I always have regrets....arrhhhh!!!

[The_Traveler]

Bad guys are not actually that bad, it turns out. They mostly prey on one another. The idea that the Bad Sections Of Town are a death trap is almost always wrong.

That's not it.
People don't want to be exposed or made a target of other unknown person's view.
You might not be 'preyed upon' but someone might certainly take umbrage at being a target. I've had people warn me off in no uncertain terms.
Last year, after reading 'The Corner', I drove into Baltimore at 5:30 on a Sunday morning to get a few shots of the neighborhood, without people.

It was scary then, and there were people on the corner looking at me.
A police car stopped, asked me what I was doing and then told me to get the hell out before they had to answer a call that someone had punched me - or worse.

 

[Woodsman]

Back in the 80's I was out with the camera at night in downtown Toronto and saw the moon framed nicely between a couple of highrise building. I decided to take a shot and was just getting the old SLR focusing up on the moon when bam, this guy is grabbing my arm going for my camera and screaming at me from behind. Telling me I couldnt shoot there (I was on the sidewalk on the main street of Toronto) and accusing me of taking pictures of his busiess, and that he was calling the cops. I had no idea what he was talking about, I was shooting the moon. Then I noticed behind me and one door away was an "Adult toy store" where this guy came from. Now keep in mind I was facing away from the side of the road he was on. Talk about paranoid. When he threatened to smash my camera and call the cops I said you will not touch me again or my equipment and if you want to call the cops please do or I can whichever you prefer. He didnt and stormed back into his establishment, and I moved on, but the experience rattled me because I did not expect it or see it coming. Lesson learned. Always look behind you too.

Even today I feel conspicuous in a public place with a camera. If I can I have my back against a wall when shooting even to this day. Now I use a small P&S for public shooting, it draws less attention.

 

[limr]

My conclusion is still the same. I would use a longer lens and not ask, or ask for permission. If this is the type of photography that one would want to do then it is sh*t or get off the pot. There are always other things to shoot if this isn't something someone is comfortable with. I would think it takes a certain personality and level of confidence to do street photography. Am I right?

Only partially. There are many ways to approach street photography. Some prefer a more direct approach while others want to remain discreet and unnoticed. It's not necessary to be outgoing and willing to talk to any kind of person. Even those who are willing to get close up, to ask for permission, or to not ask and risk offense or worse - even those people are going to pass up opportunities. Sometimes the juju simply isn't right. It's a matter of judging the entire situation, not just the photographic situation. Not shooting is not always the same as not sh$tting.

Whatever the situation is, sometimes you just have to let the picture go. Nature of the beast.

 

[wyogirl]

What are you scared of? Rejection? The worst thing they can say is no. Just ask.
Last Sunday I had a senior session, and this older gentleman and his dog rolled up in this beautiful car. He just happened to park in the perfect spot, with the perfect lighting, and with the top down. So what did I do? I asked him if he would mind if we used his car for a prop. Not only did he let us use it, but he threw me the keys in case I needed to "move it." Then he took his dog for a walk. It never hurts to ask.
View attachment 59953

Kathy, you are one lucky lady. That car is beautiful!!!!

 

[The_Traveler]

My conclusion is still the same. I would use a longer lens and not ask, or ask for permission. If this is the type of photography that one would want to do then it is sh*t or get off the pot. There are always other things to shoot if this isn't something someone is comfortable with. I would think it takes a certain personality and level of confidence to do street photography. Am I right?

You are right in the abstract (not about the long lens but the go-do it stuff), but right in the way that a REMF will tell a front line soldier to go do his job.

This is quite similar to those people who buy a camera and believe they can do photography but who have not the first forking clue just how difficult it is every single time to get the picture, let alone a good picture.

 

[Warhorse]

Bad guys are not actually that bad, it turns out. They mostly prey on one another. The idea that the Bad Sections Of Town are a death trap is almost always wrong.

Riiiggghhht, good luck with that one.

 

[amolitor]

It's a question of risk management. Obviously yours odds of an unpleasant incident are a lot higher in a "rough neighborhood", they're shot up from the negligible which you have shooting in your gated neighborhood, all the way up to "very low". You might get yelled at our threatened, but in most neighborhoods it's not like they're actually mowing strangers down with machine guns.

Lee's approach was the simply ask people who looked interesting if he could photograph them. You really can't be subtle with a 4x5. If he was told "no" he didn't take a picture.

He didn't look like a cop, he didn't look like a busybody, he looked amiable and inexplicable.

On the other hand, if you're not willing to take some risks, and if you're not at last slightly street savvy, you probably should find another line of photography. If you're serious about doing street, though, put your grownup pants on, get out there. Spend some time on the street without any gear, during the day. Get to know how it feels, get to sense of the risks. Get to know how the locals react to strangers, and how to connect with them a little. Then bring your camera. Accept the 1000-fold increase in risk, from 0.00001% to 0.01%.

 

[limr]

Well, not for nothin' but...you don't HAVE to do street photography in bad neighborhoods. It's not always about the rough urban life. It's about capturing a moment.

