Photographing People.

An e-mail from a past participant in my workshops has me thinking about photographing people. He mentioned that he felt uncomfortable about photographing people because he felt that he was invading their privacy and he wondered if he needed the permission of the people he was photographing. First, let me state that I’m not an attorney; I don’t portray an attorney on T. V. nor did I stay at a Holiday Inn Express last night. Please don’t construe ANYTHING I write as law. It is merely my understanding and opinion based in my background as a photojournalist and reading about the legal aspects of photographing people. If you have ANY questions regarding your use of a photograph that includes people, please consult with a qualified attorney. Disclaimer done! I enjoy including people, or hints of people, in my photography. When I examine my work that includes people it ranges from “contrived/formal portraits” of individuals and groups to “spontaneous news events” and “street photography” to something somewhere in between the two approaches. Although the two approaches are different in method, in my opinion the common factor that either makes or breaks the final photograph, regardless of the approach you employ, is the relationship(s) that you form with the people in your photographs. In the “contrived/formal portrait” approach, you are there to make a photograph of that person or group and they are there to be photographed. In the “spontaneous news event” and “street photography” approach we are there to create photographs but we may fear that people we’d like to include in our photographs may have objections to being photographed. While photographing in public spaces I have been approached by people who have objected to being photographed claiming that I required their permission or invaded their privacy. They are mistaken on both counts. In general, there is no privacy in public. As long as I’m photographing people who are occupying public space and I’m creating photographs that do not make private facts public, there is no invasion of privacy. When it comes to permission, I do not need permission to make photographs in the manner stated in the previous sentence. However I may need permission for commercial use of the photograph. I previously mentioned that I believe the most important aspect in photographing people is the relationship(s) that we form with the people we choose to include in our photographs. Whether I’m photographing people in my role as “contrived/formal portrait” photographer(where I can give direction) or in my role as “photojournalist/street photographer” (where giving direction is unethical) my goal in forming a relationship with the person(s) is to have them become comfortable enough with my presence to relax and be themselves. I know, easier said than done. In my opinion, photographing someone from across the street with a telephoto lens could create an impression, on the part of the person being photographed, of being stalked or intruded upon. Hardly a relaxing feeling. On the other hand using a lens that forces you to get physically close to your subject creates an opportunity for them to get comfortable, or not, with your presence. As a photojournalist I choose to work with a 28mm lens. Using this lens forces me to get physically close to people, they can’t help but notice me near them with a camera. We usually make eye contact or exchange greetings and usually, just by the fact that I’m so close to them with my camera, we both know why I’m there. Any objections are usually raised at that point, sometimes physically (they may walk away, avoid the camera or shake their head in objection) sometimes verbally. They may also ignore me and allow me to make photographs. The point is, that because of the close proximity between myself and the person(s) I intend to photograph, a close relationship is always formed with the people I would like to include in my photograph. You can’t accomplish this from across the street with a telephoto lens. Below are some links regarding the legal aspects of photographing people: http://www.rcfp.org/photoguide/index.html http://www.lib.niu.edu/ipo/1995/ip951121.html http://www.nyc24.org/2006/issue3/story02/index.html http://www.answers.com/topic/street-photography

This entry was posted on Tuesday, May 30th, 2006 at 10:12 am. It is filed under Learn Photography. You can follow any responses to this entry through the RSS 2.0 feed.