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Don’t shoot! Don’t shoot! New rules for a world full of photographers
Everyone’s got a camera now. Any place, any time can turn into a photo shoot. Here’s how to stay classy on both sides of the lens
Seen Mona Lisa? No, not the painting in the Louvre – the flower-seller at the Maha Kumbh who unwillingly found herself in the public eye because hundreds of devotees decided to capture her “amber-eyed, dusky beauty”. Were you at the Coldplay concert? Even if you weren’t, clips of that couple having a cute moment there probably showed up on your feed. Last year, Moo Deng videos became so popular, the pygmy hippo began to be harassed by tourists at her Thailand zoo. See where we’re going with this? In a world where everyone has a camera, it’s getting hard to draw boundaries on what’s OK to shoot and share. Experts offer advice on setting boundaries on both sides of the camera.
Behind the lens
Ask for consent. “Don’t just shove a camera into a person’s face,” says Divya Fofani, a Mumbai-based content creator who conducts street interviews, reaction videos and pranks for his audience of 179k followers. “And be as warm and friendly as you can – they’re doing you a favour, not the other way around.” Fofani says that many people who consent during filming, ask him to take the videos down after they’ve been posted. “I do what they ask. It’s not worth going viral at someone else’s expense.”
Gauge the mood. A group of friends having fun? A gang of older folks chilling by the sea? By all means, go up to them, says Fofani. Someone sitting alone, clearly processing their feelings? Big no. Photographer Chirodeep Chaudhuri recalls the boundaries he set when capturing Mumbai train travellers for his Commuters series: “I would not photograph women, or a person with vitiligo.”
Distance yourself. London-based photographer Paul Halliday says it helps to maintain physical and emotional distance from one’s subject. “Maintain a sense of detachment by standing back so it doesn’t cause others alarm or distress.” Intent matters. As long as you’re not harassing someone, it’s fine to take a few shots.
Switch your POV. “As photographers, we need to ask ourselves, ‘In which situations does the camera invade others’ privacy?’” says Chaudhuri. Recording someone having a private moment is a bad idea to begin with, no matter how cute you hope the photos will be. Shooting at hospitals? Tacky. Recording homeless people? It’s just poverty porn. And never shoot anyone’s kids or pets without the permission of the adult responsible for them, says Abhey Narula, a Delhi-based lawyer.
In front of the camera
Know your rights. “If someone wants you in the frame, a good question to ask is Why. You should know what they’re doing it for,” says Halliday. The Indian Copyright Act of 1957 states that the first owner of a photograph is the person taking it. But just because someone snapped your picture or video, doesn’t mean they can use it for any purpose, says Narula. “You have the right to restrict the publication of an image or recording, unless it has newsworthiness.”
Make a counter-offer. Tired of hanging out with that friend who posts pics of the gang eating, travelling, napping, and chatting? Or of that colleague who wants 30 photos at every work event? Or of your gym doing promo videos when you’re working out? Strike a compromise, says Fofani. “Ask outright if they’d like a picture together. And tell them that that’s the only picture they can share.”
Accept the inevitable. Gyms and salons now have consent forms for recording you for promotional purposes. At a concert or a festival, photobombing a stranger’s frame or landing up on the official social media handles is probably inevitable. “It’s okay not to take offence in every situation,” says Chaudhuri. We live in a trigger-happy world. You can’t be triggered all the time.
From HT Brunch, April 05, 2025
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