photographing strangers

[Nicole]

Originally Posted by NaturesPixel

Zach.. is this just American rule.. or can we photograph people in the streets in Canada or Australia.. do you know???

That is the American rule, though it may be the same elsewhere. You would be best checking to see what local laws apply to you. A very broad "rule" that is likely to be ok in most cases is that as long as the person is in a public place and doesn't have the expectation of privacy you're going to be ok in photographing them.

It's a bit difficult to give any hard and fast legal rules on a site like this because of it's global nature, and what may be true for one country may get you in all sorts of trouble somewhere else.

[Fraggleroxer]

Originally Posted by Nicole

That is the American rule, though it may be the same elsewhere. You would be best checking to see what local laws apply to you. A very broad "rule" that is likely to be ok in most cases is that as long as the person is in a public place and doesn't have the expectation of privacy you're going to be ok in photographing them.

It's a bit difficult to give any hard and fast legal rules on a site like this because of it's global nature, and what may be true for one country may get you in all sorts of trouble somewhere else.

Woops. sorry, wasnt paying attention to this thread... this is rule is based on American law. the best thing to do is found some kind of union or orgnizaton...like im part of the asmp (American society of media photographers) and they have lawyers who will answer questions for you for free about laws and such.

[hitkaiser]

For the UK you can take all the photos you want if youre standing in public propery

BUT u may not harass people with photos, that is defined as taking more than one photo of the same person

[Nicole]

One of the things that the Wellington Flickr Group did was a few of us got together and did some street portraits in exchange for chocolate. I've seen this idea on several websites and always thought it was interesting. Walking up to strangers and asking to take their picture is not exactly something I'm comfortable doing, but we had some very outgoing people with us who were more than willing to.

What we did was tape up a few pieces of coloured posterboard against a wall in a busy area of town and started asking people if they would let us take their picture in exchange for a piece of chocolate. We gave them a sheet of paper with how they could find their picture online and snapped away. We wound up taking pictures of about 50-ish people in an hour or so and had heaps of fun, and even told a bunch of people about flickr in the process.

So, if you're nervous about taking pictures of people and don't mind doing posed shots like this, it's actually a really fun project for a group of people and you don't come off seeming too creepy

And some people are so enthusiastic about participating that it's great!

[ron.richardson]

Originally Posted by Fraggleroxer

if you are standing on public property, you are ok to shoot whatever you want, even if your subject is on private property. this includes crime scenes, goverment building etc...

the only problem with that thinking is that, in the united states that is, the person being photographed must not have a "reasonable expectation of privacy". if you are on a public sidewalk, and you are using a telephoto lens to take a picture of a person inside their house, that is illegal. if they are out on their porch, then it's ok, however, not necessarily ethical.

i know i personally wouldn't want my photo taken while i'm on my own porch or yard, unless the photographer approached me and stated his/her intentions.

[Nicole]

Originally Posted by ron.richardson

the only problem with that thinking is that, in the united states that is, the person being photographed must not have a "reasonable expectation of privacy". if you are on a public sidewalk, and you are using a telephoto lens to take a picture of a person inside their house, that is illegal. if they are out on their porch, then it's ok, however, not necessarily ethical.

i know i personally wouldn't want my photo taken while i'm on my own porch or yard, unless the photographer approached me and stated his/her intentions.

I think that this is actually a pretty safe rule to follow wherever you are. I know that the rule is similar in New Zealand.

[Learner]

Nicole. I checked out Flickr site thread (slideshowed it) ?> How did you avoid red-eye so well and did you have a blue board up for people to stand in front of?Thanx for showing these. and your answer.

[Nicole]

Originally Posted by Learner

Nicole. I checked out Flickr site thread (slideshowed it) ?> How did you avoid red-eye so well and did you have a blue board up for people to stand in front of?Thanx for showing these. and your answer.

Thankfully it was a sunny day, so I just used a wide aperture (f/5.6) to let in as much light as possible, so I didn't have to use my flash, hence avoiding red-eye. With some of my shots I wound up lightening them in post-processing, but that seemed to work well.

We did have a blue board for people, we had blue, yellow, and red. Red was by far the least popular for some reason, strange what colours people prefer

[Learner]

Another great tip. Thanks Nicole. I always learn something from you. Bless You and Happy,Healthy, Holy Holiday and New Year.

[BLUEMEANIE]

Originally Posted by Kate

That reminds me of when I was out photographing some of the parks and old buildings in our town...I went by the fire station and all the big trucks were outside and of course I rushed to take them (I knew my grandkids would love them) While I was there the police came and questioned me about what I was doing and where I was from, etc. Be careful what you photograph now!!

I got hassled by the cops for shooting river bridges along the mississippi not too long ago. Didn't even cross my mind that they don't want you doing that any more.
You really do have to be careful what you photograph now.