I was asked to pose for pictures a handful of times when I was a young, skinny thing in college with a collection of outrageous hats. It was always foreign visitors to the campus. I didn’t care. I mean, I was wearing an outrageous hat, right?
One of the favourite photos I have taken was of a guy downtown in Boston. He saw that I was taking pictures of buildings and said, “Hey, you wanna take my picture?” so I did. He’s just standing there looking smug and local. I love it. No idea who he is.
Now I know that this thread is years old, but I’ve recently encountered something like this. This past March I had the opportunity to go to China as a school trip (high school) and while at the Summer Palace there were 3 men with fancy - and I mean FANCY- camera’s whom as soon as they saw the group that I was with began taking pictures of our group picture.
This isn’t what was strange to me, since throughout the whole trip I was confronted by many asking to take pictures with me. But these 3 men with paparazzi style lenses asked to take pictures of me and I thought it would be WITH me. Instead I stood for a good minute as they snapped away. When they were done my group had to wait for the rest and as I was there with my friends, they kept snapping every time I looked anywhere in their general direction.
I guess what I’m asking is, is there any way that I can find these pictures? Or what they used them for? ANYTHING really. Sorry that this doesn’t relate, but it’s been bothering me for some time now.
Heh. I did say most folk.
Lots of people especially Japanese tourists love taking photos of my kids. They never ask though but I don’t really mind sometimes I’m in them.
In a way similar to the OP, yes. In an SCA setting, Sanfermines or similar, people don’t even need to ask: getting photographed comes with the costume.
That guy who asked me to pose my butt, no. I still get the heebies thinking of him and it’s been 30 years.
Absolutely not. As one of life’s uglybugs, I don’t want to be responsible for the damage it would cause to someone’s camera. Not the mention the lasting trauma…
+1 Not photogenic.
I think there must be something about white babies to Asians; when my wife and I were in Amsterdam last year, out of nowhere a whole bunch of Japanese (we think) old lady tourists came out of nowhere and started cooing over our 15 month old son*, and asked to take his picture, which we agreed to.
If they wanted my picture, I’d let them, although I’d be curious and a bit wary; who wants a picture of a 40 yr old 6’1" 290 lb fat white guy with receding hair, even if he was handsome once upon a time?
I don’t love being photographed and don’t consider myself photogenic, but I will let almost anyone take my picture if I am asked. It’s not an uncommon thing around here (I live in a nice area of downtown Philadelphia). For instance, at various events (street festivals, concerts, even just Friday nights at certain bars and clubs) there are events photographers around. They will photograph you and your friends upon request or with permission, and upload your picture to their Facebook page, where you can find and tag yourself if you desire. It’s an extremely easy way for them to promote an event or business.
There are also lots of photographers who live around my area and enjoy taking pictures if people on the street for their personal projects, or to blog. I’ve let a couple take my picture, but haven’t seen the results.
Friends of ours experienced that first hand… NY Times Article about what happened to a photo of their child.
Nobody is concerned that they may be trying to capture your soul with the image-box?
I have no soul.
Don’t have any rhythm either.
I was at an aquarium in Singapore and this elderly Buddhist monk asked through an interpreter if he could take my picture. It was random, but said sure.
Years ago during my visits to Tokyo Disney Resort, I used to wear my a Mickey’s Sorcerer’s Hat. Many guests (mostly Japanese ladies) would come up and ask to take a photo together. A few times I was asked by Chinese groups to join them in a group photo (yeah, weird).
In March, I was at the Mt. Fuji Visitor Center with my parents. An couple with a camera approached me and I was thinking they wanted me to take a photo of them with Mt. Fuji in the background. But no, the husband wanted to take a photo with ME. Yikes! Did I mention they were Chinese?
Like everybody else, I had my picture taken by strangers in China. For instance, two girls approached my wife in Tiananmen Square and asked if she would take a picture of the two of them standing with me. Because I’m just that awesome.
We actually commented to each other that he’d probably end up as the Gerber baby of Japan.
So far, we haven’t seen his picture anywhere.
Nobody’s ever asked to take my picture. 
I play in bands, so I end up in strangers’ pictures fairly regularly. I’m pretty self conscious and shy which is (duh) one of the reasons I ended up on stages, so I’m never really happy about being photographed.
Now that we have Facebook et al I get to see a lot of those photos, too
But, you know, all this adversity just makes me a stronger person or something. It’s surprising what you can survive if you have to.
I’m another one who visited China and the had the locals lining up to take my photo. That’s a slight exaggeration, but they do seem to like having their family pose with Westerners. A lady had me pose with her two daughters in Tiananmen Square – and didn’t someone upthread say the exact same thing? And the waitress in a restaurant near the border with North Korea had the manager take her photo with me.
One of the best pictures I have taken was a close-up of a waitress at Bubba Gumps. She had extraordinary eyes. I could not, not ask.
I really enjoy urban and street photography and I often take candid pictures of strangers without them knowing. On occasion they will look at the lens just before I snap the picture…in that case I hold a just a second or two longer to get the real feel of their gaze and once I take the shot I never make eye contact with them. I have been approached a couple times but keep the conversation short and compliant with their wishes.
Only way I would ask prior is to stage the photo otherwise its wide open hunting.