Crossing the line of personal space
While it is widely believed that street photography is somehow illegal, it is not. Even many photographers who don't take street photos have this perception that taking pictures without consent is at least unfair. The projection of this idea then becomes broader and more shared when they see a famous Bruce Gilden video in NYC.
When I started doing street photography, I asked myself the question. I researched myself, especially from a legal point of view and clearly came to the known conclusion: street photography is not illegal in most of the world. Although there are also differences between the act of photographing and publication that vary from country to country, even in those countries with apparently more restrictive rules in the sense of publication, there are also codes that leave the distinction between case by case in the limbo.
The fact is that the right of news and photographs for cultural reasons detach us from the prohibition to publish without consent. This is why photographic exhibitions and books of some cultural relevance but also groups and platforms dedicated to photography eventually allow the publication of photos which, it should be remembered, are not used to advertise products.
Personally I stick to a single code:
I am a journalist and I can photograph anything is in public space.
I can do it and I can publish it if this is a work that is respectful of the person/persons photographed.
Any kind of subject that was photographed by Henri Cartier-Bresson, Helen Levitt, Vivian Maier and Garry Winogrand is photographable.
Although my style can sometimes be considered direct and otherwise said in your face, however, I try not to be harassing, such as interrupting the path of those who photograph.
All the time I am focused on making meaningful photos capturing an atmpshere or the sense of place and I never use my photographing for disrespectful purposes, included the captions or my writing about any individual that I photographed.
My photographic approach is deeply linked to gestures and expressions. This therefore requires photographs in which the identities of the subjects are evident because they are taken at close range. Being also a portrait photographer my aesthetic is still aimed at photographing them in a way that they can be seen well. I am convinced that also because of this approach I have never encountered problems.
Taking pictures on the street is an act of responsibility, guys. If we always do this by avoiding a toxic and disrespectful approach, you will be unassailable.
