Taking pictures of people on the street

Hi!

I love taking photos, and I think Japanese culture, especiall street fashion, is wonderful.

Do you have any advice on getting people to let me take their photo? It is not for commercial work. I'm interested in regular people off the street, or even monks and more traditional figures when I visit Kyoto and Koya-san.

My impression is that Japanese people are very shy to foreigners so it may be difficult.

When I visited Japan before, at train stations, when taking pictures of the crowds, I would notice that many people would duck their heads so their faces could not be seen. I did not think I was being that intrusive.

What are your experiences?

I'm trying to learn some basic photo Japanese to ease the awkwardness in asking, what do you do?

the easiest thing to ask is "shashin totte mouii desuka?"
you'll usually get a yes or no answer.

the law in japan is strict about photography as far as i have been able to find out. i must point out that my knowledge of second or third hand and i can't confirm if it's real or false info - anyway, in japan there is a right to privacy even in public and as such photographs cannot be taken or published of a person without their permission. if it's discovered you can be held liable (sued) and forced to pay back the offended party.

the official way to get around this is to have the person sign a model release - get a japanese friend to translate an english model release form into japanese for you. if you're not going to publish the pictures for profit, then the simple question i mentioned up top will work.

i also find at night on fridays and weekends people are more relaxed about photographers, but be careful about drunk salarymen who might get unpredictable.

Shashinka,

I think one tip is to look like a very obviously harmless and friendly foreign tourist. In my experience, Japanese people strangely lose their inhibitions more if they think you are a foreigner whose Japanese is limited to "shashin OK?" and "arigato". Trying to take photos "inconspicuously" can backfire, as you end up looking suspicious, and could possibly even run into accusations of "hidden photography".

Using tiny tourist cameras instead of SLRs might do the trick, too.

My impression is that Japanese people are very shy to foreigners so it may be difficult.

When I visited Japan before, at train stations, when taking pictures of the crowds, I would notice that many people would duck their heads so their faces could not be seen. I did not think I was being that intrusive.My impression is that Japanese people are very shy to foreigners so it may be difficult.

When I visited Japan before, at train stations, when taking pictures of the crowds, I would notice that many people would duck their heads so their faces could not be seen. I did not think I was being that intrusive.

Honestly, this isn't something uniquely Japanese, and can be found in many places of the world. You have many different types of people. Go out in your home city with your camera and start taking pictures of random people, I'm sure many would think "who is this guy", others might make silly faces, others might duck and hide as you described above, others might duck and hide because they think they are in your frame of view (taking a photo of something else).

People and things vary, but It happens in many places of the world.

I'm American, if someone pointed a camera in my direction i'd get out of the way.

I agree with John 100%. I duck too or move away because my face is less interesting than a building or younger person. I did notice too, since I sold my SLR with a big zoom and got a small digital that got a powerful but tiny zoom that people notice me less and that I am more relaxed to. I have always tried to take photos with few people up close anyway.

Thanks for all the responses!

Lots of good ideas and thoughts. I'll definitely ask more people for their permission this time around.

The reason why I brought up that the commuters were lowering their heads is not that they did it, but I guess why do they do it? I see all the time here in the States people duck, cover, and swerve to make sure they aren't in the shot, but usually I think it's because they think the photographer doesn't want them in the shot. On the other hand, I noticed in Tokyo people wouldnt get out of the way, but merely just duck their heads and keep on walking.

Like John said, people and things are different. It was merely just an observation while photographing.

Anyway, anybody have any experiences with priests, monks, temple/shrine workers, or worshippers? I'd love to get some pics of the monks at Koya-san, but I don't know want them to think that I am undermining them as a tourist attraction or something as I am genuinely interested in the culture.

Thoughts?

My experience is that if you ask people to take their photo, quite often they are happy to oblige and I have photographed monks but used a slightly longer lens, like in this shot where I used my 70-200 lens: http://hoshisato.aminus3.com/image/2008-05-19.html

However, after I bought the book Subway Love by well known Japanese photographer Nobuyoshi Araki, I fell in love with the candids he had taken of his fellow passengers and tried some myself during my last visit to Japan and nobody seemed to care: http://hoshisato.aminus3.com/image/2008-08-18.html

"I'd love to get some pics of the monks at Koya-san, but I don't know want them to think that I am undermining them as a tourist attraction or something as I am genuinely interested in the culture."

I've never tryied Koyasan, but usually, when I have a chat with someone and ask for a photograph LATER, they agree, probably thinking it as some visual memoir or a token of the short relationship we just had.

As a Japanese tourist I travel around the world, and like you, I love taking photographs of ordinary people. They sometimes turn me down if I'm just passing by, but if I buy something from them and then ask if I can take their photo, they never let me down and still give me a great natural smile. Similarly, if I go up to a monk and ask for explanations on the temple or religion or whatever they might be involved in, they would probably agree on having a picture taken.

All in all, I agree with Dave. Also, a reknowned photographer (I thought it was Shinya Fujiwara but maybe not) once wrote that if you frown the person looking at you will naturally frown, and if you smile the person looking at you will naturally smile. That's how humans are. So if the photographer feels relaxed and smiles, the people on the other side of the camera tend to feel comfortable about it.

I hate when someone aims a camera in my direction without asking. I usually try to do something to ruin the picture like flipping the bird and look terribly annoyed.

to By..a lot of people, including me, would love to have you in their photos! it likely would make the photos way more interesting!

Asking first is both polite and respectful. Any time we went to a temple, I always asked ( "shashin OK?") before taking pictures. The answer was always yes.