One thing I have always struggled with is taking photos of people who I don’t know.
I have this idea that, somehow, getting a photo of someone without them realising is an invasion of privacy – having their image committed to a kind of permanency that they may not appreciate.
I’m sure most of the time this isn’t the case at all and I’d love to be more brave with photographing people as having that human element in a scene can really change the context of an image.
Pretty much every photo of mine with people in it is the result of me either: a) working up the courage to ask complete strangers ‘do you mind if I take a photo of you? (even if the photo is of their back!); or b) coercing my friends and family to be my model.
Option b has the added bonus of being able to boss around, oops I mean direct the model towards the idea I have in my head.
These are some recent images where I have really enjoyed the surreal edge the human figure can bring to an image, and this is definitely a theme I want to explore further.
I’d love to know your thoughts and experiences with photographing people! 🙂
