# Stranger snaps photo of me - WTF? **URL:** \ **Category:** In My Humble Opinion\ **Created:** [February 8, 2006, 3:44pm UTC](https://boards.straightdope.com/t/stranger-snaps-photo-of-me-wtf/343545 "2006-02-08T15:44:33Z")\ **Posts on this page:** 20\ **Page:** 1
**Author:** ![Amazon\_Floozy\_Goddess](https://avatars.discourse-cdn.com/v4/letter/a/779978/32.png) [@Amazon\_Floozy\_Goddess](https://boards.straightdope.com/u/Amazon_Floozy_Goddess)\ **Post date:** [February 8, 2006, 3:44pm UTC](https://boards.straightdope.com/t/stranger-snaps-photo-of-me-wtf/343545/1 "2006-02-08T15:44:33Z")
Ok, so I’m walking to work this morning. In the line of cars driving down the road is a little silver car with a kinda cute guy behind the wheel. As the car passes me, the guy nonchalantly lifts a camera and takes a picture of me! Never slowing down, just lift and snap, and then he drives away. I’m standing there thinking…what was _that_ about?? So I’ve formulated some theories as to what his motives were, both innocent and sinister: Innocent: -Hobby Photographer who likes taking random pics of people -Photography student trying out different techniques -Photojournalist looking for pictures of anonymous people for a story -Artist who’s using miscellaneous photos for some kind of project Sinister: -Stalker who’s been tracking me and I don’t know it -Serial killer staking out victims -Guy who gets off on snapping pics of random chicks to go home and fap to -Weirdo using pic of me to model his new face and/or body after Which possibility do you think is most likely? Or do you have any other theories? ---
**Author:** ![Zsofia](https://avatars.discourse-cdn.com/v4/letter/z/7bcc69/32.png) [@Zsofia](https://boards.straightdope.com/u/Zsofia)\ **Post date:** [February 8, 2006, 3:47pm UTC](https://boards.straightdope.com/t/stranger-snaps-photo-of-me-wtf/343545/2 "2006-02-08T15:47:17Z")
Couldn’t he have just thought you were hot? ---
**Author:** ![scr4](https://avatars.discourse-cdn.com/v4/letter/s/59ef9b/32.png) [@scr4](https://boards.straightdope.com/u/scr4)\ **Post date:** [February 8, 2006, 3:49pm UTC](https://boards.straightdope.com/t/stranger-snaps-photo-of-me-wtf/343545/3 "2006-02-08T15:49:08Z")
Maybe you were walking past an interesting building? I don’t think a stalker would do it so openly. ---
**Author:** ![indecisive1](https://avatars.discourse-cdn.com/v4/letter/i/41988e/32.png) [@indecisive1](https://boards.straightdope.com/u/indecisive1)\ **Post date:** [February 8, 2006, 3:51pm UTC](https://boards.straightdope.com/t/stranger-snaps-photo-of-me-wtf/343545/4 "2006-02-08T15:51:07Z")
How about a guy who just likes to freak people out? That would give me the heebee jeebies too. ---
**Author:** ![Mangetout](https://sea3.discourse-cdn.com/straightdope/user_avatar/boards.straightdope.com/mangetout/32/19_2.png) [@Mangetout](https://boards.straightdope.com/u/Mangetout)\ **Post date:** [February 8, 2006, 3:52pm UTC](https://boards.straightdope.com/t/stranger-snaps-photo-of-me-wtf/343545/5 "2006-02-08T15:52:51Z")
Don’t forget: -Private investigator -Government agent -Hitman ---
**Author:** ![h.sapiens](https://avatars.discourse-cdn.com/v4/letter/h/e0b2c6/32.png) [@h.sapiens](https://boards.straightdope.com/u/h.sapiens)\ **Post date:** [February 8, 2006, 3:57pm UTC](https://boards.straightdope.com/t/stranger-snaps-photo-of-me-wtf/343545/6 "2006-02-08T15:57:00Z")
> [@Amazon Floozy Goddess](#): > > _snip_ > -Photojournalist looking for pictures of anonymous people for a story > -Artist who’s using miscellaneous photos for some kind of project > _snip_ > Which possibility do you think is most likely? Or do you have any other theories? If it was one of these two, and the photographer is intending to publish the photos, they’re supposed to have you sign a release form (unless, of course, they blur your face out, or otherwise render you unrecognizable). Were you wearing a funny t-shirt? I’d give him the benefit of the doubt, anyway. ---
