Did You Ever Lie in Street Photography?
So, I thought I’d write a post about something I did the other day, when I was out taking photos. If someone was to ask me the question “Did you ever lie in street photography?”, My answer would certainly be “Yes”. But I would not be proud of it.
Getting things straight
I do not mean an artistic “lie” in your photography, eg. by cropping out things from your frame in such a way, or by misleading your image’s viewers into thinking that what they see is something else than what was before your eyes when you took the shot.
Although the latter is somewhat OK in some situations, within the artistic context of the nature of our photography, this is not what I am discussing here.
So, what are you discussing about?
Let me explain. When I have the time to go out and take some pictures downtown in Thessaloniki, I park my car and immediately start walking around looking for images to capture. Usually, I might have an exposed roll of film with me, which I will take to the lab first thing, so that it’s ready and I go pick it up after I’m done with my walk.
That day I met with my friend (and avid street photographer) Greg for a coffee. He first had to get into a store and get some things, so I waited outside for him. Outside a store in a busy street, with your camera in hand is always good. Well, at least if you are into street photography. Or a tourist.
Right outside the store entrance, was a bench with some handmade jewelry, but the vendor was nowhere to be seen. I looked the other way, observing passers-by, looking for something interesting to photograph. Then I looked back again, only to see a lady with her (most likely) two girls, checking out the jewelry. It was a good shot, I thought, so I lifted my Leica CL to my eye get a picture. Right when I hit the shutter, she looked at me with an angry look and asked “Did you get our photograph?”.
Did You Ever Lie in Street Photography?
“No”. And I lowered the camera. Immediately she changed her look and asked me if I saw the vendor. I told her I hadn’t seen him and then she went away.
Not sure why I lied. It was spontaneous. I felt I was doing something wrong. Why that was, I don’t know. Was it her look? Was I afraid? I have taken lots of photos of people out on the street. People that I have interacted with. But in that particular case, “No” was the first thing that came out my mouth.
The Ethics
“Ethics? Oh c’mon…” You might think. Well, yes, we have to have ethics. We need to treat other people, especially strangers, as we’d like to be treated. We, as street photographers, should not lie when we are asked whether we got someone’s photo. It’s just not right to lie. Apart from that though, what if it was a great photo? Isn’t that what we’re out there on the streets doing? Looking for a great photo?
So, if it is a great photo, how can we publish it/show it to other people, knowing that the person in the picture has been lied to that we did not get their picture, while it’s all over the internet? Not sure about you, but I cannot do that. Hence I’m showing the image blurred here.
I don’t know if I ever publish the image above as it was taken, however I do know this: next time I’m asked whether I got someone’s photo or not, I will tell the truth. And smile. That’s something I can live with. Next time someone (will there be anyone?) asks me “Did you ever lie in street photography?”, I will make sure to answer “Yes, but only once!”.
