That’s what they always say, even they they won’t admit it’s dickish behavior. Hiding behind the ‘it’s legal so it’s ok’ thing is par for the course every time this topic comes up.
I don’t think anything I do could be conceived as dickish, but I have a personal rule of not denigrating people with my work or showing them at their worst (I avoid shooting homeless/panhandlers/etc for example).
Nope. They’re both bad.
Look up Sebastio Salgado…he’s great!
Do you see the difference?
One is simply a more extreme example of the other.
Sorry, I have to disagree.
Taking photographs is a legitimate activity. Blocking people’s way or blasting a flash in their eyes in not.
Yes it is. But photographing specific people without their consent (not incidental shots) is behavior I would call dickish. (thanks Martini for that phrasing) ESPECIALLY if you intend to publicize those pictures, such as the online galleries or in actual galleries.
I certainly understand that it’s legal, but that doesn’t make it right.
Again, legal doesn’t make it right.
Read the article:
http://www.clickinmoms.com/blog/street-photography-and-the-law-7-things-you-need-to-know/
Which part do you think I don’t understand. I’ve read the entire thing twice. The legal aspects are well explained but that doesn’t address anything I’ve said. The only part that comes close is;
We’re never going to agree, that is pretty clear. You think it’s ok and I think it’s not. People like you will continue doing it and I’ll continue think it’s assholish behavior.
Taking photos of people in public is not *in itself *wrong, impolite, or improper. If you disagree with that you are simply wrong. Thousands of such photos are taken every day. These girls *asked *me to take their photo!
I don’t think anyone has said taking photos of people in public with their permission was wrong, impolite or proper. What people have said is doing it without their permission is wrong, impolite, and improper without a really good reason.
So…you had their consent. That is exactly what I’ve said all along is ok. If you want to do it, go for it. BUT HAVE CONSENT.
I don’t see a problem with taking general shots of an area or of people that are putting on a public performance. Singers or whatnot. What I take issue with is targeting a specific person without their consent. It’s made even worse when you put it on public display, again without their consent. Legal, sure. Rude, absolutely.
Not at all. It’s *how you do it that matters *and nothing else. If you are in a public place anyone may photograph you. If you don’t like that, don’t go out in public or cover your face. People in a park at a festival are in a public setting. You may photograph them at will and you need not feel bad about it. I did not follow them home or invade their property. I was photographing one of those girls and smiling at her (that always helps). I often make some effort to get people’s acquiescence but not always, and sometimes it is subtle. You don’t need a ‘really good reason’.
Like I said before, we’re not going to agree. I don’t care how you do it. If you specifically target me without my permission, I’m going to think you’re your an asshole.
Well, I can’t please everyone. I can do my best but if you insist upon being offended at my perfectly legal and non-threatening behaviour I don’t know what to say.
A number of years ago I was playing tennis on public courts and a photographer for the local newspaper started taking photos of me. I let out a string of explicatives that would melt paint and chased him away. He did not understand that tennis players need to be left alone so they can concentrate. He didn’t know that before. He knew it after.
I would go so far as to say taking photos of random people in public without their permission is threatening and/or distressing.
How is that any different from taking pics of someone in an equally public place who wanted to be left alone to concentrate on whatever they were thinking about?
It’s different. He was ignorant. I am not. Pros have to put up with it, but I won’t. There is a strict etiquette for people watching tennis that goes along with the etiquette for playing tennis.