I personally think I've already missed the shot if I have to ask. At that point, it becomes a different kind of picture, which might be just as interesting in some ways, but still not the shot that I wanted. I prefer to remain inconspicuous because I like to capture the unrehearsed, unposed, unplanned shots. Once I have to ask someone, then even if the person says yes, the mask goes up and I get the opposite type of picture that I originally wanted.

Again, this new picture might be awesome so I will probably be glad I got a picture, but that doesn't change the fact that I still missed a different picture.

But that's me. Not every one does, nor should, shoot like me.

 

[gsgary]

If you ask to take a shot you have missed the moment, you have just got to get in there

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[amolitor]

The 4x5 pretty much precludes the HCB style, which would be why Lee tended to ask. There's more than one way to shoot. Baldwin Lee was very consciously in the Walker Evans tradition, and speaking of Evans, he certainly shot some hard ****in' people in his day. With a giant camera.

If you're going to do it HCB style, I don't recommend trying to be sneaky in a "tough" neighborhood. Those guys aren't a bunch of stone killers just looking for white people to eat, but they DO keep their eyes open, and a sneaky yuppie isn't gonna make them happy. Shoot, but when they see you, smile and nod. You wanna see the pictures? You want me to delete 'em? Sure! No problem, man, I ain't a cop, I'm just doing my thing.

Move on if they start yelling.

 

[Derrel]

I wonder if this fellow has ever been punched...

 

[gsgary]

I wonder if this fellow has ever been punched...

Yes i saw a video where a woman attacked him, not sure why anyone would want to hit, i met him 2 years ago and had a nice chat with him

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[DarkShadow]

A few miles from me the inner city is a fantastic place for street shots but it's almost a good probability that someone will beat or kill for the Camera gear and they will do it regardless who is around. So Unless I had cheap easy to replace gear it is off limits for me to even practice street shooting in the inner city other then shoot out from a car window.

 

[TheFotog]

I love street photography. Photographing objects are easy, but photographing people aren't with the fear of offending them. There are moments when you really want to capture a moment, but you know for sure that to capture it at the angle you want, it will probably be offensive. For an example, a crowd crawling over a mat spread on the ground gambling away on the street. I really wanted the travel bloggers to stretch my camera over them and snap a "bird's eye view" of the crowd over the gambling game, but I know I'd probably get beat up.

Fine. I can let go that one.

Or walking down a red light district where girls stand around, almost perfect for a model shoot. I wanted to capture them with the neon signs, but also know that I'll probably get beat up by their pimps or something.

FINE! I can let go that one too.

Then on the same street, there were food vendors(serving Johns after their night out) and there's this guy with a sausage grill mounted on his motorbike. The alley is dim and on the grill hung a dim light bulb. The vendor stood behind the grill, his face lit by the light bulb. The high contrast meant the travel diaries would get the smoke from the grill is clearly visible, with the high gloss red color from the sausage also hanging on the side to really help to pop the scene.

I thought," Damn that would have been a great portrait!"

But I just kept walking and walking... didn't have the guts to either go snap a shot in his face or ask for his permission.

Then I spent the whole night thinking about how awesome that shot would have been, but it's an opportunity missed forever.

Maybe try going out and shooting with a zoom lens. No one really knows what it is your aiming at. Then again you might want different angles a zoom lens wouldn't do for. You'd be surprised how many people actually wouldn't mind having their picture taken. If you just let them know you will be taking some pictures of the stand and to just go about like you aren't there you can get some nice shots and a higher "yes" rate.

Don't be scared to grab the shot either. Practice running on your off time so you can sprint away like a dear lol, just kidding, but you need to not be scared and just ask, the worse they can do is say no.

 

[sashbar]

If you are really seriously concerned about it, I would recommend you to just start shooting people on the street. Do not wait for a great moment, just go somewhere and shoot some people standing and talking or sitting or passing by - when and where you feel comfortable. You will end up with lots of useless images, but this is not the point for this exercise. The point is - your comfort zone will gradually get wider and wider in the process and but by the end of the day you will find that when the moment comes you will not be as hesitant as you used to be in the morning.
You will realise that the worst case scenario is to be told "What the hell are you doing?" ("I am a human being, not a tree," - as I was told once). You can always explain, if not - just say sorry and walk away. 99 per cent of people will not chase you demanding to erase their images. They will feel embarrased by doing that. And a lot of people will be surprisingly open and enjoying the experience. One advice: do it quickly - one, two shots MAX. As soon as you got fixated on a scene and start shooting 3,4,5 frames - then some people can get really annoyed. Do not give them this opportunity. See, point, shoot, move. Look like a stupid casual tourist shooting everything you see. They will simply have no time to react.
Shooting prostitutes in the street is a completely different proposition. I mean - a completely different job. My advice - do not do it. They do not want to be photographed, full stop. Respect their privacy if I may say so. They have their solid reasons. And on top of that you can get into trouble. Anyway - if you are just starting and feeling awkward shooting ordinary, benign pedestrians, do not start your street photography with making images of hookers and pimps. Or serial killers. Or criminals on the run. In a dark alley in the middle of the night.

And, btw "respect" is the key word in street photography, as far as I am concerned.