Terrorism, fears about paedophilia and a general tightening of security and policing have conspired in recent times to limit the freedom which photographers have traditionally enjoyed in Western Countries. Oddly, this has had the greatest impact on professional and dedicated amateur photographers; people with camera-phones and compact cameras seem to be everywhere and free to shoot anything they wish; the nightly news is filled with on-the-spot video. The international and local press regularly publishes amazing street footage, magazines depend on it, and the Internet is awash with it... yet with the exception of the “paparazzi’, “legitimate” photographers are increasingly wary of taking photos in the public arena. Photographers’ Rights - First, a disclaimer: I am a photographer, not a lawyer. Furthermore, the following advice is of a general nature only. Before relying on this advice, check with your local authorities. A good place to consult is your local newspaper: they have to deal with this every day; they not only know the law, they also know how the local authorities interpret it!
That said, the general rule in the West is that anyone may take photographs of whatever they want when they are in a public place. If there is no specific legal prohibition such as a statute or ordinance, you are legally entitled to take photographs.
Public Places - These include streets, sidewalks, and public parks. Property owners have the right to prohibit photography on their premises but cannot prohibit you taking pictures of their property from other locations. If a property owner hasn’t specifically prohibited photography you may reasonably assume that taking photographs is allowed and that you do not need explicit permission. Even so, you should request permission if there is any doubt. If the answer is ‘no’ or a property owner (or his representative) tells you not to take photographs while on the premises, you are legally bound to comply.
Exceptions - Military installations may be public of viewable from a public place, but check before you accept that they are reasonable subjects for your lens. Also, the rule that you can photograph anything you can see from a public place may not hold up if you had to go to unusual length to see it...climbing a tree, for instance.
While members of the public can be photographed without their consent in public places, that ceases to be true if they are in places where they have a reasonable expectation of privacy such as dressing rooms, rest-rooms, medical facilities, and inside their homes.
Permitted Subjects - Despite misconceptions to the contrary, the following subjects can almost always be photographed lawfully from public places:
* accidents and fires
* children
* celebrities
* bridges and other infrastructure
* residential and commercial buildings
* industrial facilities and public utilities
* transportation facilities (e.g., airports)
* criminal activities
* law enforcement officers
Common sense goes a long way: if you would not like to be photographed in that situation, don’t do it. Most people won't object to being photographed in public places as long as you behave appropriately. Be judicious when photographing children. A child on a parent's shoulders watching a parade is an appropriate subject but a child alone in a public place is not.
Use of Images - Whether it is wise or safe to take pictures is a question for the individual photographer to answer, but there are also issues to consider regarding the use of the pictures afterwards. Members of the public, property owners, and the owners of trademarks identifiable within your photos may not have the right to prevent you from taking the picture, but they have real and enforceable rights about whether and how those pictures are used. In effect, you may not publish them without permission. That may mean you cannot hang them in a gallery, not enter them in a contest, not sell them, not put them in a book or newspaper.... Often the shutter release is not as important in getting the picture as the signed photo release!
Techniques for Street Photography - Street photographers work best when they are part of the scene. Some places lend themselves to candid and reportage photography, and the photographer is never out of place. These are good places to start developing your technique, since your subjects are less likely to feel you are intruding on their personal space: the naturally crowded places like carnivals, parades, shopping precincts and sporting functions.
Attitude is a key to your success. You have to be (or at least,appear to be) comfortable working close to the strangers who are your subjects. Act confidently. Don't try to to hide the fact you are taking pictures - but don't draw attention to yourself. Dress to match your surrounding and as much as possible be inconspicuous, or at least, not important...just part of the scene.
Spend some time not taking photos. Let people get used to your presence, maybe chat with people. Invest some time in becoming mentally attuned to the scene. You will soon begin to recognise the unfolding event and more able to catch the “decisive moment”.
Your primary subjects are not people, but people in context. If not, you could do all this in the studio. The continuous emotional movement, compositions forever in a state of flux, change and relationship and interaction are what street photography are about. No one frame can be guaranteed to represent all of this, and if you are truly immersed in the scene, you don’t want to spend your time composing, considering and reviewing... that also means you have to be totally familiar with your equipment so you can just shoot until you feel you've got the shot you want and then move on.
Consider taking a partner along. If you are a man, you are less threatening and if a woman, less vulnerable. A man shooting pictures may arouse suspicions but a man and a woman taking pictures together is pretty innocuous. If somebody asks you to take their picture, treat it as n opportunity to build a relationship. You don’t have to keep it if it doesn’t fit into your portfolio, and it is a small distraction from the task you have set yourself. If you're shooting digital, share it and maybe look for a better one!
Gear - Anything short of a tripod mounted medium format will do, but less conspicuous is better! A compact camera with a wide-angle lens is less conspicuous than an SLR, but if you go the compact route, digital noise is a major issue in anything but broad daylight. Film still retains an advantage here.
An SLR with a medium-range zoom has great versatility, although wide angle lenses are both less intrusive and have a very great advantage in the streets, clubs and pubs: they let you take pictures of people without pointing the camera straight at them! the longer the telephoto lens, the more obvious it is to the subject that you have singled them out; and the further away that tele lens requires you to stand to get focus, the more it appears you are trying to hide from the subject. A street photographer should never look like a private investigator!
A single camera body with one lens and a small shoulder bag (for an additional lens, spare battery and portable storage) is all the equipment you need.
If you are at an event, like an Easter Show or the races, you may reasonably carry more gear, because you can be seen as photographing the show etc. without raising concerns. Consider the dictates of the situation you'll be working in and select your equipment accordingly. Your wide-angle lens will still be the lens of choice since the crowd is dense and the subjects close, but for more distant subjects (and especially sports action) having a longer lens will give you more options and some scope for selective focusing.
Make sure you have plenty of memory or film, and an over-supply of batteries.
Try to capture images rather than records; they should have emotional impact or tell a story.
Cautions - The law applies few restrictions to photographers who take casual shots of people in the street or at public venues playing sport or attending public functions, particularly when the photograph will not be used for commercial purposes. However, especially if the work is to be used commercially, the subject's permission should be sought wherever possible. Legal advice may also be advisable in some circumstances. Some councils have applied blanket rules to photography on beaches in their areas, and sensitivity should be applied when considering taking and publishing photographs in Indigenous, environmental and heritage-listed sites.
This may not only apply to commercial photography (including wedding photographs and photos covering special events) - the restrictions apply generally.
Permission is normally required to photograph public art-works, such as murals, or sculptures that have been erected for temporary display in a public place.
Last Words
1. Never stalk people.
2. Don't photograph people who make it clear they don't want to be photographed.
3. Avoid potentially embarrassing, compromising or private situations.
4. Avoid flash. High ISO settings are preferable when shooting in dim or variable lighting with a digital camera.
