Almost kicked a photographer's ass today

[Indigo November]

I was watching the little ones at the playground today, and I saw a photographer up in the "castle" taking photos down into the area where the kids were playing.
This guy looked really creepy!
So I was about to go up there and kick his ass for being a pervert and taking candid shots of my lil' sis.
Then I realized that he was doing a senior shoot with someone.
So, as you may guess, I didn't kick his ass.
But still, he was a very creepy man! He kept watching me... :\

Also, he had no idea what he was doing. Once I realized that he wasn't actually an old pervert taking shots of little kids, I started observing him. He was not doing a very good job! Using pop-up flash!
And I knew that his SS must have been waaay too slow for the lens.
He was shooting at about 6:30 and it was starting to get dim, I had my D90 and 35mm 1.8 and at f/2.8 the fastest SS I could get away with was 1/50. He had a longer lens that looked to be a kit zoom, there is no way those photos turned out sharp! (OK, maybe he had a high ISO, but in that case the photos would be crap anyway!)


Anyway, that was my day, I almost kicked a guy's ass, but luckily didn't.
Then watched him make a mess of some poor girl's senior photos.



Oh! I forgot to add! The guy was chimping every shot!! He would take a shot and then look at the LCD for, like, a full minute! lol

[ZannieGirl49]

I saw the words "ass" and "kick" in the thread title and was bracing myself for a beat down. It's good that you didn't have to lay the smack down, bad that this poor senior is going to get bad images. Don't you wish you could see the proofs?

[Jamfke]

I was at a park today with my kids and one of our friends, and her little boy. I had my camera out, snapping away at the antics that they were producing. I got my fair share of "creepy guy" looks from others too. I guess it's a difference of perception when a guy is snapping shots of little kids versus when a woman is doing so. Glad I didn't get my ass kicked!

[Twinpanther]

Originally Posted by Jamfke

I guess it's a difference of perception when a guy is snapping shots of little kids versus when a woman is doing so.

My thoughts exactly, Jim. It brakes my heart that I can't just go to the park and take photos of kids and feel comfortable about it. Photos of children can be some of the most beautiful and entertaining. Not that I blame parents for feeling the way they do in this day and age but it's still sad.

Personally, I'd be more worried about a guy hanging around the playground without a camera than a guy with one.

[jsherp]

Indigo:

Remind me not to hang out at any parks you might frequent! A couple of weeks ago, my wife suggested we do a photo-walk at a local park that has a "spray-ground". She wanted to take pics of kids playing in the water. And, since it was a nice day, we should take one of the dogs with (I get saddled with the dog!)

So, I am wandering around the park, with a camera AND a PUPPY! A few kids came over and asked if they could pet the dog. I had a mother come and grab her kids; as they were leaving, I overheard her telling them to avoid strange men.

Really! I ask you. Here's a shot my wife took....do I look like a strange man to you?


On second thought; maybe I should avoid parks.

[RLucas]

Sad thing is, before I joined this forum I happily snapped away at everything and anything, now i am afraid to leave the house. It sucks being a guy sometimes!

I am going to have to get the "I'm a photographer, not a pedophile" tshirt, along with the terrorist one.

[dotorion]

We've got a bit of a history here in Belgium with a few big serial killer & child molester cases so I suppose anyone "bugging" kids with a camera will immediatly be viewed as some kind of pervert ...

Then again, some people might just be more into their privacy and might not like it if anyone is taking pictures of them, either.

[Aegea]

Last year, my daughter was one of the photographers for the high school yearbook. As a joke, they had t-shirts made up with the legend "I AM NOT A STALKER!" - maybe we should all wear something similar when we go out in public with a camera?

[CheaperKings]

Originally Posted by RLucas

Sad thing is, before I joined this forum I happily snapped away at everything and anything, now i am afraid to leave the house. It sucks being a guy sometimes!

I am going to have to get the "I'm a photographer, not a pedophile" tshirt, along with the terrorist one.

Here's an idea; open up Photoshop, open a pic of yourself (headshot), type "PHOTOGRAPHER" under it with some 'important' looking other text, goto "File", "Print", then head off to your laminator and send it through. Now, get yourself a little string or a chain or something, hang it around your neck and snap away!

[candidrachel]

As a woman (at least I was the last time I checked lol) I still find it uncomfortable to take photos of other kids and I have seen so many photo opportunities over the years like what the other posters have mentioned. Capturing their innocent playfulness and natural charm and curiosity would just make wonderful photos but alas we are all now guilty until proven innocent.

I have found though that if I ask permission to take kids photos they tend to lose that candid spontaneous feel to them and because I am being "watched" its hard to get those fly-on-the-wall type shots I could have got without their permission iykwim.