Street Photography - Ever been confronted?

KIPAX said:
But they dont issue them for use in this country.. which i didnt know before but explains why i havent seen anyone recognise them here ...... now you can move on son....
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To be honest, I have never seen a European one either, only the UK one.
 
Blank_Canvas said:
To be honest, I have never seen a European one either, only the UK one.
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I ahve had the UK one for quite a few years now.. i cant even remeber my password so had it if anyone asks.. i think its my third and they last 2 yrs... it hardly ever sees the light of day.. never much call to use it...
 
KIPAX said:
Its impossible to get a fake UK press pass. (whish is ironic as they look like a 7 yr old has made them) ...I ahvent heard of any organisation in the UK that recognize the pass your reffering to either...
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It was a long time ago i was just going on the advice given to me,i doubt the pass would have been recognize in the UK,but the Thai told me i needed if i wanted to go up to the border with Burma,as they when in Rome :)
 
The only time I have beeen "challenged" when taking a photo was of a girl holding a tiny dog - she did not get "agressive" and was fairly polite, but said I should have asked first. She said she would be grateful if I could delete it, and I would have done but I was using my FM2 film camera so explained it was an old film camera with no "delete" button. I tried to explain to her what street photography was and the fact that it needed to be "candid" and that asking can spoil the mood which is why I never ask, but she did not seem to "buy" the argument even though I explained that she should look on the internet to see what street photography is all about.

 
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Went shooting in a small group at the weekend,

After I took a photo of a couple, the girl had to restrain her boyfriend from confronting me - a fellow photographer took a snap of this.

But the best one of the day..

Sitting on a curb having a rest, the person who I was with took a photo of a woman's dog - she wasn't happy - it escalated like this...

"You can't do that"
"You should have asked permission"
"Someone might recognise the dog"
"My ex-partner might try to kill me"
"You are arrogant and all your relationships are doomed to fail"

She then pointed her mobile phone at the four of us as we walked past 5 minutes later.
 
dancook said:
Went shooting in a small group at the weekend,

After I took a photo of a couple, the girl had to restrain her boyfriend from confronting me - a fellow photographer took a snap of this.

But the best one of the day..

Sitting on a curb having a rest, the person who I was with took a photo of a woman's dog - she wasn't happy - it escalated like this...

"You can't do that"
"You should have asked permission"
"Someone might recognise the dog"
"My ex-partner might try to kill me"
"You are arrogant and all your relationships are doomed to fail"

She then pointed her mobile phone at the four of us as we walked past 5 minutes later.
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One of those days Dan,had a couple myself like that i find it theses days just part of street photographer,i think its always been that way :D
 
Many years ago on a seafront a photographer went to plonk his little monkey on my daughter so he could sell me a photo.

She was looking frightened so I asked him politely if the Iittle f****r could swim, monkey was swiftly taken away
 
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tijuana taxi said:
Many years ago on a seafront a photographer went to plonk his little monkey on my daughter so he could sell me a photo.

She was looking frightened so I asked him politely if the Iittle f****e could swim, monkey was swiftly taken away
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I was more shocked than necessary..but still..
 
tijuana taxi said:
Many years ago on a seafront a photographer went to plonk his little monkey on my daughter so he could sell me a photo.

She was looking frightened so I asked him politely if the Iittle f****e could swim, monkey was swiftly taken away
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But that was just part of going to the seaside :)
 
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That monkey would of been a flying monkey if they tried to put him on me.

I use a 70-200 and have no problems with people. Most don't even know they are getting their picture taken and that gives a nice candid look. I tried a 50mm but putting a camera in peoples faces tended to make them uncomfortable and lost the candid element. Also I have a lot more time to compose and make sure everything is right using a longer zoom. Of course to each is own and what ever works for you is the correct way. (For you)...
 
A bloke once said to me "how would you like if if I took a photo of you" and got his iPhone out. I replied crack on mate, we are in a public place..... Most of the time I will just smile and defuse the situation. Street photography isn't for the shy or sensitive. You have to be prepared to stand your ground. You've done some great images over the last few months Dan, it was only a matter of time before you were confronted. Don't let this put you off.
 
LewisHall said:
I'm exactly the same. I see a shot I would like to take but am to busy worrying if the person will care. By the time I've done thinking about it it's to late to take it. I went down to Southend shakedown on Monday and there were loads of biker gangs etc and one bloke was huge (tall and wide), smothered in tattoos and had his patch on and thought it would have been a good shot as he was talking to a tiny guy, but as i got closer he looked like he wouldn't think twice about killing me if I was up in his face taking a picture of him LOL but I regretted it after went back to try again and he was gone :( so from now on I think I'll just have to take the risk haha! :D
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i have and still go to lots of bike meets as well as car meets/shows i have had a few bike lads duck there head down or put there hand over there face orpull a mask up over there face that is a big no no at taking there photo but most dont mind at all


