sashbar
Been spending a lot of time on here!
- Joined
- Dec 13, 2012
- Messages
- 3,044
- Reaction score
- 1,183
- Location
- Behind the Irony Curtain
- Can others edit my Photos
- Photos NOT OK to edit
MMaria, listen to what your conscience tells you but never try to second guess.
You may think you can not possibly exploit happy lovers, but they may have an extra marital affair, and your photo on the net may ruin their families and their kids will be unhappy ever after. You may think you are exploiting a homeless guy, but then you talk to him and he tells you he is more than happy to be photographed because he wants people to be aware of the problem that exists under their noses. Or because today is a suuny day and he just does not give a damn. You never know. You may look at people as a photographer and create your story. But the real story may be completely different.
Now - a million dollar question - can we "exploit" people in the street? I must say your photos are both really shy and do not even start to approach anything that can be seen as an "exploitation". You shot the lovers from far far away - and you know the mantra: if it is not close enough, it is not good enough. From that point of view, as an image of two lovers, I am very sorry to say, the shot is weak. And yes, you are way too shy to be a good photojourno . But you may like the image for other reasons.
I have some ( many) shots I will never show exactly for this reason - "exploitation". But to illustrate what I mean I will show you one, in my view benign, image depicting a pair arguing in the street.
Am I being ethical by publishing it or not?
The answer to this question ( to me personally) really is - if you are in a pubic place you should expect to be seen by public. And it does not matter what do I mean by "public" - is it a dozen of pedestrians or a thousand users online.
You are in public, and if you start behaving the way you may later regret, it is your problem. There are many exceptions, of course and any decent person understands it very well. People stumble and fall, get sick etc etc and these are vulnerable moments that should not be exploited.
So if you feel awkward, if you feel it is not right, just follow your conscience. But I admit I had moments when I openly exploited people who did not want to be photographed. But the result was well worth it and I would do it again. One of my fairly recent images ( already posted here) can be seen by some as a shamless exploitation. But it is a good image.
Do I exploit them? Do I not? It is sometimes a diffucult dilemma.
But the most important are your feelings about the image and the people depicted.
There is a great feeling of empathy towards these guys in this image, I do feel for them, I almost hear the music, and it tells me I was right to take the picture.
PS I like your second image - the light is beautiful. And some talented Brussels photography on your Flikr. Very nice.
You may think you can not possibly exploit happy lovers, but they may have an extra marital affair, and your photo on the net may ruin their families and their kids will be unhappy ever after. You may think you are exploiting a homeless guy, but then you talk to him and he tells you he is more than happy to be photographed because he wants people to be aware of the problem that exists under their noses. Or because today is a suuny day and he just does not give a damn. You never know. You may look at people as a photographer and create your story. But the real story may be completely different.
Now - a million dollar question - can we "exploit" people in the street? I must say your photos are both really shy and do not even start to approach anything that can be seen as an "exploitation". You shot the lovers from far far away - and you know the mantra: if it is not close enough, it is not good enough. From that point of view, as an image of two lovers, I am very sorry to say, the shot is weak. And yes, you are way too shy to be a good photojourno . But you may like the image for other reasons.
I have some ( many) shots I will never show exactly for this reason - "exploitation". But to illustrate what I mean I will show you one, in my view benign, image depicting a pair arguing in the street.
Am I being ethical by publishing it or not?
The answer to this question ( to me personally) really is - if you are in a pubic place you should expect to be seen by public. And it does not matter what do I mean by "public" - is it a dozen of pedestrians or a thousand users online.
You are in public, and if you start behaving the way you may later regret, it is your problem. There are many exceptions, of course and any decent person understands it very well. People stumble and fall, get sick etc etc and these are vulnerable moments that should not be exploited.
So if you feel awkward, if you feel it is not right, just follow your conscience. But I admit I had moments when I openly exploited people who did not want to be photographed. But the result was well worth it and I would do it again. One of my fairly recent images ( already posted here) can be seen by some as a shamless exploitation. But it is a good image.
Do I exploit them? Do I not? It is sometimes a diffucult dilemma.
But the most important are your feelings about the image and the people depicted.
There is a great feeling of empathy towards these guys in this image, I do feel for them, I almost hear the music, and it tells me I was right to take the picture.
PS I like your second image - the light is beautiful. And some talented Brussels photography on your Flikr. Very nice.
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