“Yes, sure! Should I smile?”…No, it doesn’t work that way. Asking a stranger to pose for you can be a quite daunting experience. Actually, being a very shy person myself, it took me ages to find the courage to ask and the first time I did it the answer was “no”, which was very frustrating. In that moment I thought: this is not my thing.

After joining the London Strobist Group I had the chance to attend one of Tom Miles workshops. Miles is not only a great photographer but also a cool guy who shared with us his experiences and gave us some good tips and advices. He even took the time to critique our portfolios. As an assignment during the workshop, he gave us a couple of themes to work with and instructed us to have the pictures taken within a two-hour time frame. Some of the attendees went home and took some really nice shots of friends and relatives, others shot themselves obtaining awesome results. We decided to go out to the streets and ask strangers…

We started with a fruit seller in front of the tube station. The guy was really cool and let us take his pictures. Next stop: a designer shop, we found there two nice and beautiful ladies who helped us with our assignment. Then a wine shop – same results. All of them helped us and we got some cracking shoots…so that’s it? You only need an excuse, motive, reason and people are willing to help you. Wow! That’s something interesting. We got home very happy that day and planned another “assignment” for the next weekend.

Hi! My name is Emil and I am doing a photography workshop. I’ve been asked to take some portraits around London. Would you mind if I take your picture? Sure! no problem. Then it comes the “bang, bang!” next shop, “bang bang!” again. Next subject,  a couple of nice guys, “bang bang!” and so on. We got back home very happy with a card full of pictures. Some good shots some bad ones, but the thing is, we were experiencing something unique. Sometime ago a friend of mine told me: People are willing to help, it’s the nature of the human being. It is all about how you approach people. For example: If you have lost your job and need one, first thing you do is to ask your friends and relatives, but if you chase them too much you won’t get anything. If you approach them in a different way and you tell them you are looking for a job without asking for help, they will help you.

From that day we have been doing this street stuff and we also have refined our technique and I can say that our rejections rate is quite low. We have got used to it so when it happens we don’t take it personally, besides people tell you in a polite way they are not interested or are busy…Did i say busy? Yeah busy, so we noticed that if you ask people who are in the middle of something they might say no, for obvious reasons. So avoid asking people who are working or doing something else, like talking on the phone for example. Would you be happy if somebody approaches you to ask for something when you are in the midst of a phone conversation with a client? I imagine the answer will be no. And how about people who are eating? That’s a good one. I hate when I am eating in a restaurant and somebody approaches asking for money or trying to sell me something. There is nothing more sacred that lunch time – ask your dog and you’ll get a bite. :)  What about smokers? Oh those are my favourites, they’re always at their break time doing nothing but smoking, right? They always say “yes”, very friendly people and willing to pose for the camera.

So what’s my approach, or as Carl asked once, “what do you say?” well it depends on the subject. For example if it’s a woman I would say something like this: – Good afternoon! My name is Emil and I am a photographer doing some practice. Would you mind if I take your picture? – What’s this for? – Personal use, I am here with my friend testing this new flash. By the way, that’s a lovely scarf. – Thanks!- -If you like the picture I can send one copy to your email. – Okay, what should I do? – Just do what you were doing and ignore the camera. We are not here. – Ha ha ha, fine!

We take 4 or 5 frames and then thank her for her time and after getting her email we continue with our hunt.

So, are we hunters? In a way, yes! Because we are looking at the crowd trying to spot something interesting, aren’t we? My piece of advice is:  don’t be so picky and if you can’t find a pretty girl or a nice tattooed  guy why don’t you ask that Japanese guy sitting over there? You’ll find he can give you some amazing pictures.

You can see some of my street photography in this set Faces of London