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Careful now.
Photographers are weird. Let’s be real: most of us start out from a baseline of at least moderate weirdness, and photography makes us weirder. We go out to shoot add odd hours of the day and night. We slam on the brakes in sketchy areas to jump out of our cars and take shots. We see our world through a viewfinder and hyperfocus on our compositions. That which makes us interesting, makes us vulnerable.
We as photographers are not necessarily the most social creatures. In my case, I get way more social interaction in my day job than I would ever seek out left to my own devices. One of the appeals of photography to me is that I can do a lot of it on my own. Shooting in safe locations, practicing photography techniques, editing, and working on this website can all be done in my alone time. My cats aren’t even awake as I am writing this.
BUT… it’s nice to have someone watching your back, in photography as well as life. For me, that person is my husband, Jay. He is my security officer, key grip, tripod toter, and sometimes my model. In life in general, he is the spontaneous one, and I am the logistician. Those roles reverse when we go out shooting. I am free to immerse myself in my photography, because I know I have backup. Not only does he keep people from knocking me over and taking my stuff, he makes sure I don’t step backwards into traffic, off a ledge, into dog poop, et cetera (damn you, long lenses).
4 am on Fremont Street.
We all know that the best light is not at high noon, so the time of day factors into the safety calculus. While I happily shot the bright lights of Fremont Street in downtown Las Vegas at 4 am, Jay was standing two feet away, being hit up for money by guys on the street. Wherever we go, his head is on a swivel for trouble as long as I am hunting for shots. This is not always so serious (San Francisco’s Pier 7 at sunset), but gets dicey at times (Tenderloin District in broad daylight). Many of my shoots would be reckless for me to execute solo, but are perfectly sane with him watching my back, within limits. He’s a big dude, but he’s not indestructible. No photo is worth risking his safety.
Even during the day, hazards abound. We’ve all done it: stepping backwards to get that shot just a little bit wider. I became very conscious of this when I first started photography, and it’s a habit I’ve tried very hard to avoid forming. Probably the best way I’ve found to avoid it is to shoot with a wide enough lens. I do a lot of my shooting in cities when I travel. That means things are really close, and often really tall.
For me, wide-angle pancake lenses have been the answer. They are lightweight and low profile, making them comfortable to carry around all day, and they are wide enough to shoot things up close. When I was on a crop sensor, I used the Canon 24mm f/2.8 pancake. Now that I have moved to full frame, I use the Canon 40mm f/2.8 (almost the same field of view as the 24mm on crop). These are both very affordable lenses. I was able to get the 40mm used, in pristine condition, on Facebook Marketplace for under $100. When I was in Palm Springs a couple of months ago, even the 40mm wasn’t enough for those tall palm trees. Luckily, I had packed my Rokinon 14mm f/2.8 because I knew I wanted to get some distorted, almost psychedelic shots while I was there. It was heavy, but worth whipping out for some quick targeted walks.
Ms. Monroe will always be larger than life.
It’s not all skulking around and looking over your shoulder. Quite the opposite. Be an obvious photographer. Own it. You’re not committing a crime (unless you’re not leveling your horizons in post). Act like you belong there, and you will. To paraphrase a saying in the photography community, your creepiness is directly proportional to the length of your lens. Don’t get in people’s faces, but you don’t need to lurk around corners with your gigantic lens you use to shoot birds, either. Whack on that wide-angle lens and get amongst it.
Don’t start nothin’, won’t be nothin’. Looking at you, street photographers. I love street photography too, but always maintain respect for your subjects. I’ve found that the more interesting someone is, the less likely they are to care that you are taking a photo with them in it. Notice I didn’t say a photo of them. Conversely, the most sinfully boring parent may very well lose their mind if Little Precious’s Velcroed sneaker happens to be in the corner of your shot. Not worth it, and best avoided. If you want to take a street portrait, no problem. Use your words. Give them your card if you have one. Just ask, and take no for an answer. And if you take a photo of a street performer, for Cartier-Bresson’s sake TIP THEM.
Be safe, but not afraid. Be bold, but not reckless. Be immersed, but not oblivious. The calculated risks we take can pay off in incredible ways. Isn’t that why we do it? Guarding our safety means we can keep doing it. Let photography be a team sport sometimes; those away games rule.
