Hello ,
During the Introduction to Photography class, street photography was recently discussed.
Specifically, it was about photographing people candidly in the street and how it could be uncomfortable for a photographer to do that.
I get
it; it seems intrusive to some, and of course, we don't want to be invasive.
Privacy isn't an issue because there is no privacy in public.
So, if anyone says their privacy is being invaded while photographed in a public area, they're mistaken.
If we look up, chances are good we're being photographed by surveillance cameras, especially in a city like Washington, DC.
As a street photographer, I feel comfortable photographing anyone in
public except people who are homeless.
And I would never photograph anyone in a compromising position
But street photography is not inherently intrusive or privacy-invading unless someone is photographing people in a manner that reveals more than is easily seen.
The problem is some voyeuristic creeps are out there, and people are understandably suspicious of street photographers.
But if we're not one of
the creeps, we have no reason to be uncomfortable with our street photography.
The number one thing we can do to get comfortable with our street photography is to get closer to the people we photograph.
If we're working with a telephoto lens, standing a relatively long distance away, and pointing a lens at people, it looks like we're surveilling them.
That's creepy.
No one wants to feel like they are being
surveilled, and working from a distance with a telephoto lens doesn't lend itself to the visual intimacy of being close to the people we photograph.
As Robert Capa said, "If your pictures aren't good enough, you're not close
enough.
We can be curious or creepy, gracious or aggressive.
It's all in the way that we do it.
If we sneakily do our street photography, and someone catches us, they'll be anxious and angry.
Who could blame them?
On the other hand, if we're open and honest and engage people with a smile and a hello, we won’t feel viewed negatively.
The next series of the Introduction to Photography class starts in February.
And there are other scheduled group classes below.
Smaller classes mean better learning, so no more than five participants and me are in each class.
But smaller classes also mean spots fill up quicker.
And remember, we learn and improve by doing, so practice
making at least one picture daily.
That's all for now; thanks for reading!
Sam
