Photography Question About Asking Strangers To Take Pictures

Do street photographers ask for permission before taking a picture?

Depends what kind of street photography, documentary street photographers don't as they're documenting life and the world around us, kind of like news photographers. Fashion bloggers and the like usually do. If you want to take someones photo for fashion blogging or the like just go up to the person introduce yourself and tell them why you want to photograph them and what the photos is for and 90% of the time they'll agree, it's very rare for someone to say no. The you can pose them and get them to stand in a place where the light is nice. As Gregory said you and only use the photo for editorial purposes and not commercial purposes.

As a street photographer, what is your philosophy on taking pictures of people in difficult situations?

As a street photographer, I tend not to take pictures of people in difficult situations. There was a trend for photography of the homeless for a while, and it was said to be about “making people confront” the issue. I think it's easier to ignore a photo than a human being. I think some of that stuff was about virtue signalling on the part of the photographer “Oh, look how engaged and aware I am being” by capturing someone's distress and humiliation for posterity rather than just buying the poor guy a coffee or something. It's a cliché, and it's not helpful.But maybe I'm cynical.Street photography for me is about the tiny moments in people's lives, the thoughts and conversations they are having at that exact instant, written on their faces, in their posture and their body language. Moments that are otherwise lost, as someone said, like tears in rain. And every one of us is having thousands of those fascinating, unique moments every day. Some of those moments are ones we'd prefer to forget, and while we should not try to whitewash our view of the world, those are not the moments I enjoy sharing on behalf of a stranger.

I want to practice street photography. Should I ask permission to take the photo from everyone who is in the frame? What about when it's one or two strangers?

I run up against these type of questions quite a bit since a lot of what I do is street photography. Here are the conclusions I’ve come to. Hopefully, they help you out too.It is legal to photograph anyone on public property, period. Otherwise, tourists wouldn’t be able to get very good vacation pictures, would they?So, if you’re on a public street, you can legally photograph anyone without asking permission. But, if you’re in a restaurant or mall, for example, you would need to obtain permission since they are privately owned places.Of course, just because it’s legal doesn’t mean it’s ethical. I struggle with this more in some situations than I do in others. So, I’ve kind of just developed my own personal rules for certain scenarios.For example, I try to ask permission, even in public places, when it comes to photographing children (in which case, I’ll ask a parent); someone who is homeless or begging, or someone who is clearly a working prostitute. I also ask permission of anyone of whom I’m taking a close-up portrait.Like this, for example:Photo taken by Brianna Langley, owned by TEAM.I do not ask permission if I’m just taking a generic street shot, especially if there are multiple people in the frame. Here’s an example of that type of photo:Photo taken by Brianna Langley, owned by TEAM.I also do not ask permission if the subject’s distinguishing features are somehow obscured, like this:Photo taken by Brianna Langley, owned by TEAM.So, there you have it. You now know what’s within your legal rights, as well as my own personal guidelines.I hope this helps!

I’m a street photographer, is taking pictures of strangers considered stalking?

It can be and for that very same reason you should think with lots of empathy and consider how you would feel if you were in the position of your subject. I do not condone the use of telephoto lenses as that really is stalking. I always use a wide angle lens as I am shooting a Landscape in a City. One cannot shove a Camera in some random strangers face and think that they will be happy about it but using a wider angle from maybe several metres away and getting a better overall view of the street and no-body minds a bit. Quit focussing on the “Titties” as that really is being even worse than stalking and that is being a pervert.I personally use an Olympus OM-D with a 25 mm prime lens and that lens and camera is small and does not attract attention or brand me as a pervert because I have some big long Paparazzi style lens. One other thing is that you are not a street photographer as such or you would not ask these questions. Sorry.

Is it annoying to ask strangers to take my picture?

It can be.Or it can be a pleasure.It depends mainly on two things:How You AskHow Easy for ThemThe more you make them work, the more annoying it will be.I actually suggest people decline taking picture of people who can’t ask nicely or who make them work too much being inconsiderate of other people’s time.If you’re interested in reading more: https://thepowermoves.com/take-m...

How can I ask a stranger to take a photo of me while traveling?

You can be assured that while you are traveling, you will be most probably be surrounded be folks just like you.This reminds me of an incident. We went sightseeing around Duluth on Lake Superior in the USA last year. We were a group of 9 people and it was a rare time when all of us would be together. So of course it was time to take a family picture.There were not so many people around us but my brother approached (I do not know why, but a little apprehensively) a group of senior citizens if one of them could please take a picture of us.The group was more than happy to help us. They even made a few suggestions to position ourselves for a better picture.So there you go, if you are traveling and want a picture, just walk up to someone, smile, say hello and ask if he/she could take a picture of you. Please do not forget to say hello. Please do not interrupt if they are doing something. Please wait for them to finish or find someone who is just sightseeing like you are. I assure you there will be plenty and most of them, will be just to happy to help you.Cheers and happy travels!

Is it a good idea to ask strangers to take our family photograph in front of the Eiffel tower?

The chances that the “stranger” runs away with your camera are too big!No, it is NOT a good idea to ask strangers to take your family photograph in front of the Eiffel tower.In addition, you will not have a nice view of the whole tower if such stranger and your family are too close to the tower unless the stranger lays down on the ground at your feet to take the picture.IMHO!