A man ran up to our table at the local farmers market, and boom, he and his camera were in my granddaughter’s face. No preamble, no “Hi. How are you?” No nothing. Just wham, bam . . . you get the picture (pardon the pun).
I was stunned. It was all I could do not to grab the guy by his camera cord and demand that he erase the picture. He stupidly bobbed his head, mumbling something about how he “hoped I didn’t mind,” but I knew he wasn’t asking permission. He was just reacting to the look on my face.
He scuttled away like the vermin he had proven himself to be.
Do you photograph people this way? If so, you are WRONG! And worse, you are a coward.
As a photographer, I am very opposed to this grab-and-run style of thievery. In my estimation, it is a type of violence, a rape, if you will. Without some form of permission, be it a slight nod of acceptance or a full model release, modern day shutterbugs should NOT be zooming in on people, and taking their photos.
Here are some suggestions to ensure you remain civilized when shooting photographs of strangers. Read on . . .
