The Art and Artifice (and Ethics) of Street Photography

When I saw this gentleman approaching, dressed as he was for a formal event and seemingly oblivious to the 27ºF weather, I had only a couple of seconds to line up the shot. I was thankful for my Fuji X100V’s nearly flawless autofocus system. Note how the car headlights illuminate his pants legs.

The meaning of the term “street photography” is the source of much disagreement among some who call themselves street photographers. But the rest of us transcend that exclusionist bickering and simply document human life wherever, whenever and however we find it. Of course, anyone who roams the streets with a camera must inevitably deal with certain issues, especially when there are other people around. I’ve compiled a list of questions that people interested in street photography have asked (or are likely to ask), and offered some answers from my own perspective. I don’t claim to have the final word on this, and I encourage you to weigh my answers against your own ideas.

What is street photography?

I’ve seen a few notable photographers define “street photography” as if they invented it, or have any say over how to interpret it for others. Some claim that it must include people, or that all the pictures of people have to be candid and if they even so much as glance at the camera the scene is spoiled. Some believe the only way to get interesting shots is to nearly assault people by coming up close to them, even blinding them with a flash. And then there’s the endless debate over which focal length is best for street photography, not to mention whether you’re allowed to use a phone camera.

I say, ignore all of that. If it’s a photograph, and it involves something resembling a street — whether it be an avenue, an alley or a country lane — it qualifies as street photography. It doesn’t have to have people in it. The people don’t have to be unaware and they don’t need to be doing anything interesting. It can be just a street, a blind alley, some architecture. Or it can be a long exposure with light trails from traffic. Street photography is what you make it. Some photographers avoid the whole controversy by calling their work “documentary” or “environmental,” but perhaps Mr. Eggleston said it best:

Often people ask what I’m photographing, which is a hard question to answer. And the best what I’ve come up with is I just say: Life today.

— William Eggleston

Is street photography legal?

This is a valid question. Are you in China? Iran? Saudi Arabia? Chances are there are strict laws limiting where and what you can photograph. In most Western countries, however, there are few if any restrictions on public streets. There are some exceptions such as taking pictures on business premises without permission, and some government buildings and military installations are off-limits. But in general, it’s fine to take photos of pretty much anything and anyone you find on a public street. Still, wherever you are planning to do street photography, it’s a good idea to do some research so you don’t run afoul of the law.

Do I need permission from the people I’m photographing?

Notwithstanding any laws or restrictions that may apply in your locality, in most Western European and North American cities there is no expectation of privacy on public streets, so there’s no need to obtain permission from the people you’re photographing there. However, that doesn’t mean that you shouldn’t ask for permission in certain situations.

This was the waitress who brought us our dessert on the patio in front of Crawford’s. I had just loaded some Ilford HP5 Plus into my Canon EOS 10S film camera and I asked if I could take her picture.

First of all, there’s nothing that says you can’t ask for permission. Of course when you do that you’ll most likely get a posed picture instead of a candid one. No matter what others may say, there’s nothing wrong with a posed picture in street photography. Many famous photographers, including the likes of William Eggleston and Fan Ho, count posed shots among their most iconic photographs, and some of the most stunning photos I’ve ever seen were taken by a photographer who went around with a black background and took close-up portraits of people he approached in the street. Several of my own favorite street images were of people I approached and asked if I could take their picture, or who approached me to ask what I was doing and then agreed to pose for a photo.

Of course, there may be scenes that you want to capture without giving yourself away. Once someone notices you, you have materially altered the scene. Gone is the interesting facial expression; they become self-aware and stop doing the thing you wanted to capture, their body language involuntarily changing into a pose. In these situations asking for permission is not an option, and you should be as inconspicuous, or “stealthy,” as possible. A bit further on in this article I’ll touch on some ways to do that, and what to do if you’re noticed anyway.

Can I sell or publish pictures I’ve taken of people?

Before we go into more detail about photographing people, let me pause here and talk about publishing, licensing and model releases. Please note that I am not an attorney and what I’m about to say does not constitute legal advice. You should always consult a legal professional if you’re not sure what your rights are, and those rights can vary widely between different countries, regions and municipalities. That said, here is my understanding of what you can do with photos you’ve taken of people in the United States, whether they’re candid or posed, with or without their knowledge:

1. If you plan to use an image for commercial licensing — that is, to commercialize, monetize, sell, promote, or advertise a product, business or service, including for use as stock photography — permission and/or waivers are likely required from all property owners, creators of any featured artworks, and recognizable people in an image. A recognizable person is someone who appears in your photo and can be identified based on their face, clothing or other physical attributes, and any such person may need to sign a model release before you can use their likeness for commercial purposes. Pets and domesticated animals are considered property and may require a property release from their owner. This pretty much rules out any candid street photography as it’s not really feasible to track down all the people, pets and objects in the picture after the fact.
2. If you only plan to use the image for editorial licensing — that is, for news or educational purposes that do not involve selling, promoting, or monetizing a business, product or service — then model and property releases are most likely not required. Even pictures taken on most business premises can be licensed for editorial use without a property release or explicit permission — although that doesn’t mean you shouldn’t at least ask for permission anyway if your relationship with the owner is important to you. One notable exception where you definitely do need permission is when taking photographs at a ticketed event, such as a concert or sporting event, and you do not have a press pass.
3. If you plan to publish the image for your own artistic purposes — art exhibitions, photo books, your own website, etc. — the rules are a bit more relaxed, but you should still exercise care and diligence. For example, there is nothing that prevents you from including an image of a person or business in your photo book, or displaying it on your Instagram or website. On the other hand, there is also nothing preventing that person or business from suing you to take it down or have the sale of your photo book halted. Common sense would tell you that if your picture contains the recognizable likeness of a major celebrity, you might want to seek permission before publishing it anywhere; likewise with the intellectual property of a certain litigious rodential entertainment juggernaut.

Are there any people I shouldn’t photograph?

As tempting as a some shots might be, there are certain situations that should give you pause before firing the shutter. Specifically, there are two kinds of people you should think twice about photographing unless you have a very good reason:

1. Children, unless you already know the parents or you’ve obtained their express permission. Again, common sense should guide you here: there is nothing inherently immoral or illegal about photographing fully clothed children in a public space, but the way you go about doing it can make a big difference. Hanging around a park or children’s play area and taking pictures of children looks extremely creepy, especially (but not exclusively) if you’re a man. Grabbing a quick snapshot in passing when a child is doing something cute is a different story.
2. Homeless people, unless it’s as part of a well planned and socially relevant photo essay on economic disparity. Whenever you are considering taking a picture of an unhoused person in the street, ask yourself what your motivation is. Will your photo be an instrumental tool in addressing or mitigating the causes of homelessness, or are you just taking it out of a sense of pity, or worse, sensationalism? If your interest is purely artistic, what can you do to safeguard your subject’s anonymity? And if, after reflecting on these questions, you decide you should photograph an unhoused person, perhaps you’ll conclude that the best thing is to enter into conversation with that person and get to know them. And maybe, after you have built a rapport with that person and you see their humanity and personality, you can ask them for permission to take a photo. It’ll be posed, but your newly formed connection with your subject will no doubt result in a superior image.

These two situations illustrate my two prime directives of street photography:

1. Don’t be creepy.
2. Always protect the dignity of the human being.

How do I keep people from noticing me?

There is a sense among street photographers that candid shots are more interesting than posed or staged ones. It’s a fair assessment, but I’ve seen plenty of posed street portraits, as well as elaborately staged affairs where someone deliberately walks through the scene, that were stunningly interesting. That said, candid shots are an important part of street photography, mostly because people who are not aware that they are being photographed tend to be more authentic in their behavior and facial expressions. So what are some ways to keep people from noticing you and your camera? Here are a few suggestions:

1. Use a small, unobtrusive camera. You’re not very likely to go unnoticed if you go about lugging a full-frame DSLR with a big zoom lens attached, let alone a large camera backpack to hold all your extra lenses. Not only will you be impossible to miss, but you’ll also look like a professional photographer on assignment, and people will be more on their guard. For digital photography, a better choice would be a smallish rangefinder-style or point-and-shoot camera. Some popular pro cameras include the Leica Q series, Fujifilm X100 or X-Pro series, or Ricoh GR series. Slightly larger DSLR or mirrorless cameras with a compact prime lens attached can do the job as well. For the ultimate in stealth, hardly anyone will notice you using a smartphone. If you’re into film photography, most vintage film cameras with a matching prime lens are fairly compact and unobtrusive as well, although these can attract attention in other ways.
2. Don’t draw undue attention to yourself, for instance by wearing loud or distinctive clothing, or by behaving in an unusual way. Walk slowly, or at least don’t walk any faster than other people around you. Not only will you be less noticeable that way, but you’ll also miss fewer photo opportunities. Another way to be less noticeable is to sit down somewhere (e.g. a place that has a background you want to photograph people against) and take the occasional shot.
3. Shoot from the hip. Most digital cameras have an LCD screen on the back that you can use to frame your shot; some of those screens can even tilt up or down. Although many photographers (myself included) prefer framing their shots through a viewfinder, there is a definite stealth advantage to holding the camera at chest or hip level and using the LCD screen. Not only does it make the camera itself less noticeable, you can always pretend that you’re just fiddling with the settings. And as an added bonus, shots taken from a different perspective than eye level tend to be more interesting, too!
4. Use a wide-angle lens for misdirection. If you’re using a lens with an equivalent focal length of 35mm or less, you can use the wide field of view to take someone’s picture while making them think you’re taking a picture of something else. If someone sees you taking photos, aim the camera at something to their side or off in the distance, while making sure they are still in the frame. Most people don’t think they’re going to be in a picture when the camera is not aimed directly at them, and they will ignore you. Having the subject to the left or right instead of center frame can also result in a more interesting composition. And if they’re too far off to one side of the frame, you can always crop in a little in post-production.