IMG_9022 by hoochy1, on Flickr




IMG_9024 by hoochy1, on Flickr
 
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My take on street photography is this. Ive done a lot of street photography either with a 50mm or 35mm. Never had anyone actually come over and complain but did once have a guy who I wasnt even photographing stare at me the whole time giving me an angry look lol Thankfully by that time I was well used to shooting on the streets so instead of being intimidated I took his picture, angry pose an all lol I tend to shoot candid but If I see someone that I cant get a decent shot of I go over and talk to them and try instead to get a street portrait. At first I asked a lot of people and got a few people say yes but mainly no. After a while I started to look at people and kind of work out who I thought would be relaxed with the idea of getting photographed. People who are just out for the day, not in a big rush and appear to be in a good mood are easy to to go over and talk to. I know a lot of street photographers dont like people posing but I honestly dont care. Its more about the enjoyment to me and you can get loads of candid shots.
If someone was nervous of street stuff Id say go out with a friend, try and relax, sit down at a cafe and grab a coffee, be out going and happy and interact with people. If you look nervous and your shyly trying to grab shots of people your gonna look dodgy. Small cameras are much better to use than big ones because they dont intimidate people and just try and have fun.
The turning point for me was I was shooting from the hip because I was nervous. One day I was out and I started photographing the pigeons, they were flying around I was trying to get a shot of them all about to land. Once I finished I looked at the pictures and saw loads of people in the shots walking in and out, because I wasnt focused on them I didnt pay attention. It was a wake up call that showed me that people weren't my problem the issue was mine and it showed I actually could do it. Simple thing but it totally changed my attitude towards shooting street.
 
I've had a couple of people take photo's of my kids in the local park which I don't mind admitting I've taken exception to (they were 2 or 3 years old at the time). One was a woman who point blank denied she'd done so even though I'd seen her following us...which made me even more annoyed....I'll admit that when it comes to my kids I can get very alpha male very quickly.

Had people take literally hundreds a of pictures of the hound.
 
Beardy said:
I've had a couple of people take photo's of my kids in the local park which I don't mind admitting I've taken exception to (they were 2 or 3 years old at the time). One was a woman who point blank denied she'd done so even though I'd seen her following us...which made me even more annoyed....I'll admit that when it comes to my kids I can get very alpha male very quickly.

Had people take literally hundreds a of pictures of the hound.
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I think Ive only taken 2 pictures of kids because people are understandable very defensive. Its a shame because their so much more expressive than adults but you dont want to be taken in the wrong way so its just not worth it. Here is one of them and I actually quite like it which is rare for me.

 
I've never really worried about walking the streets shooting, but I have just complete a homework assignment Photograph a stranger/s and get permission. Out of the 20 people I approached only 2 said no. To be honest though, I was more nervous asking than not, but generally found most were happy.
 
shaylou said:
I always shy away from shooting kids without the parent blessing. There is a certain creep factor here in the states that one has to be careful not to cross in my opinion.
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I know what you mean, I am overly cautious where kids are involved - but these two scenes were quite chaotic and I didn't feel bad for taking them.

Mini Photoshoot by dancook1982, on Flickr

Chasing Bubbles by dancook1982, on Flickr
 
If we try to create a world where we protect children from everything,because we see everything as a threat we will have a world of necrotic parent and children who grow up not being able to cope with anything :(

Plus as much as the press would like to make out,the figure still show that most abuse to children still come from within :(
 
Blank_Canvas said:
The NUJ not only recognise them, they issue them:- http://www.nuj.org.uk/join/presscards/ and moving on.........
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Won't do a thing to stop people confronting you though, as you can hardly show them before you take the shot. Plus, if they think you're press they'll probably react even more negatively when you are confronted as they'll be convinced you were going to splash their image in the newspaper without them knowing.


Ditch the big gear... use a small compact, and just get on with it.
 
Pookeyhead said:
Won't do a thing to stop people confronting you though, as you can hardly show them before you take the shot. Plus, if they think you're press they'll probably react even more negatively when you are confronted as they'll be convinced you were going to splash their image in the newspaper without them knowing.


Ditch the big gear... use a small compact, and just get on with it.
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No they don't always help,as you say can cause more problems than solve
 
shaylou said:
I honestly don't get why people put themselves in this position if it is so problematic. I almost never have any issues with subject using a 70-200.
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Honestly, cause I've found that people think you're being far more voyueristic with that set up then a compact 35mm set up. I also can't take the photos I want with a 70-200

Everyone's different though
 
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shaylou said:
I honestly don't get why people put themselves in this position if it is so problematic. I almost never have any issues with subject using a 70-200.
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Street sniper ! Lol If that works for you but I would suggest that's more candid photography than Street.
 
But that is the 2 modes. Shoot from a distance, unseen. Nobody sees you or what your camera looks like. Or go up close with a wide ish lens. Get eye contact. That's where one of these new big sensor compacts come in handy. The silver retro ones even better.
 
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Never been confronted, and not too sure how I'd react if I was. Probably just crumble!
I'm only really interested in shooting candidly, not to be covert, but just to get as natural looking shots as I can.
Shooting from the hip, (well, waist!), just gives me that nice low angle that (hopefully), engages the viewer.




The crossing by My Kal, on Flickr
 
Personally I hate the idea of shooting from the hip is seems sneaky as though you are ashamed to take photos.
I am more in the face. I like to picture beards and have never had a problem asking people to picture them although I have not dared ask members of the female persuasion.

With members of the female persuasion I just say that they are stunning looking and I would like to immortalise them and offer to drop them a copy if they will give me their email address - never had the nerve to ask for telephone numbers ;)
 
ChasG said:
I like to picture beards and have never had a problem asking people to picture them although I have not dared ask members of the female persuasion.
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I imagine a request to take a photo of a woman's beard might well result in confrontation. :D
 
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