back in april, john setzler offered up a 'human scavenger hunt' challenge to help people get over their fears of taking pictures of strangers. you can read about that here.
my results from that exercise are here.
to give you some quick answers, don't try to overcome your discomfort by sneaking around or trying to hide what you are doing. if you make it obvious that you are taking pictures out in public and stay out there a while, people will soon forget that you are there.
when you have the opportunity to ask, do so. if they say no, oblige them. i very, very rarely have anyone turn me down.
be very, very careful about approaching children. it is probably best to approach the adult watching them first, explain what you are doing, and why you are doing it first. if they don't like it and don't want you doing it, don't push it. i had an experience in london you can read about it here.
shooting live candids can produce incredibly rewarding results. for me, success comes from how i carry myself, and how i approach what i am out to do. my scavenger hunt efforts led to a project that involved producing over 30 prints for a local diner--and nearly all the prints were shot as candids. you can see them here.
good luck, happy shooting!
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