Objection to being photographed

[JerBear]

Polite, are you? When you take someone's image, you ARE taking something from them....their IMAGE. Everyone is so caught up in "their rights to or not to", maybe if we just were polite, this would not be a issue

JM

[Gobae]

Originally Posted by NetG

I'm not an exhibit, I'm a person.

That's kinda funny/ironic to me. Although I used to have my photo taken I've been getting used to it. I do lots of strange things (blacksmithing demos, living history re-enactments) and so I HAVE become an exhibit in those instances. I still don't like stopping to let someone photograph me (I look so unnatural) but snap away while I'm blacksmithing and it's no problem. Hell, take pictures of my work, and ask me how I made it; I'll tell you. The chances that someone will actually copy it are pretty slim and with hand-crafts there's no copying my 20 years of experience anyway.

On another note, I think the comments about the type of lens/camera affecting people perception are right on. For instance my daughter has nicknamed my 70-300mm "the stalker lens".

[NetG]

Originally Posted by Gobae

That's kinda funny/ironic to me. Although I used to have my photo taken I've been getting used to it. I do lots of strange things (blacksmithing demos, living history re-enactments) and so I HAVE become an exhibit in those instances. I still don't like stopping to let someone photograph me (I look so unnatural) but snap away while I'm blacksmithing and it's no problem. Hell, take pictures of my work, and ask me how I made it; I'll tell you. The chances that someone will actually copy it are pretty slim and with hand-crafts there's no copying my 20 years of experience anyway.

On another note, I think the comments about the type of lens/camera affecting people perception are right on. For instance my daughter has nicknamed my 70-300mm "the stalker lens".

That type of situation is why I said it. I love taking music photography, but even if my camera is in hand and I see a musician OFF a stage, I won't take that shot. (Friends who are musicians are an exception.) If I'm competing on a horse, I expect that anyone who feels like it will/can take my photo and have no issues with that, same if I am in a wedding, etc.

To me, there are just some activities in which attention is supposed to be directed at you, and some where it's not. When it's not, if someone disturbs or interrupts me to take my picture, I strongly dislike it - regardless of the intended use of that photo.

[Sime]

Originally Posted by NetG

That type of situation is why I said it. I love taking music photography, but even if my camera is in hand and I see a musician OFF a stage, I won't take that shot. (Friends who are musicians are an exception.) If I'm competing on a horse, I expect that anyone who feels like it will/can take my photo and have no issues with that, same if I am in a wedding, etc.

To me, there are just some activities in which attention is supposed to be directed at you, and some where it's not. When it's not, if someone disturbs or interrupts me to take my picture, I strongly dislike it - regardless of the intended use of that photo.

...I couldn't help myself - do you mean like this? ....but why? (Me and Paolo Nutini)

[NetG]

But that's a posed shot! Those are, of course, ok.

I'm talking if I see a musician eating dinner or something. I quite often end up seeing musicians in the same restaurants I'm eating in because there are few around our main concert venues.

(And that's a great photo - and the bar looks like the venue I saw Paolo at, except I saw him in Tucson, AZ, in the US!)

[Digidave]

Originally Posted by Sime™

...I couldn't help myself - do you mean like this? ....but why? (Me and Paolo Nutini)

What a dweeb!!

[seeveeaar]

I read a similar thread somewhere ,where one suggested that we take a small booklet containing the pics that you have taken off the streets with people,buildings etc etc(Just a collection of your photography work you normally do).

This helps to reassure strangers and convince them that they wont be shown in poor light.
Iam seriously considering getting one done for myself...

[hilhi2005]

I am very new to the photography field, and in fact, am still looking in to my first DSLR, so take my opinion with a grain of salt.
I fully understand that when you are in public, you are going to be subject to pictures and pretty much anything else, that is the way of it. And, as the people taking the pictures, we have the legal right to take those pictures. However, there is more to your actions than just what is legal. I am in the US Army, and one thing that they always drill in to us is that we don't just represent our self, we represent the Army, and the opinions that people have of it. Regardless of the man’s reason, if he does not want his picture taken, I would move on, and apologize to him, and, depending on how tight on him the picture was, I may even offer to delete it. Do I have to do that? No, I have to legal right to that picture, but, to me, it is more important that the image of the photographer is maintained. In any situation, I would strive to be as polite as possible, in the hope that, when the person passes on his story, my reaction to his action may shine through, and encourage others to be more receptive to public photos. As previous people have said, we do not want to be lumped together with the paparazzi, who harass, annoy, and hide behind the law, but rather, to be thought of as separate and as the unobtrusive artist.