sometimes you cannot do anything, there are mad people... Finally I could go away. At home I saw he was definitively not in the images (you never know on a small screen). Sometimes, people need to be agressive for no reason, specially in big cities. Would you tell that people are more agressie to photography after the pandemics? I'm asking myself, after this bad experience...
Hi Laurent, you are definitely right, since the pandemic the mood in the cities, like here in Germany, changed, to the worse. Although i can't say this about some places in Italy for example, so i think it depends...thanks for your story!
My Hero Vivian Maier !!!!!!!!!!!!!!!!!!!!!!!!!!!!!!!!!!!!!!!!!
I'm not afraid of conflict yet also don't want to bother anyone or leave them feeling exposed (pun intended!). So I'm pretty polite and careful.
I've still been punched in the back of my head by a child (just because I was photographing their dozens of horse-and-carts in a city high street) and have been threatened with having my camera smashed when I was just taking polite street shots in fashion/trends hotspot Brick Lane etc.
One thing I do that helps is shoot in RAW+JPEG and have my camera set to display my JPEGS with exciting film simulations/settings - generally very bold black and white. If someone wants to see what's on my camera, showing them those dramatic shots often impresses them enough to reassure them that it wasn't simply a weird voyeuristic/intrusive photo. Then when I get home I can edit something more subtle from the RAW file. I actually quite like the good 40meg resolution on my X-T5 as I can take wider photos that make it less obvious who might be the main subject in my eventual crop.
I usually don't go out with the intention of photographing strangers, though sometimes like in more crowded spaces it is unavoidable but then you don't stand out as much in crowds. I avoid pointing my camera at people if I can help it, and try to take my photos where people aren't present to watch me do it.
Coward
I am Belgian and do landscape photography. The only time I tried street photography, I took all my equipment and my tripod and I photographed people without embarrassment. The only confrontation I had was a pretty young woman asking me what I was doing, I asked her if I was bothering her, she said no, but turned around anyway. Watching your video, I wonder if it wasn't one of those people confronting the Rues photographers. I will never know if she was interested or embarrassed by me.
I know these situation where you don't know what's the other person up to - if shes just curious or worried. I tend to show them my photo then and most times the reaction reveals what it is about...thank you for your feedback mate! Cheers to Belgium
@@streetphotographyguy Ever have You had someone try to swat the (expensive or not camera) out of your hands.. Or demand that you delete the photograph and you did, and then chase you threatening to kill you?? S### Happens !! I still do street :) :) :)
I am a shy type, and very self-conscious about street photography of, uh, people. But, I am a grey-hair, clean, respectful of other’s personal space, so unlikely to be intimidating. I know how to be a tourist, and am frequently mistaken for a “pro.” So, with your tips,
and insights, my greatest impediment is myself. Thank you.
Great video! I'm a 'merican living in D'land and i can relate! I did have to explain (schlectes Deutsche!) to a rude gentleman that i have actually read the damn laws and that public hobby photos are legal in Germany so long as they don't reflect negatively on a person's reputation. He was grumbling that i was wrong until i pointed out that he was about to miss his train. 😅
There was a case where someone posted a picture of a woman with a sex shop in the background and she successfully took action. Subbed!
Yes, and there was the Espen Eichhöfer case in Berlin. But he was sued and convicted mainly because a photo of a lady who was not happy to be photographed was used as an advertisement for an art exhibition. If her photo would only have been in the exhibition itself it would have been legal was the verdict. So, it' s complicated here😬😀 Thank you so much mate!
I have been doing street for nearly 50yrs (and still do).... There is no "always gonna work secret" !!!! It just takes "A Brazen Devil May Care Attitude"... And "Be Ready for Anything" ,, From "A quick mouth(some Nice BS or Attack Attitude, OR RUN AWAY" !!!!!!!!!!!!!! :) :) :)
Smile and give the thumbs up sign is my get out of jail card.
Sometimes, people love me. I get a certain hand gesture at times. 😆 I rarely get approached, I am a big guy. If it does happen, people ask, I answer truthfully. Other times, I pretend I am looking beyond them at something while taking a photo. At times, people will actually ask me to take a photo of them. That actually surprise me, and they will pose. But mostly my size and body language, I don't run into much of a hassle. Plus, it helps to be in a photo group while doing street photography. Also, smile, appear friendly. Just my thoughts on it. And my actions I do. I really laugh at my first statement (hand gesture) when it happens. Usually, the homeless do that one.
