I quite often have taken pictures of people I don't know from far off. You see a mother and a child playing with one another, or a couple being endearing. Sometimes getting an image from an outside perspective is very poignant. But, sometimes people are worth interacting with and getting up close and personal.Do you have the courage to approach a complete stranger and ask if you can take their picture? What would you say? Often I have found people afraid to approach a stranger, I am sure for many reasons, some I would guess probably warranted. But if you did have the courage and you did approach them how would you do it?
Here's a few tips.
1. Don't be a soul stealer. People are afraid of cameras generally, especially strangers with cameras. I think even more so they are afraid of what you will do with the image of them once you have it. Will you paint them in a pleasant light? Or worse, will you make money off of it that they will never see (we'll address this in a bit). Make sure you genuinely care about the person. Your motivation should be to capture who this person is. You are intrigued by them for some reason let them know that. And above all give them the assurance that you are trustworthy with their image and will be delicate with how you represent them. Introduce yourself, tell them something about you, give them a card if you have one and above all be polite and respectful. Even if they say no, and if they do say no thank them and walk away.
2. Get the scoop. Again you found this person intriguing enough to approach. Find something out about them while you are there. Talk with them. If you act like a real person to them they won't think you're a soul stealer. Ask them about what ever it is you find intriguing about them, ask them to tell you a story about it.
3. Don't take all day. More than likely this person or persons didn't wake up this morning and think, "I think I will go to the park and wait for a photographer to ask to take my picture." Remember that even though they may be polite and even interactive with letting you take their picture, you are interrupting their day. Don't take forever. Plan what kind of pictures you want on your way over to introduce yourself. You probably had an image in your mind when you first laid eyes on them. This is where knowing your gear comes in real handy.
4. Not without my permission you don't - Remember there are laws that protect these people's images from being published without their permission. Know them! There are lots of places you can find out about model releases and when you need them and when you don't. But don't make the mistake of publishing an image of someone in a setting where you need a release and you don't have one. They may just have recourse against you if they find out.
Photography can allow you to meet people and go places you never dreamed, if you let it.
