Examining the pictures

I drove out to Amersham today to attend the Royal Photographic Society Thames Valley Region Print Exhibition. Each attendee (provided they were a member of the RPS region) was permitted to bring 3 prints for the exhibition. I received some complimentary comments about my images. (I do wish, though, that they had hung the prints straight and level.)

In the afternoon there were a couple of presentations from the Documentary and Visual Journalism Special Interest Group. The main interest of this group, which has grown rapidly in the last year or so, is now street photography - an area which I rather enjoy (and I have shown some examples in my blips). There was some interesting discussion about alternative approaches to photographing strangers:

1. "In your face": get up close, point a camera at your subject, and then walk away without engaging in conversation.
2. "From a distance": use a long lens and hope the subject doesn't spot you
3. "Ask permission": this method at least ensures your subject is content and willing to be photographed, but means it is no longer a candid shot.

I guess my approach up to now has been a combination of 1 and 2: I am usually fairly close, but I use a compact camera with a flip out screen angled so it is not obvious that I am taking a photograph. Although the third approach results in a different sort of photograph, there are considerable benefits from engaging with your subject.

How do any of my fellow blippers approach street photography?