(warning, rant ahead)

Alright, can someone explain to me just what the hell is up with the people who think it’s their god given right to take photos of anything and everything that falls within the viewfinder of their camera, in this case being both us and our lights when we’re selling at markets or shows? Don’t get me wrong, I understand that our lights look amazing / striking / attention grabbing / aesthetically pleasing / insert adjective here… however just because we’re not in a traditional retail environment (i.e shop), people seem to take the opinion that usual standards, decorum and etiquette cease to apply.

I’m pretty certain that said camera wielding enthusiasts don’t tend to stroll into their local department, clothing, shoe or electronics store before whipping out their over sized cameras in a fashion that seems to be on the increase at markets. However, for some inexplicable reason, it seems that the presence of a camera in front of their faces makes them believe they have acquired the ability to become invisible.

From my experience, these snap happy punters can essentially be divided into one of three categories:

1. The Clueless: Those who simply don’t think they’re doing anything questionable. These are the kind of people that are likely to be incarcerated in a foreign prison for taking holiday shots of restricted military installations or personnel. Whilst sadly not satisfying my need for instant gratification, I console myself with the fact that natural selection should eventually take care of these types. Sadly, besides actually voicing your displeasure, there’s not a lot you can do here as any well aimed glares tend to go unnoticed.
2. The Stealthy: These are the people who know their actions will be frowned upon, yet truly believe that they’re above and beyond us ‘Proles’. Adopting a ninja style approach, they’ll hide behind something, paparazzi style before shooting off a few rounds. Should I actually manage to make eye contact, these wannabe investigative reporters will scatter like cockroaches when they’re startled by turning on the kitchen light.
3. The Grasshoppers (Students): With the fact that your average person can now go and buy themselves a brand spanking new shiny camera complete with massive lens previously the domain of professional sports photographers, more and more people are taking photography classes in an attempt to understand how to use their new toy. For whatever reason many of these classes descend upon markets, strutting around taking hundreds of photos using hundreds of settings in an attempt to take a photo that would have been infinitely easier using a simple point and shoot camera. Whilst I’ve never met anyone who teaches these classes, I would have thought said teacher should/would have included as a part of the course the fact that it’s considered to be both good form and generally polite to seek permission? Obviously I thought wrong.

The few people that take the time and make the effort to ask if its cool to take a photo of our stuff are always well received and i’m yet to actually turn anyone down. This also goes for when I’ve been traveling – I make a point of asking and likewise can’t ever recall being turned down.

If there are any budding photographers reading this, i’m curious as to your thoughts on the subject – feel free to share by leaving a comment below.

OK, I feel much better having got that off my chest. Return to whatever it is you were doing – normal programming will resume shortly.