So this has been irritating me for awhile and, because it seems commonplace, I want to hear others’ takes on it.
It seems common now for people to post on Facebook or other social media photos that they take of strangers that they find funny or humiliating based on how someone looks, the way they dress, etc. I’ve had a Facebook “friend” or two do it more than once. Today, an extended family member did it from an airport. These aren’t 13 year olds but adults in their 50s 60s doing this. It really bothers me. I find it sophomoric, unkind, inappropriate, and unethical, frankly. I like to think I have a sense of humor but I don’t see the humor in this kind of stuff. No, I’m sure the people in the photos don’t know their photo was taken and they aren’t being ridiculed to their face but it still gives me a very unpleasant feeling and I do judge the people who are posting these photos. The interesting thing is they get comments from others on their postings going along with it. I’ve been tempted to make some comment and have even typed one or two up but then delete them.
I know this is small potatoes compared to many issues in society but it really changes the way I think about these people and I just don’t get the need to be superficial and ugly in our society.
Grrr… I guess I’m just venting. Climbing off my soapbox.
I would also find this offensive and gratefully have not yet encountered it.
What is wrong with the person taking the photo that he needs to elevate himself by mocking others?
I do have one friend who takes the equivalent of street photos but all of things she finds interesting or attractive. (A fun hat or dress…always complimentary.)
I agree. I think FB photos should be limited to photos you want to share of yourself and immediate family (or events or vacations). Nothing that may hurt someone else. That includes postings also, not just pix.
Especially since those photos are easily captured by others and shared.
I don’t agree with the taking and posting of pictures online of random people with the intent of mocking them.
For me that really reflects on the person doing that. I would unfollow them on facebook or even unfriend them.
I have had to do that especially in this season where people want to post their political views. I have cleaned up my facebook friends list because I just don’t want to follow negative posts or feel someone is imposing their ideas on me.
The absolute very first TV ads for a cell phone with camera was of someone doing this!! I was appalled then and I am now. I just gaped at my husband and say “oh my gosh, are you kidding me???” Not only that they promoted it but what it was teaching young children.
I would find it shocking if someone I knew did this. Downright cruel and mean spirited. I would probably unfriend them and distance myself from them. Why would someone go out of their way to mock another person publicly? This is not the type of person I would want to be around!
No, you can’t be sued. If the person is in a public place and the photo isn’t used for commercial or promotional purposes, you have no control over this.
I’m not on Facebook so I haven’t seen these. It sounds horrible though.
I have to admit that I love street fashion photography though. But that’s taking pictures of strangers to admire them, not make fun of them. I’m obsessed with The Sartorialist and was very saddened by Bill Cunningham’s death.
And I do admit to taking pictures of interesting-looking people in my travels. My grandmother got mad at me on our trip together to Poland when I would take pictures of the old babushka ladies at the outdoor markets. In her view, they hadn’t had time to put on their make-up yet and she felt it was demeaning to them for me to take their pictures when they “weren’t looking their best” (although they didn’t object). She seriously only wanted me to take pictures of well-groomed, well-dressed women with “modern hairdos.” (She was Polish and took this stuff personally).
Obviously, I wasn’t meaning to make fun of the people whose portraits I was taking.
This is not really responsive to your question but it just made me think, “Do I do a version of that?”
I do think we can draw the line differently when the intent isn’t to ridicule the person in the photo. The situations I am talking about were done to laugh at someone.
However, I do think @nottelling’s post raises some other interesting questions. We took a vacation early this year to a country with very different customs, culture, dress, religion and supposedly many there do not like having their photos taken. One of my kids is usually the official family photographer due to having the right skills and equipment. This child is very good about asking for asking permission first. (Must be all those LAC PC ways but that’s another thread )
Here’s a write-up about a case that was considered to be a major victory for the art world when the subject of a photograph taken on the street sued the artist, claiming that the artist, who was selling editions of the photographic prints, was making commercial use of his image. The artist won, and the art world cheered.
Frequently photographers ask before taking street shots for blogs. And I say “no” - very politely. I have also said “no” to the woman who makes my clothes and wanted to use me for advertising and the owner of a local boutique, and at the local coffee shop. etc. This is usually a bit of a shock to those asking. I have no media presence and don’t want one.
Twenty-five years ago, someone shot footage of our family at a local mall and used it in the holiday commercials and it really ticked me off. Everyone I knew was calling to tell me they had seen it. It aired two years, maybe three.
So, it won’t be surprising I never take photos of anyone without asking their permission. And I don’t take photos of strangers, because of that golden rule thing.
adding: obviously a bit of a hot button issue for me lol
I could see why you would be angry about their using footage in commercials.
But I’m kind of surprised that you would object to people who would want to take your picture out of sheer appreciation for your style. Obviously, you have every right to object and your wishes should be respected (I say in total contradiction to my prior post about Philip-Lorca diCorcia).
But I’m genuinely curious as to why you wouldn’t like that since you obviously put a lot of effort and thought into your unique style.
Until reading your post, in fact, I would have said – completely wrongly! – that people with unique or remarkable or exquisite or flamboyant or eccentric styles have sort almost given implied consent to be photographed because it can almost be inferred from the amount of thought, care and effort that they put into their look that they would naturally be interested in appreciation for that look.
That’s coming out wrong. I don’t mean that the person is attention-seeking, more that the person has, in effect, created a work of art through their adornment and (one could argue) an essential component of a work of art is an audience/ observer. So I would have assumed that sn appreciative audience would be welcomed! So interesting that in your case that is not the case (at least as to appreciation in the form of a photograph).
Then again, I could see how the ubiquity of social media could make one feel vulnerable.
So @alh, your post has really gotten me to stop and think! Would love to hear you elaborate if you care to!
I hate having my photo taken to the point that I hide in the bathroom when the wedding table photographer is going around. I am not on FB and I told my H I would divorce him if he put photos of me up on his FB. People think it’s because I am fat, but I felt this way even when I weighed 100 lbs. My dad used to chase us around with his camera and those loud, blinding flashbulbs and, to this day, I hate having my picture taken.
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