CHILDREN

I love children and I love taking street photos of children. This presents a problem. Parents naturally want to protect their children from harm. There is fear and in some cases paranoia about child molestation from strangers. Even a silhouette photo of a child at sunset – one that does not show the face of the child can trigger concern, anger, outrage, or worse. I try to be open, smiling, snapping a photo here and there, being careful not to linger, nor take more shots than necessary. Smiles act as a social lubricant, but during Covid I was masked and this made things more difficult. Having Goldie with me lessened suspicion. 

On occasion, I’ll chat with the parents and then ask permission. Occasionally I’ll share the image and fear turns to delight. I’ve even had a previously fearful mother writing to me with gratitude for sending her pictures of her 12-year-old child doing acrobatics on the beach. Last Halloween instead of trying to be unobtrusive, I wore my STREET PHOTOGRAPHER T shirt and to my surprise, parents lined up with their children asking for a photo. Perhaps we street photographers need to stop trying so hard to be inconspicuous.