The above photo was posted last night after being mesmerized by the penetrating eyes of four young boys who were sitting on a dumpster at an arts festival as they watched a street performer. I took a bunch of photos of them from across the street and was surprised that I was able to get such a good shot of their facial expressions. I posted my capture of them on my latest 365 post, but deliberately eliminated details of location. Plus, I chose to process the photo in a way to eliminate too many identifying details of their appearance. There were so many people in the crowd, and we were so far away that I didn't have a chance to ask their permission to post their photo or to offer to send it to them.
Any input on proper protocol to follow in terms of child street photography in particular?
I don't know. But the one on the right has scary as **** eyes!
Ultimately, they were in a public place. Your local laws apply. Morally? I don't know. I hate having my photo taken and usually try to make myself look as ridiculous as possible if I see someone taking my photo, and tend to not take too many photos of other people as a result (I can think of only one in my entire project where a person is the actual subject of the photo). But that's purely my decision, taken for me, I don't seek to impose it on others.
i hate posing for photos... hate it... and i hate seeing myself in photos... REALLY hate it... but i appreciate the value and power of recording memories by means of photography and if my photo is taken without me knowing it, i'm fine with that... for kids in a public space, i wouldn't worry... very likely you are not the only one to have noticed or captured them given that you were attending at a street arts festival... i have never asked for permission or worried that i didn't have it when shooting in this sort of space... i wouldn't do it at a school or park or somewhere that seemed more secluded... the one shot i do have of kids in this sort of surrounding they are in silhouette so unrecognizable...
I do a ton of street photography, and also try to visit as many fairs, festivals, and parades as possible for the photo opps they present. Being a single middle-aged male in the US, though, I'm extremely cautious about photographing kids in any setting. In virtually all cases where they do appear in my photos, their parents were nearby, well aware of what I was doing, and had in some fashion provided consent to the photo being taken. It's not a legal issue here, it's a safety issue for the photographer. Having some irate father smash my photo gear because his precious kid may or may not have been photographed is simply not high on my "to-do" list. It may be that the area of the US that I'm in has a higher than normal "suspicion meter" but that's simply the reality of street photography around here.
@kaesebiscuit I meant to include this in my reply but hit "post" too soon... As a street photographer, I try to respect the wishes of people that don't want to be photographed in public. Having the right to photograph them does not make it ethical to do so if they prefer not to be photographed. For me, all it takes is a cue from them - a shake of the head, a hand up in front of their face, or simply an "I don't want my picture take." What I can tell you, though, is that making yourself look as ridiculous as possible is a sure-fire way to BE photographed! That's exactly what street photographers are trying to capture, and the photographer may actually conclude (erroneously in your case) that you're playing it up for the camera. My advice is to just be up-front with the photographer. Most will be ethical enough to respect your wishes.
@kannafoot It's only happened when I've been out on photowalks, and despite me saying I wasn't happy, they continued. So I fucked up whatever it was about the scene they wanted.
As for the United States, in almost all states it is legal in public space even without parents' permission, just as it is with adults, but how desirable it might be and how many negative reations and perhaps physical confrontations it might engender is another whole question only you can answer.
For commercial use you have to have a model release even if it is taken in public spaces. For editorial use and other non commercial use you are protected without a model release in most cases. Of course this doesn't mean that police or parents understand these rights.
I could see it being a gray area. I saw some kids playing in a fountain once and thought it would be a cute picture but found that I wasn't comfortable with it. I don't think there would have been anything wrong with it, just that I'm pretty new to street photography and not all that brave.
that one kid is kind of scary though
hopefully it's just the processing
Let your conscience be your guide. I personally, never post photos of children without parental consent. That's just my choice. I think kids today do their growing up on the internet and I'd like to protect their privacy as much as possible.
While it is legal to take pics of kids in the US in public places, here in WA we have had some incidents where people were photographing children for immoral purposes - and parents are very sensitive about it.
From the perspective of a parent, I know I would be creeped out by strangers photographing my child and would question it.
I did take a pic of a toddler in a wagon holding out a flower for her dad to smell - I showed him the pic and offered to email it to him - he gave me his e-mail address and was appreciative. I told him about the 365 Project and he asked that I not post his child's picture on a public forum. On a personal level I made the decision not to post pics of kids without parental consent.
@jankoos@timandelke@aponi@soren@frankhymus@kaesebiscuit@northy I really appreciate all your comments and agree with them. If you don't mind my persistence, just for my own conscience, do you feel that the photo I posted is ambiguous enough in the way I edited it? Or not? I appreciate your feedback!
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Ultimately, they were in a public place. Your local laws apply. Morally? I don't know. I hate having my photo taken and usually try to make myself look as ridiculous as possible if I see someone taking my photo, and tend to not take too many photos of other people as a result (I can think of only one in my entire project where a person is the actual subject of the photo). But that's purely my decision, taken for me, I don't seek to impose it on others.
that one kid is kind of scary though
hopefully it's just the processing
From the perspective of a parent, I know I would be creeped out by strangers photographing my child and would question it.
I did take a pic of a toddler in a wagon holding out a flower for her dad to smell - I showed him the pic and offered to email it to him - he gave me his e-mail address and was appreciative. I told him about the 365 Project and he asked that I not post his child's picture on a public forum. On a personal level I made the decision not to post pics of kids without parental consent.