Street Photography - Photographing People.

[scotpet11]

Would I get in trouble with the law for "looking suspicious", or do I just shoot to my hearts desire?
Yesterday I tried taking a picture of 2 kids being pulled by their dad in a red wagon. The dad looked at me like I was a pedophile. I am 18, but look like I'm 16. So, that sort of weirded me out.
So how do you guys go about photographing kids or people on the streets?

[Matt K.]

Tough issue. Yes, youcould get into trouble by a parent, for sure. Best thing would be to ask permission first. Then again, legally, if you are on public property, you can take pictures of anything you want, unless there is a specific warning or prohibition posted. I took some images of kids at a folk festival, with a zoom lensnd I did not ask permission either. But it could easily be misconscrewd. I would stay away from a school playground, unless I had permission from the school to tkae images, for example. Just out of curtacy.

[Iguanasan]

First, make sure you understand the laws that apply to taking photos in public. Then stay within the law. Whether you want to get into arguments or fights with people on the street you have to decide how you will operate. You can shoot first and ask later or ask first and then shoot or snipe from a distance with a zoom and hope not to be noticed.

The other option, of course, is to avoid taking shots of strangers.

For some information about the law visit the other site we started, http://publicphotography.ca/

[PeterToronto]

This is an often debated issue. There are a number of factors that need to be considered when engaging in street photography: the country that you're in, the general "climate" of that country or region with regards to public photography, your comfort level, your safety level, rights (on both ends of the lens), and many more things. Remember as well that all of these things are exponentially amplified when children are involved.

I wrote an article on the topic a while back. It outlines my philosophy on the matter. Check it out if you're interested.

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[Marko]

at the end of the day, in Canada at least you can take any picture of any person you want in public. It's your right.

That doesn't mean that you can't still be hassled though.....

In terms of asking permission, that's 100% personal. Some of the world's BEST street photographers never ask permission. That may not make them the friendliest folk to strangers....but they do get great shots and have every right to take them and not ask permission.

Personally, I'm a typical Canadian so i almost always ask first.