Photographing People: How I do it

Photographing people is one of the most interesting and engaging things you can do in photography - travel photography in particular. Your camera - if you make it - can be your ticket to some of the most amazing and memorable experiences with others you'll ever have. But, getting over that initial approach anxiety and shyness which arises when photographing strangers, especially when traveling, can be tough.

Here's how I do it:
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Asking permission before taking someone's photo is the easiest way to circumvent that discomfort some feel when photographing a stranger without their verbal permission. In my experience, I find that asking permission almost never results in natural-looking pictures - unless of course you wait around until your subject tires of holding that cheesy grin and photograph them as their focus wanders. Asking permission is a great idea for projects or when you will be photographing people for an extended period of time, but most of the time it isn't necessary.

I almost never ask for permission verbally, rather I'll suggest my intentions through gesture. This requires a understanding of non-verbal body language (especially important in foreign cultures!) which I think we all have. For a start, the fact that I'm usually wielding a large digital SLR with battery grip and oftentimes a flash held in my left hand means that people around me know what I'm doing. Even if you were wielding a small Leica Rangefinder or point-and-shoot, people would understand what you're doing, it just might take them longer to notice you. Either way, people know what you are doing when you approach them with a camera. I find that they are more accepting of this in foreign cultures. This is probably for a few reasons, including that they are more accustomed to tourists with cameras and that their culture doesn't share the same unsavoury connotations with candid photography as the western world.

In quieter, more unobtrusive situations, I'll shoot from further back, then ease my way into closer proximity. It's all about letting my intentions be known. It also allows me to gauge the response of the subject to my intentions. In situations where I want subject engagement, I will smile throughout this whole process, and will oftentimes raise my camera slightly in a suggestion of my intentions. If someone doesn't want their photo taken, they will tell you outright or suggest it though non-verbal body-language. This does occur every now and then, but not as often as you would think.

The beauty of this approach is the subject will usually lose interest in what you are doing, so that you can then then capture them candidly. It also means that you can escalate in terms of gear. Approach someone with a 70-200 zoom lens and they'll probably think it's a bazooka and run away screaming (well maybe not that dramatically!), but approach them with a small prime lens and as they lose interest it becomes easier to fit that zoom without their objection.

Well there you have it, my approach to photographing people. At the end of the day, it isn't set in stone and there is no secret formula, it is a skill which you'll develop in your own unique way.

Good Luck!