Image source: www.mizjain.org
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Okay. This is no joke. But this happened once before.
I and a group of elderly tourists, each of us armed with our respective weapon of choice, came upon a young child in a street corner, minding a small stall where she and her mother were selling lovely beaded jewelry. Good thing that I had hung back on the edges as I had a different subject of which I wanted to take pictures. It turned out that child was quite shy and had an issue with cameras, so when this large group of people with cameras started to crowd on her, the poor frightened kid started bawling! With the language barrier and the mother coming into the scene not sooner (enough) than five minutes later, imagine how we had tried to appease the child.
But the lesson of this story is that, if possible, avoid traveling in a large group when taking pictures. If you can do it alone, it’s the best way to get good street photos.
Here are more tips on photo-taking ethics. As I’ve said in previous posts, you just can’t go shooting at random people with your camera! I shall attempt in giving a few tips on how to be polite when taking photographs especially of people when you’re in one of your globe trotting adventures!
Smile! This is a great way to build a good rapport with your subject. No language needed as smiling is universal enough on its own. Also try to maintain strong eye contact before, during, and after taking your photos. It helps making your subject or subjects at ease, and it also helps with getting permission while showing your appreciation for allowing you to take pictures. Remember that you are somehow invading their space and count yourself lucky that they trust you enough to do so.
Here are more tips on photo-taking ethics. As I’ve said in previous posts, you just can’t go shooting at random people with your camera! I shall attempt in giving a few tips on how to be polite when taking photographs especially of people when you’re in one of your globe trotting adventures!
Now, read carefully. Before photographing children, it is best if you ask permission from an adult. Better if the child’s parent is present. Probably too bothersome but this is a very delicate situation, and you need to treat it as such. There are varying child pornography laws in different countries and you can never be too careful lest you be accused of taking perverse pictures of children. Foreigners are considered suspicious entities, remember that. I have a photographer friend who carries release forms wherever he goes to avoid hassle – that’s how careful he is.