I’m in DC for class tonight, and I’m in a public space getting some dinner (my 2nd special treat of the week, the first one being ruined by Canada) and I turn around and notice a guy taking my picture.
He’s a very normal looking guy in DC, has his camera, sitting and eating his dinner with what appears to be his wife and two kids.
So he snaps one picture (digital I presume), then a 2nd. I get my food, turn again and a 3rd!
WTF???
So first, can any stranger just be snapping your picture to their heart’s content? I assume that if he’s using it for commercial gain he has to get my permission, but just a random person? He was specifically taking MY picture.
Second, do I have any legitimate right to go tell him to shove it and delete my pictures?
Third, should I have not been a wuss and said something? I was so flummoxed I just kept walking away shaking my head.
Yes, it is perfectly legal for people to take other peeps’ pics without permission, as long as they are not selling the image. That said, it is considered to be courteous to ask someone if they mind having their pic taken if it is obvious that you are taking them, if they are a minor, etc. At least that is what I learned in my photography classes.
I normally would agree, but there was NO ONE else around. If I moved to the left 5 feet, so did where he was shooting. If I moved to the right 20 feet, so did where he was shooting.
And this was from a grand total of 15 feet away. And we were inside, in a cafeteria type space, there was nothing to take a picture of.
Maybe I was leaning and had a JC Penny’s model look to me? I dunno. There was he and his family, his camera, 15 feet, me, and then behind me a nondescript chinese food place.
Maybe it was because I was wearing a Ronald Reagan mask?
Interesting question. I admit to having a bit of a double standard. By the way - Hello, new guy here, been lurking for a while.
If a guy was taking pictures of a woman like that, in my opinion that seems creepy. Pretty much any other gender combination of photographer - photographee, wouldn’t concern me too much. An inconsistent standard, I freely admit, but that’w how I feel. One summer day in my carefree youth I snapped a picture of a stunning college-age girl sunbathing by a lake in Minneapolis. Questionable judgement on my part perhaps, but one picture is not too much, and then I moved on.
I had a similar experience a while back. Visiting the Minnesota Institute of Art, sat down by the snack bar with a cup of coffee and a newspaper. After a bit I notice a young lady, probably an art student, a few tables over, drawing a picture. She kept peeking at me so I sort of held my pose for a bit, with one leg up on the knee, paper on the table, until she was done. I asked to see it and offered to buy it (not great, average student quality I thought but I wanted to be encouraging). She said no, she needed it for a class but thanked me for putting up with her.
By the way, in case you are wondering, by no means to I fancy myself anyone’s idea of a model. She just picked me opportunistically because I was there.
