It's polite to ask. There was one case where I shot a picture without asking her, but then I showed it to her, she loved it and asked me to click some more.
I'm a hobbyist photographer for 3+ years now and I've never earned anything from it, I simply do it for the love of the game as they say. However, thus far I've shot mostly nature and maybe some architecture.
Street/urban photography as well as portraits are unknown grounds to me that I'd like to explore. I did do about 5-10 portraits of mostly friends and family members but I'm afraid that's not enough for a decent portfolio so I'm just looking for subjects to practice on, and give them pics for their socials later because why not ☺️.
In this cruel world this random act of unconditional kindness is seen as very strange. Even half of my friends asked what I'd charge them when I offered to photograph them.
I'm simply not spoiled by capitalism and don't care about money (yet). I'm a young, decent looking guy so I guess the only variable here would be the way I approach asking for a portrait. Can you guys help me? How would you do it?
I saw quite a lot of YouTubers doing this, but I definitely wouldn't film my apporaches. I'd also not post those portraits anywhere because I value privacy, they'd only go into private portfolio folder.
It's polite to ask. There was one case where I shot a picture without asking her, but then I showed it to her, she loved it and asked me to click some more.
Depend entirely on how you present yourself.
Correction, you are not seeing Youtubers do what you say. You are seeing the end result of their production that makes it look like they are doing what you are thinking.
It is polite to ask. Just don't be weird about it
Like most things, it depends on your intent and agenda … Why are you just targeting girls? What’s your motivation for photographing them? If your motivation is practice portrait photography, the fact that you’re singling out just woman seems odd.
I'm looking for good looking (or even just interesting) subjects. I photographed guys and older men too, but too many times they're not very photogenic so it's quite challenging to work with them whereas women mostly know how to pose, smile etc. Simply put, women look natural and hence easier to work with. That doesn't mean I don't photograph men at all, it's just that it's slightly more rare.
Honesty goes a long ways. Introduce yourself and your intentions, not far removed from your posting. You are looking to build your portfolio and that is all to it. If they say no, thank them for the brief conversation and move on.
Say something like, “*Hi I’m Joe I’m a portrait photographer (have business card ready). I (compliment them) and would love to take a few photos of you here because (explain why). Would you be interested?*” Then show them the photos after and offer to share with them.
To be honest it's highly depends of your appearance. If you're handsome well dressed young guy you will have no much problems. If you're overweight older bald guy wearing stupid t-shirt and backpack, it will be harder.
It sounds like you just want a TFP setup and there is tons of advice online about how to look into that without approaching random strangers.
yes
Since you say you’re only interested in approaching “girls” I would say yes, it’s very creepy. Why not men, or older women, or families? There’s more to street photography than cute girls. What you’re seeing on YouTube isn’t real. As someone else pointed out, it’s edited and curated. The fact that you’re trolling YT looking for pointers on how to approach girls so you can take their picture for a “private portfolio” is doubly creepy.
Because they wouldn't find it creepy unlike girls, that's why the question is centered around that, how to not look creepy.
Almost all those YouTube videos are staged
Most of them are still cringe tho.
I feel like it used to easier to approach strangers to take pics. Now everyone thinks there’s some kind of ulterior motive and they’re going to end up as content that has a larger audience. I assume they always knew it was content, but on a smaller scale. The world is way different for photographers than twenty years ago.
I take pics of strangers all the time--just ask "May I take your picture?" then show them the result. Most of the time people get a kick out of it. I keep meaning to get some biz cards printed with a url for them to see and download a copy online. If you're sending a creepy vibe and going after girls only then ask yourself your true motivations. See these complete strangers who I shot:
Don’t be creepy, and it’s not creepy. That said you’re being kind of creepy…way too verbose and you’re trying to explain and justify. If you want a portrait, it’s a portrait. It’s pretty simple. If she wants that, she wants that; if she doesn’t, she doesn’t.
"this random act of unconditional kindness" Is it, really?
Is it not? People pay for portraits all the time, this one is free. And there's also the fact they looked interesting because I approached only them in an area full of people. My closer friends asked me what I charge when I offered them portraits and I've said it's free. They expected me to charge them, now imagine expectations of a completely random stranger. At least that's my logic looking at things, they'd appreciate someone found them interesting to photograph and give them that photo free of charge. It's a public space, technically you're not obligated to ask anyone for their permission or to send them photo later, but it's good manners and ethics.