**Author:** ![don\_t\_ask](https://avatars.discourse-cdn.com/v4/letter/d/e68b1a/32.png) [@don\_t\_ask](https://boards.straightdope.com/u/don_t_ask)\ **Post date:** [February 8, 2006, 3:59pm UTC](https://boards.straightdope.com/t/stranger-snaps-photo-of-me-wtf/343545/7 "2006-02-08T15:59:45Z")
English (kind of South African) novelist [Tom Sharpe](http://en.wikipedia.org/wiki/Tom_Sharpe) takes photos of random people in the street to provide him with inspiration for his characters. Apparently he has thousands of candid photos of people getting about Cambridge. Evan Hunter (probably better known as Ed Mc Bain) used photos of average people as chapter markers in _Every Little Crook and Nanny_, however I think (from memory) that they were mostly his friends. ---
**Author:** ![Grrr](https://sea3.discourse-cdn.com/straightdope/user_avatar/boards.straightdope.com/grrr/32/146_2.png) [@Grrr](https://boards.straightdope.com/u/Grrr)\ **Post date:** [February 8, 2006, 4:07pm UTC](https://boards.straightdope.com/t/stranger-snaps-photo-of-me-wtf/343545/8 "2006-02-08T16:07:28Z")
> [@Zsofia](#): > > Couldn’t he have just thought you were hot? nah, that couldn’t be it. OK OK I’m sorry. I didn’t mean it. I just saw an opening and couldn’t help myself. 😃 /Doesn’t know **AFG** ---
**Author:** ![OtakuLoki](https://avatars.discourse-cdn.com/v4/letter/o/ac8455/32.png) [@OtakuLoki](https://boards.straightdope.com/u/OtakuLoki)\ **Post date:** [February 8, 2006, 4:16pm UTC](https://boards.straightdope.com/t/stranger-snaps-photo-of-me-wtf/343545/9 "2006-02-08T16:16:00Z")
What about the front man for the aliens, choosing a selection of persons to be abducted and probed in the near future? You missed the biggest worry, **AFG**. ---
**Author:** ![Kalhoun](https://avatars.discourse-cdn.com/v4/letter/k/3bc359/32.png) [@Kalhoun](https://boards.straightdope.com/u/Kalhoun)\ **Post date:** [February 8, 2006, 4:18pm UTC](https://boards.straightdope.com/t/stranger-snaps-photo-of-me-wtf/343545/10 "2006-02-08T16:18:59Z")
> [@h.sapiens](#): > > If it was one of these two, and the photographer is intending to publish the photos, they’re supposed to have you sign a release form (unless, of course, they blur your face out, or otherwise render you unrecognizable). > > Were you wearing a funny t-shirt? > > I’d give him the benefit of the doubt, anyway. I don’t think that’s true. If you’re in a public place, you don’t need anyone’s permission to take their picture. There’s no privacy rule in place on a public road. ---
**Author:** ![Stark\_Raven\_Mad](https://avatars.discourse-cdn.com/v4/letter/s/f9ae1b/32.png) [@Stark\_Raven\_Mad](https://boards.straightdope.com/u/Stark_Raven_Mad)\ **Post date:** [February 8, 2006, 4:25pm UTC](https://boards.straightdope.com/t/stranger-snaps-photo-of-me-wtf/343545/11 "2006-02-08T16:25:32Z")
A friend of mine is studying film at college right now, which got him into photography. When we hung out over the summer he brought his fancy Nikon camera with him everywhere and would nonchalantly snap pictures of absolutely anyone and anything. Kind of disturbing, really, but I’m assured that “it’s what photographers do”, and his pictures are pretty good, so there. ---
**Author:** ![Telemark](https://sea3.discourse-cdn.com/straightdope/user_avatar/boards.straightdope.com/telemark/32/372_2.png) [@Telemark](https://boards.straightdope.com/u/Telemark)\ **Post date:** [February 8, 2006, 4:32pm UTC](https://boards.straightdope.com/t/stranger-snaps-photo-of-me-wtf/343545/12 "2006-02-08T16:32:14Z")
> [@Kalhoun](#): > > I don’t think that’s true. If you’re in a public place, you don’t need anyone’s permission to take their picture. There’s no privacy rule in place on a public road. Not to take the picture, but to sell it you need the subject’s permission. Why would a professional photog take pictures that he/she couldn’t sell? ---
**Author:** ![OtakuLoki](https://avatars.discourse-cdn.com/v4/letter/o/ac8455/32.png) [@OtakuLoki](https://boards.straightdope.com/u/OtakuLoki)\ **Post date:** [February 8, 2006, 4:35pm UTC](https://boards.straightdope.com/t/stranger-snaps-photo-of-me-wtf/343545/13 "2006-02-08T16:35:41Z")
> [@Telemark](#): > > Not to take the picture, but to sell it you need the subject’s permission. Why would a professional photog take pictures that he/she couldn’t sell? For practice. Most photogs need to shoot hundreds of yards of film before they can compose a picture properly. So, they’ll be taking a lot of pictures that they don’t expect to get any use out of, other than the practice. ---
