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Monsoon blues.



Saadi dilli!

@torqueguru, The last pic is just awsome; Nice composition and story

Standing Out
“Stop trying to fit in when you were born to stand out.”

A Question on street photography:

How ethical is it? We capture candid shots of people, who do not know, they are being captured and then we also publish those snaps. Are'nt we taking away the subject's privacy.

Though many people may not care about it, but surely there would be some, who may.
What is the explanation on that? Is it justified?



PS: This may be a topic beaten to death (as it sounds obvious) but since I dont have an answer, I thought I might pose this question.

Street photography is not always paparazzi photography. I have been part of many group walks and we always made sure the image is shown to the subject whenever possible, except when the face is not taken or creative shots like silhouettes etc are attempted. I have been using a 35mm on a DX body and now a 50mm on an FX body for street, so there is no way I can hide and shoot :) ! Permission is taken before the shoot with an interactive smile or nod of head, especially when the fairer gender is involved. Head shots are taken at a hand distance ! I am against the idea of using a tele for such situations, because it really steals the privacy of people. I have used them, but that's with permission. Not forgetting situations where the subject will request for a photograph and pose for you !

There is a photography contest ending on 4th July by better photography mag. Shoot some cotton and be part of it. I have not got anything so far. Here is the link About Us - Cotton Council International. - Better Photography

@ampere
Very nice point bought up. I am glad you are thinking about it. These days many people dont. Just fitting a 200 mm lens and shooting from a mile away according to me is not ethical in street photography. But like Shaju said, keeping a short focal length fixed lens, forces you to walk into the scene and take a photograph without hiding, at close quarters.
An honest intend and positive body language, lets people accept you and let you do your job. This sounds easy, but is so hard to do. Any thing can happen! Shooting out in the open close to your subject, which can be attained with a 24mm,28mm,35mm and at most a 50mm, gives your subject the chance to see you when you are shooting. I have had instances where people have told me they dont want their picture taken as i was taking the shot. I give them a business card and convince them my purpose, 9/10 times it works. But also there are instances where I delete images off right in front of their eyes if they have concerns.

This is very subjective, My fav is shooting streets and candids and I spend most amount of walking down markets and temples. You need to have the guts to take your camera out and point at a person. Most of the time people dont mind being photographed and dont question you, some show restraint and some give you this cold look and turn their faces away.
These are the basic rules I follow
1. I dont shoot kids without the consent of the parent/adult and I show the picture, I had taken to the parent and note down their address and send them a copy.

2. Never show the subject in my frame in bad-light if it involves a person ex - Like a person peeing

3. Especially, when I shoot in India people want to be photographed and would love to pose and sometimes they will ask me to keep shooting until "they" are happy with the frame and of-course I send them the copy.

4. I will never use my pictures for commercial purposes, If I want to submit the picture for a competition, then I would take their consent and get the model declaration signed and ensure that person gets something in return. Most of the time they dont take anything else in return except the copy of the photograph.

5. If Im shooting like a say a corn or balloon or some street vendor, then I ensure I buy something from them. Especially while travelling in South East Asia, I carry a few items like pencils, pens and generally give something to person/kid I had shot.

6. I always use the 70-200 for portraits, firstly you are not stealth using this glass, most of the time you are the centre of attraction. I do shoot without the knowledge and show the picture to that person and of-course will delete it if the person shows objection. Though most of the professionals use the 35 or 50 mm and know how to get their subjects to react, personally, I cant do that; if you are very close to a person, the subject becomes very uncomfortable and essence is lost.



Street photography is not unethical, and depends on how you approach it. Its again very subjective.

Thanks guys. Puts things in perspective. I should not have used the word "unethical". As you and Shaju delicately put it: its subjective.

As you say, if the subject, after being shown the snap, is fine, then no issues at all. Most times if its the street vendor or a face in the crowd, that wont matter much.
They mostly oblige.

Where we may get cold faces is in case of parents of children or folks who may be averse to it.
But yes its our moral obligation to make sure we show the subject what we have snapped. I wonder how many folks from the photography community follow this "snapping code of conduct".

More so because many of them would be new to photography and would not be knowing about these unspoken rules. They may unknowingly set wrong ideals for others to follow.

From one of the recent functions at home. Requesting the photography gurus to comment on the same.

Regards,
Anant

Nice perspectives on candids. I personally do not do candids / street photography for two reasons:

1. I do not have the guts to do so.
2. I do not generally find people interesting.

There, I said it. I would rather try to take the candid of other creatures and be done with the bother. A butterfly looks far more beautiful to me than the best looking woman on the street (other than my wife of course. :D)

Anantu, my two point feedback is:

1. Lovely colours
2. Focus is a bit off. Maybe due to the compression inherent while uploading to team-bhp. But in the second picture for instance, a shallow depth of field with the lamp in focus would have looked awesome.

Hey typeonegative,

Thanks for the comments. Yes the second picture is a bit out of focus. Had it been focused on the lamp, the picture would have looked better. I am still learning and would take note of this point in the future.

Regards,
Anant

A Fiat Punto Banner Ad.



The slants that you see is actually rain.

Anvancy

Well Said Saju, And TG, the ratio works in US but not here and especially in kerala. Every time i am on the streets with my cam people come and ask me if i am from a news paper or something, But that depends again, if you look like someone who can give a harmless smile and ask for permission, 9/10 time you get the permission ( TG i know i am contradicting myself now :D)

Well 2 pics from my latest photowalk with Ranjith.





TG lovely use of lines, the building looks like a guitar fret board

Pramod

@pramodkumar, that place is Chithral isn't it? Which means you are in Trivandrum most probably. The pictures look kind of HDRish. Never seen the place during the rains so I know I should not comment. If you look behind the temple there is this lovely section against the Western Ghats where the clouds form up in a lovely manner.

TG, you know, this looks like a lot of scenes from the treks in Karakorum range...near Baltoro Glacier to K2 (escpecially snaps taken in winter).