Hallo Oliver! Noch ein Trick: trag außen im Sommer (oder indoor beim Aufnehmen eines Videos) so eine knuffig-nerdige Mütze! Dann nimmt dich keiner ernst und es gibt keinen Ärger! ;-)).
Da du ja auch in München lebst: Bei einem Bierchen bring ich dir gerne RICHTIGEN bairischen Dialekt bei. Erster Blick auf dein "Shadows"-Buch sieht sehr gut aus! Kann man das privat erwerben?
Die Touri-Nummer klappt bei mir auch, dazu schwöre ich bei street / beach photography auch auf ein gutes Telezoom. Hab so in 17/18/19 in Barcelona schöne Ergebnisse erzielt - ohne jeden Stress! Entfernung zum Objekt manchmal 20-30 Meter. Selbst wenn dich jemand bemerkt, hast du eben "eine Totale" des Platzes z.B. geschossen.
I'm very big and rather intimidating so I get little to no attention. I work in inter cities. I prefer texture, light, and movement. I use the focus trap technique. I prefer a 200mm lens or a 20mm
No not often. Cause mostly they see me as the lunatic with a camera.
Hi Oliver, sehr gute Tipps - gibts Deine Videos auch auf bayerisch - das versteh i besser ;-) ich hab auch noch einen Tipp für moderne Kameras - Kamera um den Hals und mit dem Smartphone auslösen - dann fällst Du gar nicht auf - und dann spielt auch noch die Kamera eine Rolle mit meiner alten Rolleiflex Mittelformat - werde ich sogar des öfteren gebeten mal ein Photo zu machen - s.G. vom Woife
Servus Woife, wenn bayrische Untertitel reichen, werd ich mal schauen ob das bei TH-cam geht ;-)! Ja, das mit dem Smartphone auslösen ist eine famose Sache, mach ich auch ab und an gern, grad in der U-Bahn oder in engeren Situationen...Viele Grüße aus dem Süden Münchens!
These are good words. I have had people charge at me as if to attack me, but I stood my ground and they backed off. The comments below about festivals are correct. People are more relaxed and don't mind being photographed as much. Such as here in Corpus Christi, Texas, the big music festival people are quite relaxed. I would like to return to New Orleans, Louisiana, for Mardi Gras, (this year, 13 Feb), but will wait until next year. However, there is a problem. NOLA is very dangerous now and you could be attacked by a street gang and have all your equipment stolen. There will be no police or what ever to help you. So, there are limits as to what you should do.
I use Olympus EM53 with 7.5mm f2.8 lens.. shoot on silent.. never get seen.. I use hand moves and diversionary tactics.. even works OK in Marrakech, Turkey and further...🙏
Fantastic, that´s a good combo! 7.5 means you are getting really close!
The intimate distance can also be much greater:
during a shoot on the long escalator (42 meters!) in My Zeil in Frankfurt (the photography was about the architecture and the escalator), I then took it up to the fourth floor . There I was greeted by an upset person who must have seen me 42 meters further down and immediately wanted to see my pictures and whether he could be seen in them...he definitely didn't want to be seen in any pictures.
OK, since he wasn't alone I opened the preview and browsed through the pictures with him. Nothing but nothing could be seen there except the escalator.
Butt...then I said: Wait, there you are, these 3 pixels should be you here... do you recognize yourself? He looked at me and then ...finally...had to laugh.
Yesterday I had my first confrontation. I answered that I was taking a picture of the landscape behind him. He said "ok", but he didn't look very convinced. Hopefully I passed for a tourist, given that I have an accent (even though I live in the area for 5 years now).
I find nice steups with the architecture and lighting. Then I just wait. usually a minute or two for the subject to walk through my shot. Click. Got it. Works everytime. And no confrontations.
Perfect! That's a great approach i also love to do.
Here in Dallas, the problem is people stop you and ask you to take their picture quite a lot. But it is also dependent on which camera I use. The X-T2/35 1.4? No one cares. The R6/24-70, that angers people. (I sold the R6 because of this) The EOS R with 35 1.8 or Zeiss 50 1.4 ? (ah, German lens!) I have so many pictures of random people who asked me to take their picture. So now X-T2 if I don't feel like talking to people, and EOS R if I do.
