{"id":134,"date":"2015-01-01T11:40:56","date_gmt":"2015-01-01T16:40:56","guid":{"rendered":"https:\/\/decisiveshot.com\/?p=134"},"modified":"2015-01-01T11:40:56","modified_gmt":"2015-01-01T16:40:56","slug":"should-i-photograph-homeless-people","status":"publish","type":"post","link":"https:\/\/decisiveshot.com\/should-i-photograph-homeless-people\/","title":{"rendered":"Should I Photograph Homeless People?"},"content":{"rendered":"

Maybe a better question is, are photographs of homeless people considered Street Photography?\u00a0 There have been a few articles floating around the Google machine by angry photographers letting us know they are sick of photographs of homeless people. \u00a0In fact, its been called rude and creepy by some [Vice<\/a>]. \u00a0Street Photography, \u00a0“…features the human condition within public places<\/em>…”. \u00a0There is nothing in the definition of Street Photography that says the images have to give you warm and fuzzy feelings in your little belly.<\/p>\n

When someone tells you not to photograph homeless people or never photograph someone without their permission (dumb) its usually because of their fear of doing that same thing. \u00a0They are afraid of the confrontation that could ensue if a stranger catches them taking their photograph or they are afraid a homeless person will lash out at them. \u00a0Don’t let other people’s fears limit you.<\/p>\n

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So why are some artists against photographing homeless people?<\/strong> \u00a0For one, it’s uncomfortable. \u00a0Looking at photographs of homeless people on your comfortable couch with your expensive laptop can feel a little crummy. \u00a0Isn’t that the point though? \u00a0Nobody bats an eye when they see the commercials on television for recently abused sick cats and dogs dramatized by some sad music. \u00a0But we draw the line at documenting the more depressing aspect of the human condition?<\/p>\n

Rant: \u00a0Some of the recent photographs getting heralded\u00a0as “incredible”\u00a0by the major publications are of starving children in third world countries… but don’t worry, it’s alright to photograph them because they have homes. \u00a0<\/em><\/p>\n

Does the photography make a difference?<\/strong> \u00a0Yes. \u00a0The most recent report from The National Alliance To End Homelessness says that in 2014;<\/p>\n

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overall homelessness decreased by 3.7 percent and homelessness decreased among every major subpopulation\u2014 families (7 percent), chronically homeless individuals (7.3 percent), and veterans (7.3 percent).<\/p>\n<\/div>\n<\/div>\n<\/div>\n<\/div>\n<\/blockquote>\n

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That’s some pretty good news if you ask me. \u00a0[National Alliance To End Homelessness<\/a>]\n

A combination of public and private funding goes into the fight against homelessness. \u00a0Our images, no matter how difficult they are to view, play a large role in moving people to step up and fight against homelessness, or any cause for that matter.<\/p>\n

I<\/span>s it Art?<\/h3>\n

Is Street Photography art? \u00a0Yes. \u00a0Photographs of homeless people is Street Photography so yes, it’s art. \u00a0You can’t say Street Photography is art and then deny certain aspects of it because of the uncomfortable nature. \u00a0With that being said, there are still going to be bad artists… \u00a0People who suck at photographing people. \u00a0People whose intentions are not pure and they desire to exploit mankind instead of help it. \u00a0That does not mean it’s not art, it’s just crappy art.<\/p>\n

S<\/span>ome Things To Consider<\/h3>\n

Homeless photography can be beautiful and, in some cases, can be something that actually helps a person on a personal level. \u00a0Take for instance Steve Huff and his “My Homeless Project<\/a>“, this was an incredible piece of Street Photography art that will not only be significant to the artist but also to the people whose lives he touched in the brief time he spent with them.<\/p>\n

If you decide that you’d like to spend some time documenting homeless people and their struggles do so in a respectful way. \u00a0Simply walking up to a homeless person and pushing your camera into their face is not polite, give them the same respect you’d give anyone else (or better yet, the respect you’d want if you were in the same situation). \u00a0Also, offer\u00a0them some food, a conversation, money, and\/or a blanket… \u00a0Make a difference in their life.<\/p>\n

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What are you thoughts? \u00a0Should people stop photographing homeless people? \u00a0Leave a comment below.<\/p>\n<\/div>\n<\/div>\n<\/div>\n<\/div>\n","protected":false},"excerpt":{"rendered":"

Maybe a better question is, are photographs of homeless people considered Street Photography?\u00a0 There have been a few articles floating around the Google machine…<\/p>\n","protected":false},"author":1,"featured_media":116,"comment_status":"open","ping_status":"open","sticky":false,"template":"","format":"standard","meta":{"jetpack_post_was_ever_published":false,"_jetpack_newsletter_access":"","_jetpack_newsletter_tier_id":0,"footnotes":"","jetpack_publicize_message":"","jetpack_is_tweetstorm":false,"jetpack_publicize_feature_enabled":true,"jetpack_social_post_already_shared":true,"jetpack_social_options":{"image_generator_settings":{"template":"highway","enabled":false}},"_links_to":"","_links_to_target":""},"categories":[28],"tags":[47,48,50,49,34],"jetpack_publicize_connections":[],"jetpack_featured_media_url":"https:\/\/i0.wp.com\/decisiveshot.com\/wp-content\/uploads\/2014\/12\/0714_untitled_080.jpg?fit=2000%2C1331&ssl=1","jetpack_sharing_enabled":true,"jetpack_shortlink":"https:\/\/wp.me\/p5xbS3-2a","_links":{"self":[{"href":"https:\/\/decisiveshot.com\/wp-json\/wp\/v2\/posts\/134"}],"collection":[{"href":"https:\/\/decisiveshot.com\/wp-json\/wp\/v2\/posts"}],"about":[{"href":"https:\/\/decisiveshot.com\/wp-json\/wp\/v2\/types\/post"}],"author":[{"embeddable":true,"href":"https:\/\/decisiveshot.com\/wp-json\/wp\/v2\/users\/1"}],"replies":[{"embeddable":true,"href":"https:\/\/decisiveshot.com\/wp-json\/wp\/v2\/comments?post=134"}],"version-history":[{"count":6,"href":"https:\/\/decisiveshot.com\/wp-json\/wp\/v2\/posts\/134\/revisions"}],"predecessor-version":[{"id":141,"href":"https:\/\/decisiveshot.com\/wp-json\/wp\/v2\/posts\/134\/revisions\/141"}],"wp:featuredmedia":[{"embeddable":true,"href":"https:\/\/decisiveshot.com\/wp-json\/wp\/v2\/media\/116"}],"wp:attachment":[{"href":"https:\/\/decisiveshot.com\/wp-json\/wp\/v2\/media?parent=134"}],"wp:term":[{"taxonomy":"category","embeddable":true,"href":"https:\/\/decisiveshot.com\/wp-json\/wp\/v2\/categories?post=134"},{"taxonomy":"post_tag","embeddable":true,"href":"https:\/\/decisiveshot.com\/wp-json\/wp\/v2\/tags?post=134"}],"curies":[{"name":"wp","href":"https:\/\/api.w.org\/{rel}","templated":true}]}}