I photograph mostly urban scenes and over the cause of many years I do feel that a camera is more and more noticed. It’s never been invisible but people pay even more attention. My subjects are not the people but they may have a prominent or critical role in to the image or composition non the less. I’ve photographed across all continents but never had any serious issue or confrontation.
The contradiction with smartphone and social media usage is obvious but in many ways I understand why people are becoming more sensitive. There’s a general awareness that images have value, that they will never disappear and that how people are represented may affect future jobs,friends and partners .
Basically I think the amount of people taking photographs has a negative influence, specifically if those people show bad habits. Some of those people are really respect-less.
Personally I agree that every individual should have a right do deny being photographed, but that can be difficult to realize where masses are (e.g. common hot spots). But I think it’s important to respect that right.
Also I’d like to do portraits of people while they “behave naturally”, but due to the reasons stated above, I rarely ever do it. Aksing for permission destroys the situation, and photographing first is considered impolite by myself. Also taking out a “real camera” makes people aware that you are going to take a photo graph, and most people don’t like that (I understand)
That man-and-women thing: I think it’ a fact of nature that men have a tendency to prefer photographing women. Unfortunately there’s a “over-mimosity” (maybe name it “me-too paranoia”) recently. Usually I try to make a “silent agreement” before taking a photo, like this: Take out the camera, point at the target, and if the target looks as if it does not mind, it’s most likely OK to take a shot. Doesn’t happen to often, though.
Then most people will “make a photo face” once they are aware you want to take a photo. Maybe it’s some social media pressure forcing them to “look good” (in their opinion), while in fact 95% of those do not (look good) then. Someone once said (I don’t remember who it was): “Women look best when they don’t know it”
Smartphones: I hate them. Recently I was in a museum where I could get back easily (also rather expensive). I wanted to make some photographs of famous paintings with a slight tele-lens, but the problem was that all those people with their wide-angle smartphones stood immediately before the paintings, so I had no chance to get a shot within an acceptable time of waiting (maybe if I waited 20 minutes per photo, then yes).
Several years ago when I was sight-seeing New York, I made a photo of a young woman doing some morning sports near the Hudson river. Either she did not notice my (huge) medium format camera, or she did not care, so I made a photo (requiring manual exposure and focusing, so you can’t really make snapshots, especially when considering that you have to wind the film, and you only have 12 exposures per roll). Well, after all the photo is just a young woman doing some morning sports in a park. No more, no less. I’m afraid it would not work today.
I have heard so many horror stories of people being weird to photographers. But frankly, I’ve never experienced any, despite being a balding, white, middle aged male.
If anything, I tend to get the occasional belittling glance, what with carrying one of those bulky ancient picture taking devices (a modern mirrorless camera) instead of a smartphone like normal people. I sometimes get a weird look for photographing some “useless” play of the light, or flower, or bird (instead of a selfie?). But, again, more in a pitiful way than mean.
Even when I’m out at the playground with my kids, nobody bats an eye at my toting a camera. Even when other kids are clearly in the frame. I think a smartphone would actually seem more threatening.
That said, I do go out of my way to ask friends and acquaintances for permission before I take pictures of them. I never got a rejection of course, and more than once they only expressed regret that I didn’t ask earlier, and didn’t include them in more pictures.
Why that is so, I have no idea. Perhaps I look so obviously beta male that people just don’t see me as threatening. Perhaps I am too obviously a nerdy dad. Perhaps my retro-styled Fuji camera gear looks too ancient to be a threat. Or perhaps I just don’t tend to frequent the places where privacy vigilantes hang out (rural Europe).
At any rate, it seems to me that public perception around here has actually shifted. Cameras are no longer seen as a peeping threat. Even pedos would use smartphones these days. Instead cameras are for delusional nerds, the elderly, and hipsters. “Mostly harmless”, as they say.
Funny thing:
I was one of the Google Glass Explorers. That device received a SHOCKING amount of unwanted stigma - people assumed it was ALWAYS recording.
The reality is:
The quality was crap
The battery life was awful, if you recorded video you would run down the battery in <30 minutes
Meanwhile, people rarely had issues with my mirrorless cameras - although in general, I was cautious about the environments I used them in. (Concerts where friends were performing and I knew the venue owner, or social gatherings for a young professionals organization where I was the semi-official photographer for the organization hosting the gathering.)
Post-pandemic, where a lot of venues I had mutual comfort with (e.g. I was a regular there, and so the owners/staff/many customers knew me) are no longer existent, I’ve taken out the camera a LOT less.