**Author:** ![h.sapiens](https://avatars.discourse-cdn.com/v4/letter/h/e0b2c6/32.png) [@h.sapiens](https://boards.straightdope.com/u/h.sapiens)\ **Post date:** [February 8, 2006, 4:36pm UTC](https://boards.straightdope.com/t/stranger-snaps-photo-of-me-wtf/343545/14 "2006-02-08T16:36:32Z")
> [@Kalhoun](#): > > I don’t think that’s true. If you’re in a public place, you don’t need anyone’s permission to take their picture. There’s no privacy rule in place on a public road. I didn’t mean to imply that it’s an invasion of privacy just to snap someone’s picture in a public place, but it’s considered advisable to get permission to use someone’s image for commercial purposes. Just another of those cover-your-ass things. [See the section titled “Use for commercial gain”.](http://www.baja.com/sensuousline/sline0799/mag4-6model_releases.shtml) ---
**Author:** ![Zebra](https://avatars.discourse-cdn.com/v4/letter/z/c0e974/32.png) [@Zebra](https://boards.straightdope.com/u/Zebra)\ **Post date:** [February 8, 2006, 4:36pm UTC](https://boards.straightdope.com/t/stranger-snaps-photo-of-me-wtf/343545/15 "2006-02-08T16:36:54Z")
Fool! He has captured your SOUL! You are now **Soulless Amazon Floozy Goddess**. ---
**Author:** ![Patty\_O\_Furniture](https://avatars.discourse-cdn.com/v4/letter/p/96bed5/32.png) [@Patty\_O\_Furniture](https://boards.straightdope.com/u/Patty_O_Furniture)\ **Post date:** [February 8, 2006, 4:38pm UTC](https://boards.straightdope.com/t/stranger-snaps-photo-of-me-wtf/343545/16 "2006-02-08T16:38:24Z")
Are you Britney Spears? ---
**Author:** ![Patty\_O\_Furniture](https://avatars.discourse-cdn.com/v4/letter/p/96bed5/32.png) [@Patty\_O\_Furniture](https://boards.straightdope.com/u/Patty_O_Furniture)\ **Post date:** [February 8, 2006, 4:40pm UTC](https://boards.straightdope.com/t/stranger-snaps-photo-of-me-wtf/343545/17 "2006-02-08T16:40:46Z")
Ah nevermind… I see you were walking not driving. Thought I was on to something for a moment. ---
**Author:** ![mrklutz](https://avatars.discourse-cdn.com/v4/letter/m/ebca7d/32.png) [@mrklutz](https://boards.straightdope.com/u/mrklutz)\ **Post date:** [February 8, 2006, 4:41pm UTC](https://boards.straightdope.com/t/stranger-snaps-photo-of-me-wtf/343545/18 "2006-02-08T16:41:37Z")
> [@OtakuLoki](#): > > What about the front man for the aliens, choosing a selection of persons to be abducted and probed in the near future? You missed the biggest worry, **AFG**. Unless, of course, **AFG** doesn’t find the thought of being probed particularly worrisome. Hmmm… I wouldn’t ascribe anything sinister to it, myself. Just some guy goofing around with a camera, most likely. Besides, you are cute, **AFG**. ---
**Author:** ![JThunder](https://avatars.discourse-cdn.com/v4/letter/j/e95f7d/32.png) [@JThunder](https://boards.straightdope.com/u/JThunder)\ **Post date:** [February 8, 2006, 4:42pm UTC](https://boards.straightdope.com/t/stranger-snaps-photo-of-me-wtf/343545/19 "2006-02-08T16:42:19Z")
Are you hot? ---
**Author:** ![spingears](https://avatars.discourse-cdn.com/v4/letter/s/ebca7d/32.png) [@spingears](https://boards.straightdope.com/u/spingears)\ **Post date:** [February 8, 2006, 4:44pm UTC](https://boards.straightdope.com/t/stranger-snaps-photo-of-me-wtf/343545/20 "2006-02-08T16:44:01Z")
> [@Amazon Floozy Goddess](#): > > Ok, so I’m walking to work this morning. In the line of cars driving down the road is a little silver car with a kinda cute guy behind the wheel. As the car passes me, the guy nonchalantly lifts a camera and takes a picture of me! Never slowing down, just lift and snap, and then he drives away. I’m standing there thinking…what was _that_ about?? WAG Just a candid camera buffoon! :rolleyes: [Next page](https://boards.straightdope.com/t/stranger-snaps-photo-of-me-wtf/343545.md?page=2)