Inconspicuous Photography - Lesson 2

Welcome back to inconspicuous photography tips - lesson 2.

Last time we went over my first two suggestions for taking photos in public.

The first lesson in inconspicuous photography was to remain confident about what you are doing. Nothing gives you away more than showing a lack of confidence in what you are doing and thus showing that you are nervous. You being nervous makes other people nervous. And people who are nervous tend to activate that 'fight or flight' instinct. So they will either 'fight' and confront you about what you are doing, or they will 'flight' and go tell someone that you are there. Should you be there on uncertain terms, that could lead to the end of your shoot.

The second lesson was not to look suspicious. You want to be inconspicuous with photography. Any successful public photography session needs to be done without interruption. I guarantee that looking suspicious will lead to many interruptions, the least of which won't be pretty. That being said it is easy to not look suspicious, and the following tip will help you to that effect.

3. Don't Hide What You are Doing

Imagine that you see someone in a crowded subway terminal, standing alone near the edge of the platform. He is standing there shuffling from foot to foot and has his hand inside of his jacket. What would you think he is doing there? Why is he standing alone in a busy subway with his hands in his inside jacket pocket looking around and waiting? In this day and age of paranoia that could look really bad and illicit many primal fears. Does he have a gun? What is he doing? Nine times out of ten you will meet up with a security guard, or worse a policeman, if you were the unfortunate photographer in this scenario.

Some photographers feel nervous when they are practicing inconspicuous photography and are out taking photos. You might think that if you stand there with a camera in hand it might invite question as to what you are doing and why you are there. After all some of the areas that you are taking photos might be on the borderline between private and public property. The last thing you want is to have someone hastle you whilst trying to take photos, especially if they are for a simple hobby.

So what can you do if you are somewhat nervous in a scenario like this? Hiding the camera is likely to rise suspicion and showing the camera is also likely to garner attention. What is a photog to do? The answer is simple ... carry with you a camera bag.

Simply have the camera inside your camera bag, over your shoulder. A great number of camera bags look very inconspicuous and don't scream that you have a camera with you. A lot of people carry over-the-shoulder bags, and having one with you won't raise any suspicion. When the time is right to take your photo you need to simply take the camera out of the bag, take your shot and return it to the bag. Depending on the shot this can be done quickly, simply and without making anyone feel nervous.

Another tip you can use to remain inconspicuous is with the use of a camera bag is to always put the camera in the bag the same way every time. If you standardize the way you have the camera in the bag you will always know exactly how to grip the camera coming out of the bag. I have mine set in my bag so that when I grasp the unit with my hand I can turn the camera on and, should I need to make use of the flash, pop that up with a tap of the finger in the same motion of removing the camera out of the bag. So by the time the camera is up and in position to take the photo it's on and ready to shoot.

4. Be Prepared

If are going to go out and take photos it is a good idea to know what you are doing before you do. Know where you are going and what you are hoping to capture on your trip. Preplan your shoot and the shots you want. It is easier to get what you are seeking out to get if you know what you need. Being prepared for inconspicuous photography is an excellent way to get the task done without getting hastled.

Take the time before you go out to set your sights on what you want to accomplish in your inconspicuous photography.

A good way to go about this is to first plan out where you are going. If you have more than one desired destination then break these down under separate headings. Use different pages if need be. You don't want to run out of space to add in all the details required. For this example I am going to plan a shoot whereby I am going to take all of my photos at the mall. So I will write my heading as 'mall.' If you have more than one destination you can be more specific than this, it is up to you.

Now I want to take photos in this mall of the different fountains. The reasons why one would be taking these photos isn't of consequence. I might have a school paper about the history of fountains. I might want to paint a picture of a fountain and need a reference photo to do this. Perhaps I am designing a fountain to be placed in a drawing I wish to make and I need an example of one to make it convincing. Perhaps I am an aspiring computer artist and want to model a fountain on the computer, but need different photos around a fountain to make one. The reasons why I might be taking the photos doesn't really matter, but having a reason for being there is important. I'll get back to that a little later on.

There are four separate fountains in the mall. One at the west end, two near the centre of the mall and one near the exit closest to the rear parking lot. To make my inconspicuous photography shoot run as smoothly as possible I want to get shots of all four fountains, from multiple angles as quickly and as smoothly as possible. The mall is considered private property and some people might prefer that I be there taking photos.

As mentioned before, it is possible to contact mall management and ask permission to do this but you run the risk of being told that you cannot. Should this happen you end up with two problems. First should you be confronted while taking the photos they will know who you are and that you were told not to take the photos. You run the risk of being, at the very least, asked to leave. You could also be trespassed and told not to return to the property. Now you won't be able to get the photos at all. The second problem you might run into is that they will let you take the photos. Why is this a problem? Simple.

While your inconspicuous photography shoot would likely take you less than fifteen minutes to get the dozen shots you need for your personal use, a shoot under the control and scrutiny of the mall itself is fraught with complications.

A friend of mine wanted to take photos from inside a mall and was very limited in what they would let him do. He could not take any photos with a bank in the background. This makes sense as far as security goes on their behalf. Just hope that the fountain isn't anywhere near a bank or that is one shot you won't be getting. Secondly he wanted to take reference shots of the structure of the mall and wanted to go when there would be less people to get in the way of his shots, either when the mall opened or was about to close. The mall required that he take his photos when they could be with him, which ended up being in the middle of the day when the mall was crowded. So what would have taken him very little time to do turned into an ordeal.

Let us now assume that you are going to go about your inconspicuous photography shoot on your own terms. It will be quicker and less painful that way. Make a heading for each of the four fountains that you wish to photograph. If you can you should go to the site that you are going to shoot and see what you are in for. Make note of the angles that you need to capture. Under each fountain that you are going to photograph write down the different angles that you are going to use.

Being prepared and preplanning your shoot, before you even get there, will allow you to get your shots done quickly. This will lessen your chances of being questioned or confronted. What should you do if you are? I'll talk more about that in the next lesson of inconspicuous photography! See you then!