The above suggestions and tricks notwithstanding, stealth isn’t the be-all and end-all of street photography. Sometimes being obvious about taking pictures (such as setting up a tripod on a street corner), or simply having an interesting-looking camera, can be a conversation starter. I’ve taken plenty of great street portraits after someone came up to ask me about my camera, whether it is my sleek, vintage-style Fuji X100V digital camera or my honkin’ Mamiya C330 medium-format TLR.

What if I’m caught?

This was shot on a vintage film camera with manual focus and exposure. I only had a fraction of a second to get the shot. Fortunately the camera’s focus and exposure were already set close to their correct values, and it helped that the aperture was set to f/8 for greater depth of field, which improved my chances of getting the subject in acceptable focus.

So, you were hoping to take a candid snap on the sly, but your subject clocked you. What do you do?

1. Chill. If you’re following the rules, you’re not doing anything illegal, immoral or fattening. Most people are cool with having their picture taken on the street, and some might even give you a great smile, like this dude pictured above that came toward me on a onewheel. Others may just ignore you after noticing you and continue on their way.
2. Smile. Follow the first rule of street photography, and don’t be creepy. Trying to pretend you weren’t taking their picture won’t work and will only make you look suspicious. Worse, it may upset your subject. If you’ve been found out, look your subject straight in the eye, smile, and maybe give a little head nod or salute. Your subject will remember you as a nice person who considered them interesting enough to photograph.
3. Be transparent. If a person you just photographed approaches you, asking why you took their picture, just answer the question. Surely there was a good reason you decided to take their picture, so just tell them what it is — you liked their hat, their t-shirt, something about their facial expression, their yellow jacket matched the cab that passed behind them — whatever the reason, engage them openly and honestly. You may end up having a nice conversation with that person and even get an opportunity to take another street portrait. Note that I’m again calling your attention to motivation; if your motivation is purely artistic, then you’ll have no problem answering the question “why did you take my picture?” If on the other hand you took the picture because you thought your subject had a nice bosom, well… awkward!
4. Don’t be defensive! Remember, you’re not doing anything wrong (and hopefully you’re not being creepy). You’re a street photographer and you’re just taking pictures of interesting things and people. And although you technically don’t need a reason to take someone’s picture, as a photographer you have a very good reason: it’s art. So about the worst thing you can say is “I’m taking your picture because I can; it’s perfectly legal!” That will almost ensure that your subject asks you to delete the image, and it doesn’t give the true reason why you’re doing it.
5. Delete the image if asked. This is something that’s only happened to me a couple of times. Once, I took a picture of someone on a bicycle, and as he approached he asked me if I took his picture. I answered in the affirmative. He then asked me what I was going to do with it, and I told him I might post it on social media, or publish it in a future photo book. He told me he did not want it posted to social media, but didn’t ask me to delete it. After he took off, I went into the camera menu and deleted it anyway. I didn’t want to risk forgetting about his wishes and accidentally posting it. Second-guessing him was not an option; he might have had a very good reason not to be seen on social media, perhaps one that involved his safety or the safety of others. Of course if you’re shooting with film, this is not an option without losing the entire roll; if you explain this and sincerely promise to not post the image and destroy the negative once it’s developed, this should mollify your subject. And in the extremely unlikely event that it doesn’t, remember that it’s just pictures; it’s not worth getting beat up over. In line with the Second Rule of Street Photography, always protect the dignity of the human being. That includes respecting the wishes of someone you just photographed. It doesn’t matter how amazing the photo was, just delete it.
6. Bonus tip: have a small stack of business cards with you. When you are confronted by someone about taking their picture, it can be extremely helpful to be able to hand them a business card showing that you’re an actual photographer with a website (or at least a social media account where you post photos). I’ve been in several situations where someone seemed alarmed at first, but after seeing my business card they were immediately put at ease and had no issue with the fact I took their picture. I always send them off with “please check my website for some pretty pictures!”

Summary

Street photography is one of the most rewarding kinds of photography you can be engaged in. As a photographer looking to develop both skill and style in this genre, it’s important to learn from others while remaining true to yourself.

I hope that this article has addressed some of the questions or concerns you may have had about photographing in the street. If you have a question that I haven’t touched on here, feel free to send me a message. Meanwhile, happy shooting!