{"id":63164,"date":"2017-08-17T00:36:22","date_gmt":"2017-08-17T07:36:22","guid":{"rendered":"http:\/\/erickimphotography.com\/blog\/?p=63164"},"modified":"2017-08-17T08:33:37","modified_gmt":"2017-08-17T15:33:37","slug":"how-to-defuse-confrontations-in-street-photography","status":"publish","type":"post","link":"https:\/\/erickimphotography.com\/blog\/2017\/08\/17\/how-to-defuse-confrontations-in-street-photography\/","title":{"rendered":"How to Defuse Confrontations in Street Photography"},"content":{"rendered":"
\"\"
SF, 2015<\/figcaption><\/figure>\n

What do you do if someone gets pissed off with you taking a picture of them?<\/p>\n

<\/p>\n

More street photography tips in STREET NOTES MOBILE EDITION<\/a>.<\/em><\/p>\n

Here are some personal strategies:<\/p>\n

1. Pretend like you\u00e2\u20ac\u2122re shooting something behind them<\/h2>\n

\"\"<\/p>\n

If you take a picture and your subject looks pissed off, DON\u00e2\u20ac\u2122T drop the camera and walk away.<\/p>\n

\"\"
SUITS<\/figcaption><\/figure>\n

My suggestion: hold your ground, and hold the camera up. Keep clicking, and don\u00e2\u20ac\u2122t make eye contact. Then pretend like you\u00e2\u20ac\u2122re shooting something behind<\/em> the person.<\/p>\n

\"London,
London, 2014. The first picture, with a flash at night.<\/figcaption><\/figure>\n
\"London,
London, 2014. The second photo. I pretended like I was shooting the sign behind her.<\/figcaption><\/figure>\n

2. \u00e2\u20ac\u0153Cool place, huh?\u00e2\u20ac\u009d<\/h2>\n

An off shoot of the prior tip. Pretend like you\u00e2\u20ac\u2122re shooting the place… not the person.<\/p>\n

I shot this picture with a full flash, and freaked out the couple. After taking the picture, I said,<\/p>\n

\n Cool place, huh?\n<\/p><\/blockquote>\n

They looked behind them and said, \u00e2\u20ac\u0153Yeah!\u00e2\u20ac\u009d I then smiled and said, \u00e2\u20ac\u0153Enjoy your dinner!\u00e2\u20ac\u009d they said, \u00e2\u20ac\u0153Thanks!\u00e2\u20ac\u009d<\/p>\n

\"Shot
Shot in a restaurant with flash in Michigan, Lansing.<\/figcaption><\/figure>\n

3. \u00e2\u20ac\u0153Just keep doing what you\u00e2\u20ac\u2122re doing!\u00e2\u20ac\u009d<\/h2>\n

I took this picture of a man eating a sandwich through a window, and after he made eye contact with me… I just gestured to him to keep eating the sandwich.<\/p>\n

Funny enough, he laughed and kept eating, and actually posed for the camera.<\/p>\n

\"Suit
Suit eating Potbelly Sandwich in Chicago, 2013<\/figcaption><\/figure>\n

4. Crouch, shoot, don\u00e2\u20ac\u2122t make eye contact<\/h2>\n

I was in close quarters in a crowded Paris subway, and saw this suit looking miserable. I crouched, and shot a photo with a flash, at around 1 arm length away (1 meter).<\/p>\n

After taking the picture, I just avoided eye contact, pretended to look at the map behind him, and then opened up my phone.<\/p>\n

\"Paris,
Paris, suit in the train. 2015<\/figcaption><\/figure>\n

Why avoid eye contact to defuse potential confrontations? If you avoid eye contact, you don\u00e2\u20ac\u2122t provoke people.<\/p>\n

5. Give your subject a compliment, or tell them why<\/em> you made a picture of them<\/h2>\n
\"\"
NYC, 2015<\/figcaption><\/figure>\n

When working on my suits<\/a> project, I had a lot of people give me a dirty eye after I made a photo of them without permission.<\/p>\n

What I did then was compliment them or tell them why I shot them like,<\/p>\n

\n Nice tie!\n<\/p><\/blockquote>\n

Or<\/p>\n

\n Looking sharp!\n<\/p><\/blockquote>\n

Don\u00e2\u20ac\u2122t give fake compliments. Be honest and real. Then most people smile and say thank you, and move on.<\/p>\n

\n

But what do you do when you have taken someone\u00e2\u20ac\u2122s picture, and they know it was you?<\/p>\n

6. Apologize, hold your ground, and wait for the police<\/h2>\n

Street photography isn\u00e2\u20ac\u2122t illegal in public spaces.<\/p>\n

Once I made a picture of a woman in Melbourne, and she got angry and threatened to call the cops on me. I apologized, and she wanted me to take out my film. I said no. She threatened to call the cops. I said if she wanted to, she could.<\/p>\n

She called the cops<\/a>.<\/p>\n

I waited with her (awkwardly) and when the cops finally came, they said I was doing nothing wrong.<\/p>\n

Lesson: Don\u00e2\u20ac\u2122t let anyone bully you on the streets. Don\u00e2\u20ac\u2122t be a dick, but don\u00e2\u20ac\u2122t be overly<\/em> apologetic. You ain\u00e2\u20ac\u2122t doing anything wrong in street photography.<\/p>\n

7. Don\u00e2\u20ac\u2122t argue; listen.<\/h2>\n

I once photographed a woman who went off on me in Downtown LA. She cursed at me, and threatened to call the cops.<\/p>\n

For about five minutes, I didn\u00e2\u20ac\u2122t say anything. I kept nodding my head, had a worrisome look in my face, and I said, \u00e2\u20ac\u0153I understand.\u00e2\u20ac\u009d<\/p>\n

About 6 minutes in, she spilled the beans:<\/p>\n

\n She has an old boyfriend stalker, who was abusive to her. She was anxious that he hired a stalker to monitor and haunt her.\n<\/p><\/blockquote>\n

Afterwards, I told her I photographed her because I thought she was beautiful. She said, \u00e2\u20ac\u0153Really?\u00e2\u20ac\u009d We then did a little photo shoot. She loved the pictures. I showed her the lcd screen. She liked them. I emailed her the best one.<\/p>\n

Moral of the story: when life gives you lemons, make lemonade.<\/p>\n

Conquer your fears in street photography.<\/h2>\n

\"\"<\/p>\n

If you get social anxiety from street photography, learn to conquer your fears and meet new peers at an ERIC KIM WORKSHOP<\/a>.<\/p>\n

\n

STREET PHOTOGRAPHY 101<\/a><\/h1>\n

\"Tokyo,<\/p>\n

If you\u00e2\u20ac\u2122re new to street photography, start here:<\/p>\n