A few years ago, on a day in January, my emotions were as unpredictable as the weather. I had mixed feelings about street photography and taking photos of people in public places without their permission. It felt intrusive, but asking for permission resulted in posed and inauthentic shots. I struggled to find a balance.
Sometimes, people gave me angry looks when I took their photo. To get around this, I tried a trick where I pretended to be interested in something else and then took a photo with the person who caught my eye. But it didn't work as well as I had hoped. I began to wonder if there was a better way.
I decided to explore smaller, less crowded streets and waited for the perfect shot. When I finally found it, the situation was turned on its head. The stranger in my photo suddenly became the intruder in my space. I realized that being a street photographer requires a delicate balance between taking an authentic photo and respecting the subject's privacy. It's an exercise in tactfulness and empathy, which I believe is much more important as the technical aspect of street photography.