“Hay, did you take my picture?” Had that question asked two weeks ago. I was 100’ away with a long lens. There was a group of four talking at a McDonalds. One guy looked at me and came toward me asking the question.
I normally just walk away. This time I started walking toward him. At this point I was saved. A light rail worker came upon us and he told the young man that in public I have the right to photograph him without his permission. A verbal argument ensued. The argument was between my subject and the light rail worker. I promptly awayed.
Normally when I am caught taking a picture I talk with my subject. I offer to show them the image. I offer to send them the image. I never offer to delete the image but will upon request as long as they don’t threaten me. My best strategy is not to be observed. The 2nd best strategy is just walk away. Why I headed toward my subject is inexplicable.
Being caught in the act, or worse, caught while preparing to take the picture is suboptimal. I try to be like HCB and be invisible. This works most of the time. The other thing HCB did is move on after the photograph. If it was good enough for HCB it is good enough for me. I’ve done the Winogrand thing with good effect. I’ll try the video ploy in my repertoire
Mask On Nurse Marty (Ret)
I thought it was illegal to use someone's image without their permission
I can’t relate-I’ve never been confronted when out and about doing street photography-but the video is interesting.
Thank you a lot! Yes, it really depends on the approach...you need to teach us all here , i also still have problems with it😊
I was once photographing a ROAD when an angry motorist swerved to a stop in his car and asked, why have you photographed my CAR !.
Oh my 🙄 But i know this very well, here in Germany people also seem to care about their cars. As i love to do reflection shots through car windows i also had some discussions here...😬
well if you look at photographers like breson or mayer , is all about the camera you use , when using a tlr you can just have the camera hanging on you neck frame and take photo and nobody will notice it , or with a laica type if you set it a f11 , and set the focus at 2-3m you don t iven need to look throw the viewfinder , and throws camera have wery quite sulter , if you raze up a big dslr with 70 200 ,and take 20shots , people will notice and some will be piss off ,
Is it ok to take pictures of people without permission (especially in Europe)? Also won't posting these on social media get you in trouble?
It depends, the legal situation is quite tricky and differs from country to country...here in Germany it´s like this: When it's perceived as art and you are not making any money out of it and not harassing people then you might get away with it in front of a judge...
🙂 6:16 Das war so witzig.
I've never quite understood the legality vs morality of street photography. It's not illegal to take photos in public (at least it isn't in the U.K.), but does that mean you can take a photo of anyone and then sell their image for commercial gain, or show that person in a gallery? What about image rights, or the rights of someone to refuse to be used in your work?
5:04 you look hella crazy in this shot hahahaha
You're right😁🫣🤪
I tell people that I just bought a used camera and am trying it out. That usually gets people curious about the camera and leads to a conversation. Problem averted
That's a fantastic advice! Thank you for sharing mate! This way a lot of troubles can be avoided
ich fotografiere seit beinahe 40 Jahren street ( nicht hauptsächlich und mit Unterbrechungen), und Deutsche und Österreicher zb. sind einfach Meckerer und Leute die sich gerne aufregen, egal wie nah oder weit weg man ist. ;) der Schrei nach persönlichem Recht ist eben in aller Munde, auch wenn das Hirn über dem Mund nicht das hellste ist. Ich mache oft folgendes , wenn ich street machen will. 1) ich ändere die Kamera - ich fotografiere mit einer Yashica mat 124g oder Mamiya c220, die Menschen sehen diese Kameras mit ganz anderen Augen und mich auch wenn ich so von oben auf die Kamera schaue, und Geschwindigkeit wird überbewertet 2) wenn mich jemand zb. in Österreich unfreundlich anredet, antworte ich meist in französisch oder italienisch und gucke freundlich lächelnd, beinahe alle lassen mich dann in Ruhe.. 🙂 LG BM
Wunderbare Tips! Ja, in einer Fremdsprache kommt man auch recht oft raus aus unangenehmen Situationen...danke dir fürs Teilen!
Den Spruch mit dem Hirn merk ich mir. 😂😂
let's add a big metz flash to spice it up 😂
How to hold a camera for the first time on the street? How Garry Winogrand used to do? 5:14
Hi Silvester! Winogrand used to play the "confused professor", he did as he would see his camera for the first time...
