Asking someone if they mind if you take pics of them....

Last night my wife and I went to the park by us (we dont have a lot in Vegas) just to try out my new Xsi, the park is pretty with a lake and plenty of nature. We got to the park just before sunset and the sky was a gorgeous color at this point. We went for a walk round and there was a dad showing his son how to fish, and immediately i thought wow what a nice shot that would be. But i just couldnt muster up the courage to ask them if he minded if i took a picture of them. It would have been perfect the light was just right and the sunset was exactly behind them. But i bottled it and walked off.

Then we walked further down and there was a girl fishing and her silhouette against the sunset and the lake was again stunning, but i just couldnt ask her in fear of being told no, or that i was a weirdo.

I didnt get any good shots in the end, a few ideas but no good shots, just so you can see an idea of the colors at the time here is one shot, im not claiming it to be good but i wanted you to see the colors..

The first thing to know (if you're in the U.S.) is you don't have to ask permission if you in public because there is no expectation of privacy. You can snap away without saying a word to anyone.

However, you may have an ethical problem with that approach. If that is the case, you have to decide if you want to avoid people in your shots, or learn to ask them. In my experience, most people don't have a problem unless you are asking to photograph their kids.

This is where long lenses come in handy. A nice 200/300mm lens gives you quite a bit of standoff distance so that you can get he picture and not offend or bother your subjects. I tend not to ask permission when I’m doing a bit of street photography, but then again I shoot long. When I went to the fair last summer and shot some cows with their handlers I was using my 10-22 so I asked permission first. It would have been quite annoying to get 3 feet away from your subject camera in hand without introducing yourself first.

Agreed with the above, and I should mention that I tend to shoot long as well, especially when "street" shooting. However, when there are times that I am shooting kids, I usually will either be as inconspicuous as possible, or I will go up and talk to them....after the pic is taken!

I've carried a card with my website / email address on it, so that if I want to take someone's pic, they know I'm at least IDing myself to them, and they can see what I've done. To date, I've never given a card out, since I never see the shot when I'm prepared to take it.

All of the above is good advice. Remember that public property and private property are two different animals.

Finally, I personally won't post any photos of anyone under 18 without a model release.

I've taken a few shots of people without asking..I have read some threads where people get hostile if they notice that you took their picture. In this day and age..I'd probably get a little paranoid knowing someone was taking my picture. Just be careful!

hmm good advice, yeah thats what i said to my wife, i just need 200/300 lens now!

next time il just pick my spot and try to be inconspicuous

lol..I'm hoping I can use my 55-250 mm for this same reason.

Sunset Park? A 70-200 is a great lens for this. Don't ask. If they question you be polite and personable. You'll almost never have a problem. I get caught all the time. But you usually only get the dirty look. If the pic looks good on the LCD you can offer to send it to them through email.

yeah sunset park
i def need to get the 70-200 for this, there were some rabbits too off the path and i just couldnt get close enough with my current lens, but ill remember for next time

i think my next lens will be the 70-300

DonJuanMair wrote in post #5803929
... the park by us (we dont have a lot in Vegas) just to try out my new Xsi, the park is pretty with a lake and plenty of nature. ...

Two thoughts;
1) Los Vegas ... Nature? Some how the two just don't seem to go together.... 2) How have the commercial developers missed that area?

Wayne

lol well there were rabbits and lots of birds, swans, hummingbirds, and ducks

Sounds idyllic

With the woman fishing - you could have asked your wife to ask her, perhaps?

That's the other thing - you were there with your wife - I don't know about over there - but over here you are seen as less of a threat when your partner is with you.

Love the colours on your picture.

just take the picture, and if they object you have a few choices:
1. Delete them
2. Tell them it's a public property and they have no expectation of privacy (especially if it's a silhoutte and not identifiable)
3. Show them the picture and see if they can reason with it

I do understand that taking the picture of other people's kid is more likely to get people becoming paranoid. In that case if it's deleting the picture or a punch in the face, i'd rather just delete it.