Food For Digital Thought: Never Talk To Strangers?

The pyramids in Cairo, Egypt.

I don’t know about you, but when my four kids were young, I stressed upon them (just about every day) to never talk to strangers…no matter what!!! I suppose it’s good all around advice, and you certainly can’t go wrong taking this advice, but you sure can miss out on some great portraits, especially when you’re traveling out of the country you’re living in.

I know that in my online class with the BPSOP, and in my “Stretching Your Frame of Mind” workshops I conduct around the planet for a lot of my fellow photographers walking up to a complete stranger and asking to take his or her portrait is “above and beyond the call of duty”. I’ve actually written a post called “getting over the hump” where I address this common issue. I can assure you that once you can get over the hump, a brand new world can and will open up for you.

What I mean is that taking pictures of churches, monuments, parks, city streets, famous bridges, etc., or any number of photo ops a location can offer is fun, and it’s always nice to go back home with pictures of the outside of lets say Notre Dame, or The Vatican, or a famous temple in the Orient, but I’m here to tell you that you’re missing out if you don’t capture the cultural and sometimes physical differences of the people in these countries as well by showing a diversity of the people themselves. Then, and only then will your family slideshow take on a new meaning…a meaning that just might keep Uncle Jack awake until the cake and coffee comes that he was promised in the first place.

I’ve always figured that people around the world are friendly and all someone can say is no, but if you approach it the right way, more than likely they’ll say OK. So you ask, what’s the right way to approach a stranger? Well for one thing don’t walk up with a camera in your hand and point it into someone’s face. That’s just about the last thing you should do. Be discreet, keep the camera over your shoulder but behind you so as not to be intimidating.

I try to engage a person in a conversation (my camera still hidden from view). Or, I’ll be shooting something close by and ask if they would be in my photograph, making it seem as though they were not the subject. Once I’ve broken through that initial introductions, it becomes easier to make them the center of interest…as in a portrait. Btw, I always ask for their e-mail address and offer to send them a copy.

For me, traveling to different countries with a camera in my hand is just about the most exciting and rewarding thing I could ever think of doing. I personally love to talk to people and take their pictures. I enjoy the one-to-one relationship even though it lasts for only a few minutes, and when I go back home I relive that brief encounter. It will always remain a wonderful memory no matter how much time goes by. I need only to bring them up on my computer from time to time and it’s just like stepping back in time. It’s a feeling one should not miss out on.

Here’s a few portraits taken from seas to shining sea:

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Visit my website at: www.joebaraban.com, and check out my workshop schedule at the top of this blog. Come shoot with me sometime.

JoeB