Street Photography Doubts - Let People Know You Are Taking A Picture Or Not?

in monomad •  6 years ago  (edited)

Sometimes you just have to sneak up to people and take a shot while they are not aware of you :)

This was the case in Cadiz, two years ago.
These girls were sitting on a wall, chatting and enjoying a beautiful sunset. I always have a doubt should I let people know I am about to take a picture, or not.

The thing is that most people put on some kind of an act, or get uptight, when they become aware of a lens. So, if you want the most natural shot, they should not be aware of you.

But, is that ok?
I mean, I know it’s a public space and all, but I kind of feel strange just randomly picturing someone without letting them know.

It depends on the situation, but I try to follow these rules:

If it’s a wide angle shot, or there's no way of recognising persons (like in the image below), I will just shoot away.

If I want to get closer in, I ask just by showing the camera and nodding my head with a smile. That usually does the trick :)

Evening In Cadiz
Cadiz.jpg
Nikon D3100 / ISO 400 / 1/80s / f5.3 / AS-F DX Nikkor 18-55mm f3,5-5,6 VR @45mm

Anyway, I am using this image to enter the #monomad contest today, when the theme is - Silhouettes.

I added a bit of warmth into the image by applying a tiny bit of yellowish tone into the highlights. The colours of this sunset were so powerful I felt bad abandoning them completely…

The contest is hosted by a very busy @monochromes bug and these are the daily themes:

  • Monday - Macro
  • Tuesday - Street
  • Wednesday - Abstract
  • Thursday - Animals
  • Friday - Flowers
  • Saturday - Silhouettes
  • Sunday - Skies

Cheers,
Nino.

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I always feel awkward photographing strangers in public. Really like the silhouettes and I imagine the photo whould have been lacking if you hadn't been so sneaky.

I guess that pun with ''awkward'' was intentional :)

Thanks for the comment.
Probably in this case it would still be fine since they are not facing me. Most likely they would act, or at least appear, natural. But those portrait alike images are interesting when it comes to the ‘’morals’’ of shooting strangers :)