Does This Happen To Anyone Else?

Taking photos is a hobby for me. I mainly take photos of my son and the kids that I nanny. I only have a T3i, it has a battery grip and I invested in a nice lens. So nothing too flashy...

Sometimes I can't get as close as I would like and I started noticing, that in every single set of photos I have taken this summer, no matter where it was: the pool, tar pits, aquarium, science museum, soccer practice....etc. that there was at least one person, sometimes more, staring right at me with the strangest looks on their face. Like I am doing something completely out of the ordinary. I never saw these people until I got home and pulled the pictures off the camera.

But now, I am noticing them while I'm taking the photo, I see them out of the corner of my eye every time I start to take a photo...just staring at me...and it is really throwing me off! It's making me self-conscious, sometimes I even get too embarrassed to take a photo, then I'm mad at myself for missing a great shot of the kids.

I'm guessing from "kids that I nanny" that you are female . . . which rules out the all pervading "you are a man taking photos of children" suspicion that some people have.

Do you look like a celebrity and people just can't control themselves?

Do you habitually wear Mickey Mouse ears?

That's all I've go for now, sorry.

I would just ignore them...in crowded places people are a real pain. I get a lot of stares mostly because I am using a white lens...but I shoot mostly telephoto stuff...or macro...or wide angle then I get close enough to my subject that nobody can squeeze in and ruin the pic. I ignore everything around me and focus on the shot.

I'm oblivious to my surroundings unless my safety's in question.

Vivian Maier was a nanny, and a lot of her best work was done on the job.

Possibilities....
1. They fancy you but are too scared to come up and say anything.

2. They have a Nikon and thus are jealous of your camera.

I would suggest that if you see it again just walk towards them, wave the camera and ask "I notice you looking are you interested in photography?" - they will either get embarrassed and end the encounter or tell you why they were looking.

Well we can always make a game out of who gets the weirdest look from a stranger in a photo.

Thanks! Great Replies

YamahaRob- That would be fun! Too bad I have already gone through the pics and edited them. I had an entire series going.

DanMarchant- Good idea, might be interesting to see their reaction if I said something.

namtot- Really? I haven't heard of her, gonna have to look her up now.

knowledge and Jensjt- I used to be so focused on the kids I don't notice the people around me, but in the case of the science center for example, the guy was in my line of site and he was full on staring for an uncomfortable amount of time.
After I had already invested in my current lens, I realized I really needed one that focused closer. There have been several times (like at the pool) where I physically could not get any closer.

dodgyexposure- Yup female. LOL..nope, don't look like a celebrity, and when I'm out with the kids, I am usually in a plain t-shirt, shorts and flip-flops, no make-up. Doesn't get any more plain than that!

Don't believe you! I bet that when you walk into a room every male reacts. Eyes like saucers, jaw hanging open and starting to drool a little. Besides, it is a well known fact that having a camera in her hand increases the desirability of any woman. A T3i with a battery grip would make my Aunt Bertha look hot.

Since my photography is mostly at amusement parks (lots of people) I love to go back and look through all my images at the peoples faces and gestures I capture and did not notice. My last set, I got a middle finger from somebody upside down, on a rollercoaster. Not sure how they even saw me... Unless he was just doing it just because, as there was no on-ride photo at that point of the ride!

Always fun! Haha

Too funny...if that is true, maybe I should get the full frame I want, then I would be smokin' hot

When I do "street" photography, I'm typically out for candids, and so I want to be relatively unobtrusive. So my "lens of choice" is the 24-105, a decent zoom, on a "full frame" 5D "Classic". With that kit I can get reasonably close shots without being "in the face", although people do occasionally notice me but don't react in a hostile way!

I am fascinated by street photography. I have to drive around a lot and I see people all the time that I think would be great for a photo. I guess that is the benefit of Los Angeles, lots of interesting characters.

Invertalon- too funny about the roller coaster!

reneefk wrote in post #16206366
I am fascinated by street photography. I have to drive around a lot and I see people all the time that I think would be great for a photo. I guess that is the benefit of Los Angeles, lots of interesting characters.

Yeah, you definitely need to get out of the car!

LA is really spread out, but has some great locations! Just take a walk down Hollywood Blvd, hang out some at Venice Beach, have a camera with you, capture things!