@@streetphotographyguy ‘Confused professor’?! I guess I know what you mean. Would you be a little more specific? This’s actually quite important to me.
@@streetphotographyguy Thank you, Oliver 🥳🥳
th-cam.com/video/FJgJtmnt_HI/w-d-xo.html
i never encounter this kind of people (yet), but i do met much more annoying kind of people; they allowed me to photograph them and then suddenly ask me to delete the photos right after i finished, like what the hell?!
i’m good with people saying no, but when that happens, i lost a bit of my faith towards humanity. i just don’t understand their logic tbh even after i showed them my portfolio.
*JUST SAY NO IN THE FIRST PLACE, YE IGNORAMUS!*
If you are using a phone people tend to ignore you.
Also don't wear a red hat with full black suite guys it will help, joke aside great video on human psychology, great for non photographers as well
Thank you a lot for your positive feedback mate😊🙏🙌🙌🙌
@@streetphotographyguy Youre welcome this is valuable content you deserve it !
The facial expression and body language of the Photographer is very important i think.Awkward and less confident body language is big negative.
I have not found a good way for me to learn Sächsisch oder Badish z.B. I'll have to play the tourist!
These are pretty hard to learn i guess😁 Confused tourist works most of the time pretty good...☺️
Those are either the ignorant people or the ones who have dramas in their lives. I simply tell them they are not a bit interesting, why would I take their photo?
So. What I wonder is: is it good to wear a bright red beanie hat? Or is that suspicious? :)
Well, I am 2 meters tall, so anything I´ll do evokes attention in some way..but maybe you are right ;-)
@@streetphotographyguy ha ha ha - I can see it in front of me. A 2 meter tall guy with a bright read beanie and a red clown nose and super big shoes. Trying to look unsuspicious! Good luck! I mean - what camera is used is totally irrelevant.
Once I was out walking with my DSLR camera. I had no lens cap on to be able be prepared. I did not take any images and the camera was just hanging on my chest. Then a lady came forward to me saying. Stop taking photos of me. This is illegal, you know. Oops, what a surprise. She did not believe me when I said I was not taking any photos. Maybe she thought the camera was filming. She would probably not believe me if I told her it was not illegal either.
It´s invasion of privacy . Given the photographer is making his own profit using unknowned models in the street, it is more than fair people just complain and refuse. I would. Besides this, it is illegal and people have the right to sue you.
I never understood why people could be so concern because of a man with a camera but not so concern with people carrying guns and mass shooting or even want to pet WILD animals!!!
So true! And there are CCTVs everywhere and nobody cares...
I can’t explain my behavior. I don’t try to explain other people’s behavior.
Mask On Nurse Marty (Ret)
Not too many have successfully confronted Dougie Wallace. Just saying.
So true😁 His approach is..special😁
Or become a middle-aged woman. We are invisible. It's great.
In Germany very simple there is a right on the own picture, making a picture of someone WITHOUT the permission IN ADVANCE is illegal in most cases. Very simple if the person is the motive you are in problems, if the the person accidentally walks into your motive or the person is part of a large crowd it will be o.k.
99,99% of the so-called "Streetphotographers" can't claim any artistic content, or the often claimed Panoramafreiheit.
Of course you can make streetphotography, but take into account you are on a very thin edge, best is at least to ask afterwards for permission, AND ALWAYS BEING CONTENT TO ERASE even perfect pictures if someone don't want to be taken on photography.
At 48 MP 24mm, my iphone is my fixed lens street camera. Nobody cares.
Sounds good! The image quality of most phones today is fabulous.
Easy. 70-200🤣
Great ;-) Safe distance
Not a fan of the AI thumbnails
Me too, but the problem is that I could not take a real photo of a real person who is/was offended by me photographing him/her, because of legal reasons...
This is one nice echochamber... i take a lot of photo's too but i wouldn't get it in my head to take a photo of someone with recognisable face without asking. Let alone post it online without consent. It is very RUDE, utterly UNprofessional and seriously NOT DONE. And you should not either. Secondly, in my own opinion, i think that 99% of street photography pictures are a copy of the next hipster instagrammer and it is uterly pointless. Same for landscape photography.