Hello again,

I though I would share a photo I took yesterday at the Helsinki pride march and also use the opportunity to ask some more experienced veterans about street photography 'etiquette'. I spotted this lady and her fiends viewing the parade from her living room window. I especially liked the tones and the contrast between the flag and wall, so I went for the shot. Anyway, about my question.. This lady was eyeballing me when I was taking my picture. After, I went up to her and showed her the picture and asked if it would ok for me to post it and then I offered to email the picture to her. She said sure, thats fine and thanked me for the picture, so it worked out well at the end. How to do you approach people when you take their photo on the street, or do you? Are there any rules to the game? If I wanted to get up close and personal for a portrait shot, how would I go about doing this? Any tips or tricks would be well appreciated.

The march was awesome, lots of happy people and things to photograph. I spotted many old school photographers doing their thing, some with film cameras. One guy reminded me of Ed Harris from the movie Kodachrome (Great film btw!).

Please drop a comment and let me know what you think about this shot and what I could have done differently.

Thanks you and enjoy your day!
-Matias

[aslyfox]

I think you did every thing correctly

[philanker2012]

Good observation to take the shot, although I would try and lose some of the white on the left hand side. Composition is very much a personal thing and we all see things differently.

As to your main question when shooting street I am looking for candid moments. Engaging with people no longer makes the moment candid and people`s behaviour and body language totally changes. Normally if spotted before the shot I will just move on and not take the shot. Occasionally the eye contact from the subject works, then I just smile, give a thumbs up and move on.

Some street shooters are looking for eye contact all the time, some approach people and ask if they can take their portrait.

Street photography is a wide subject with many styles, you just have to decide which styles suits you. The thing that always excites me about street photography is that I never know what I am going to see when out.

[bscott]

Nice shot

[RGlasel]

This lady was eyeballing me when I was taking my picture. After, I went up to her and showed her the picture and asked if it would ok for me to post it and then I offered to email the picture to her. She said sure, thats fine and thanked me for the picture, so it worked out well at the end. How to do you approach people when you take their photo on the street, or do you?

It depends on the location most importantly, where you will display the picture secondly, when you ask is third most important and the type of picture is also important. In North America, going up to a stranger's apartment to ask any question will be viewed suspiciously, asking if you can post a picture after taking it might cause that person to call the police. On the other hand, taking pictures of strangers while they are in public places is normally considered okay, but the situation is also important. Is the focus of the picture the people or their surroundings? In my opinion, if someone's face is clearly visible and that person is the focus of the picture, you should probably ask for permission before taking the picture, if that isn't possible, then you should keep the picture for your own use only.

Getting natural looking pictures of people after you ask for their permission is difficult, but developing that skill will make you a better photographer. My son has taken portraits of strangers in public places to be used in contests and to put in his portfolio, but he is very sociable and finds it easy to strike up a conversation. He simply says hello, asks if he can take their picture and shows them the picture on his camera afterwards. In your case, if you noticed that the woman in your picture had made eye contact before taking the picture, you could have pointed to your camera and motioned thumbs up or thumbs down to effectively get her permission. If she moves her head inside, then you can take the picture,but it will be less interesting. As it happens, you got to meet a stranger and it sounds like it went very well, so for your situation, I would say your approach is best.

[gmans]

Models in the photo are great, thank you and sharing. cheers

[Photogoof]

Hello again,

I though I would share a photo I took yesterday at the Helsinki pride march and also use the opportunity to ask some more experienced veterans about street photography 'etiquette'. I spotted this lady and her fiends viewing the parade from her living room window. I especially liked the tones and the contrast between the flag and wall, so I went for the shot. Anyway, about my question.. This lady was eyeballing me when I was taking my picture. After, I went up to her and showed her the picture and asked if it would ok for me to post it and then I offered to email the picture to her. She said sure, thats fine and thanked me for the picture, so it worked out well at the end. How to do you approach people when you take their photo on the street, or do you? Are there any rules to the game? If I wanted to get up close and personal for a portrait shot, how would I go about doing this? Any tips or tricks would be well appreciated.

The march was awesome, lots of happy people and things to photograph. I spotted many old school photographers doing their thing, some with film cameras. One guy reminded me of Ed Harris from the movie Kodachrome (Great film btw!).

Please drop a comment and let me know what you think about this shot and what I could have done differently.

Thanks you and enjoy your day!
-Matias

Nicely framed legs!

[FozzFoster]

Hello again,

I though I would share a photo I took yesterday at the Helsinki pride march and also use the opportunity to ask some more experienced veterans about street photography 'etiquette'. I spotted this lady and her fiends viewing the parade from her living room window. I especially liked the tones and the contrast between the flag and wall, so I went for the shot. Anyway, about my question.. This lady was eyeballing me when I was taking my picture. After, I went up to her and showed her the picture and asked if it would ok for me to post it and then I offered to email the picture to her. She said sure, thats fine and thanked me for the picture, so it worked out well at the end. How to do you approach people when you take their photo on the street, or do you? Are there any rules to the game? If I wanted to get up close and personal for a portrait shot, how would I go about doing this? Any tips or tricks would be well appreciated.

The march was awesome, lots of happy people and things to photograph. I spotted many old school photographers doing their thing, some with film cameras. One guy reminded me of Ed Harris from the movie Kodachrome (Great film btw!).

Please drop a comment and let me know what you think about this shot and what I could have done differently.

Thanks you and enjoy your day!
-Matias

great colour and story here! well done!