Photographing foreign cultures & publishing images?

[Cammily]

Hello all ,

I registered a while ago, but never wrote anything - but now I've got a question sticking in my mind I would like to ask.

I read the posts of Tanzania in Pictures and because I'll travel soon to another country, too, I'm really thinking about the best way to take photos of other cultures.

My question is: Do you, in every case, take (oral or written) permission of the person you want to take a photo of? And how much do you explain how the image will be used?

I think to ask for permission is a sign of respect, and I try to take permission always. But I wonder if some people would give their permission, if I start to explain them, that this photo will be published on a blog, on a photo-community, in the internet. I believe there are still many people, who don't even have an idea about what "internet" means.
I'm not talking about using photos in a commercial way (for example for advertisement) - that's totally something else, but about using photos in documentary projects (which can be a blog, a magazin, ...)

I'll travel soon to an Arabic country - I know the community, I know the culture - and I would like to take a bunch of photos and share them. But somehow I still hesitate...

Thank you all! Cammily

(Btw - found this website over facebook - it's simply great! Thank you for a great community.)

[AnonymousKiwi1]

In my experience it's best to be open about what you're doing. Don't be sneaky. If you catch a potenial subject's eye, simply gesture at the camera to indicate you'd like to take their picture. Language barriers are not an issue. Almost everyone in the world knows what a camera is. They will either nod OK, or frown and shake their head if they don't wish to be photograped. Be respectful, smile and move on if this is the case. You don't need any kind of written permission if you're only using your shots for personal use.
Taking the time to explain that you plan to use your photos on the internet is going to get very tiresome, and I really don't think it's necessary. A person who has something to hide is not going to want their photo taken in the first place.