Ethics and street photography
This is another of those ongoing debates in the world of urban photography. I start from the premise that ethics is a personal concept, that is, it concerns the individual. Morality, on the other hand, would be a kind of communal ethics or related to a particular human group. If we accept this premise, there are as many street photography ethics as there are street photographers. However, there is no specific morality beyond that commonly accepted in the society in which we find ourselves.
In principle, the street is a public and open space that we share with other people. There are no limits when it comes to portraying what surrounds us in that public square if an authority recognized by the community as such does not explicitly state it. An example of this would be the express prohibition to photograph a military installation.
Regarding the subjects to be photographed, I do not set myself any limits. I shoot by intuition. In the street everything goes very fast. You don't have time to think too much. Once in front of the computer screen and processing the images, I may discover one that makes me uncomfortable in the sense of making it public. If that happens, it is usually because something in me tells me that the dignity of the person portrayed may be affected. RESPECT could be the word that best defines the basis of my street photography ethics.
In principle, the street is a public and open space that we share with other people. There are no limits when it comes to portraying what surrounds us in that public square if an authority recognized by the community as such does not explicitly state it. An example of this would be the express prohibition to photograph a military installation.
Regarding the subjects to be photographed, I do not set myself any limits. I shoot by intuition. In the street everything goes very fast. You don't have time to think too much. Once in front of the computer screen and processing the images, I may discover one that makes me uncomfortable in the sense of making it public. If that happens, it is usually because something in me tells me that the dignity of the person portrayed may be affected. RESPECT could be the word that best defines the basis of my street photography ethics.