{"id":23371,"date":"2015-04-09T02:00:42","date_gmt":"2015-04-09T09:00:42","guid":{"rendered":"http:\/\/erickimphotography.com\/blog\/?p=23371"},"modified":"2015-04-08T14:12:30","modified_gmt":"2015-04-08T21:12:30","slug":"how-to-get-people-to-say-yes-when-shooting-street-portraits","status":"publish","type":"post","link":"https:\/\/erickimphotography.com\/blog\/2015\/04\/09\/how-to-get-people-to-say-yes-when-shooting-street-portraits\/","title":{"rendered":"How To Get People to Say Yes When Shooting Street Portraits"},"content":{"rendered":"
\"Downtown
Downtown LA, 2012<\/figcaption><\/figure>\n

In my street photography workshops, I often give the students a \u00e2\u20ac\u01535 yes\/5 no\u00e2\u20ac\u009d assignment. The concept is simple: you approach a bunch of strangers and ask permission to take their portrait. You intentionally try to get 5 people to say \u00e2\u20ac\u0153yes\u00e2\u20ac\u009d, and 5 people to say \u00e2\u20ac\u0153no.\u00e2\u20ac\u009d<\/p>\n

Sometimes students struggle to get all 5 people to say \u00e2\u20ac\u0153yes\u00e2\u20ac\u009d, and sometimes students have no problem.<\/p>\n

So what are some good strategies to quickly develop a rapport with strangers, and have strangers to say \u00e2\u20ac\u0153yes\u00e2\u20ac\u009d to having their picture taken?<\/p>\n

<\/p>\n

The secret: use the word: \u00e2\u20ac\u0153because\u00e2\u20ac\u009d<\/h2>\n

One of the biggest strategies when asking for street portraits is to say the word: \u00e2\u20ac\u0153because\u00e2\u20ac\u009d.<\/p>\n

I want to share a psychological study. The concept was simple: a psychologist ran an experiment trying to figure out how to be more persuasive.<\/p>\n

In the experiment the psychologist tried to cut a line in order to make photocopies, and tried 3 different variations to cut the line. The three variations she had the students were these:<\/p>\n

    \n
  1. No reason<\/strong>: \u00e2\u20ac\u0153Excuse me, I have 5 (20) pages. May I use the Xerox machine?\u00e2\u20ac\u009d<\/li>\n
  2. \u00e2\u20ac\u0153Legit\u00e2\u20ac\u009d reason<\/strong>: \u00e2\u20ac\u0153Excuse me, I have 5 (20) pages. May I use the Xerox machine, because I have to make copies<\/em>?\u00e2\u20ac\u009d<\/li>\n
  3. \u00e2\u20ac\u0153Bullshit\u00e2\u20ac\u009d reason<\/strong>: \u00e2\u20ac\u0153Excuse me, I have 5 (20) pages. May I use the Xerox machine, because I\u00e2\u20ac\u2122m in a rush<\/em>?\u00e2\u20ac\u009d<\/li>\n<\/ol>\n

    Her big finding was this:<\/p>\n

      \n
    1. No reason: 60% of people allowed her to cut the line.<\/li>\n
    2. \u00e2\u20ac\u0153Legit\u00e2\u20ac\u009d reason: 94% of people allowed her to cut the line<\/li>\n
    3. \u00e2\u20ac\u0153Bullshit\u00e2\u20ac\u009d reason: 94% of people still<\/em> allowed her to cut the line!!!<\/li>\n<\/ol>\n

      You can read more about the experiment here<\/a> see the full study here<\/a>.<\/p>\n

      If you want to learn more, this concept is called \u00e2\u20ac\u0153automaticity<\/a>\u00e2\u20ac\u009d.<\/p>\n

      Takeaway point:<\/h2>\n

      So when it comes to shooting street photography, in order to get strangers to say \u00e2\u20ac\u0153okay\u00e2\u20ac\u009d to being photographed, use the word: \u00e2\u20ac\u0153because<\/strong>\u00e2\u20ac\u009d. Give people a reason why<\/em> you want to take their photo.<\/p>\n

      If you approach a stranger and ask them to take their photo, many strangers are just curious why you want to take a photo of them.<\/p>\n

      So my suggestion is this: be very specific why<\/em> you want to photograph them, and what details of them you find interesting.<\/p>\n

      Some ideas:<\/p>\n